This Week in "Buffy" History: July 30-August 5

July 31
1967 - Rudolf Martin born (played Dracula in Episode 5.01 “Buffy vs Dracula”)

August 3
1972 - Brigid Brannagh born (played Virginia Bryce in Season 2 of Angel)

August 4
1968 - Daniel Dae Kim born (played Gavin Park on Angel)
1975 - Andy Hallett born (played Lorne on Angel)

August 5
1973 - Ethan Erickson born (played Percy West)

Friday Night Quick Hits

• Day 1 of my vacation was a smashing success. I went to the comic book shop and picked up the latest issue of “Buffy: Season 8” - a one-off issue with a very interesting story. I also got the new issue of “Spike: Shadow Puppets” which had a predictable ending and brought back some annoying characters from “Spike: Asylum” that I just didn’t care about. I also caught up with the various Spider-Man titles: Friendly Neighborhood, Amazing and Sensational. I thought this issue of FHSM was very well written, and I loved the little throwaway line about FOX canceling “Drive” (a show I very much miss).

• After the trip to the comic book shop, I met PooZ at the mall and we went over to my place of work, where I showed him around. He seemed to have a good time, and I was reminded about how cool my job is.

• Then we went to see “The Simpsons Movie.” Now, I haven’t watched “The Simpsons” regularly on Sunday nights since probably my junior year of college. Seeing the movie, I have to wonder if I’ve been missing something incredible these past few years. Holy crap, that was easily the funniest movie I’ve seen in years. Yes, funnier than “Anchorman”, “Knocked Up”, “Borat”, “Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle” or anything like that. And yes, the Spider-Pig gag is still funny, even after seeing it in commercials 300 times. How good was this movie? Well, remember last week when I wrote that I “would” go see “Chuck and Larry” again if a group of my friends was going to see it. Well, I WILL see “The Simpsons Movie” again regardless of who’s going to see it.

• BTW, the picture above is from simpsonsmovie.com, where you can create your own “Simpsons” avatar and place it into Springfield. The guy in the black Springfield Isotopes shirt is me. Not a bad job, I’d say, based on the limited templates there.

• I did mention that I am currently on vacation. In fact, aside from a Sunday trip to New York, I don’t return to work until August 14th. So I’ll try to have plenty of updates between now and then.

Breaking up with Lindsay

I’ve put up with a lot from you, Lindsay. I stuck by you through the horrible movie choices (“Herbie: Fully Loaded”, anyone), the “Georgia Rule” letter fiasco and even the rehab stint. But this is the final straw. We’re done.

You became my celebrity crush du jour back when “Freaky Friday” came out, and you solidified your status with “Mean Girls.” I fell hard, I’ll admit. I had a birthday countdown clock on my site. I even gave you your own birthday post.

Along the way I said some things I probably shouldn’t have (as PooZ and Sarah can attest to) and you didn’t eat some things you probably should have (as my “Feed Lindsay” shirt can attest to). I lived through my fair share of pretty bad movies (“Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen” and “Just My Luck” come to mind) but it was worth at as long as you kept doing your thing.

Well, now your “thing” appears to be trying to out-do Paris Hilton and Tara Reid on the “crazy bitch-o-meter.” Well, I’m hopping off this wild ride. You wanna snort coke and get drunk and crash cars, fine with me. Just don’t expect me to buy “Georgia Rule” on DVD, don’t expect me to go see “I Know Who Killed Me” (which, actually, kind of disappoints me, since the plot outline intrigued me) and don’t expect me to keep watching “Mean Girls” every year on your birthday.

I know, you may be sad about this, but it has to happen. So, we’re done. Don’t bother calling me (on my shiny iPhone!), I won’t pick up. Maybe, in another world, things could have been different.

I wish you the best, and hope to always remember you as the vivacious 18-year-old who stole my heart, not the 21-year-old rail thin cokehead you’ve become.

Goodbye Lindsay. Enjoy rehab (again).

This Week in “Buffy” History: July 23-29

July 23

1970 - Charisma Carpenter born (played Cordelia Chase)

July 24

1981 - Summer Glau born (played Prima Ballerina in Angel Episode 3.13 “Waiting in the Wings”

July 25

1973 - David Denman born (played Skip on “Angel”)

"I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" Review

So I wrapped up Jessica Biel week by seeing her latest movie, “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry”, starring Jessica Biel, her exquisite breasts and some guys...

Ok, seriously, the movie stars Adam Sandler and Kevin James (both of whom I also met last week and were very cool) as New York firefighters who fake a gay marriage so Larry (Kevin James) can ensure his pension goes to someone he trusts in the event of his death.

Yes, it’s a ridiculous premise for a movie, but honestly, it’s a funny movie. I’ve never been a huge Kevin James fan, and it’s been awhile since I’ve seen a funny Adam Sandler movie I liked, but this one made me laugh. Yes, there are a lot of childish gay jokes, but, ya know what, sometimes I like to laugh at stuff like that.

Not every comedy made needs to be smart, or clever, or insightful on a deeper level. Sometimes a guy putting a really big pair of boxers onto a pillow, then getting disgusted when he finds out it’s not a pillowcase, is funny. Yes, the movie does degrade into a formulaic pattern, and the last half plays out as basically a write-by-numbers screenplay (right down to the dramatic courtroom scene where everyone reveals the lessons they’ve learned) but plain and simple, the jokes are really funny.

As for Ms. Biel, well, she’s the No. 1 reason to see this movie. Holy fuck she’s hot. The scene where she has Sandler feel up her breasts to prove they’re real is just great. Of course, though, this movie falls into the same Hollywood trap of making me trying to believe a woman as hot as Jessica Biel would have trouble finding a man. Sorry, not buying it. Hell, I’ll buy Jessica Biel as a lawyer before I’ll buy Jessica Biel struggling to find a man.

If I were to revisit Wednesday’s Fave 5, I’d put this movie in 3rd, behind “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and “Blade: Trinity”. But honestly, it’s a funny movie that’s worth your time. The best thing I can say about it is, if a group of my friends was going to see it and asked me if I wanted to come, I’d go see it again. It was enjoyable enough that I wouldn’t mind spending another $7 of my money and 2 hours of my time on it.

Sunday Morning Quick Hits

• Jessica Biel week was supposed to continue Saturday, but I needed sleep, so I slept until about 2:30 p.m. instead. So now the plan is to go see her new movie, “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry” on Sunday before I go to work. I’ll probably end up seeing it in Manchester, since the Plainville showtimes don’t work out with enough time for me to get to work (even with the theater being 10 minutes from the office). If I do end up seeing it, I’ll try to have a quick review up on Monday (to wrap up Jessica Biel week).

• I don’t write much about the art of Joseph Michael Linsner, but PooZ put me on to him a couple years back and I have to say, I love his work. Plus, the mythology of his Dawn character is pretty damn cool. That said, I had no problem dropping $250 on the remarque edition of his latest art book, “Girls and Goddesses” which comes with a hand-drawn sketch. Originally, when I’d ordered the sketch, I requested art of Dark Ivory, another of his original characters. That was, until I saw the piece pictured above, which became available after no one claimed it. As you may know from reading my blog regularly, Mary Jane Watson-Parker is my favorite comic book character by far, and really the only reason outside of Buffy that I ever got into comics. So to have a piece that looks this good just makes me giddy.

• Another thing that makes me giddy: my iPhone. I’ve already expressed my thoughts on the iPhone in general but now that I have one of my own, I can be more specific. This is easily the coolest piece of electronics I’ve ever owned. The screen is stunning, it’s fun to use, plus it does everything I need my phone/organizer to do. And it’s lighter, thinner and prettier than my Treo (which, as you may remember, decided to start revolting against me in L.A. I think it knew what was coming).

Fave 5 - Jessica Biel Movies

Jessica Biel week continues here at AdamReisinger.com with my Fave 5 Jessica Biel movies. Now, I’ve yet to see “The Illusionist” or “Next” and “I Know Pronounce You Chuck and Larry” isn’t out yet, so this is only based on movies I’ve seen.

5. “Stealth”

This is basically a cheesy action movie, but I like those once in a while. Biel isn’t great in it, but she does look good, at least when she’s in her nice tight flight suit. Putting her inside a plane and only showing close-up shots of her with a mask on does nothing for me.

4. “Summer Catch”

Honestly, this movie is horrible. I hate sports movies that have little-to-nothing to do with actual sports, with stars that look like they’ve never picked up a glove in their life. Freddy Prinze Jr. (one of my least favorite actors of all-time) and Matthew Lillard both fit that description. But this movie is worth seeing, solely for this scene.

3. “Cellular”

Biel has a smaller part in this one than she does in “Summer Catch”, but I rank it higher because this is a more watchable movie. Sure, the premise is ridiculous, but at least it’s fun. She looks good in it (as always) and there’s actually some solid acting to be found in the forms of William H. Macy and Jason Statham. But if you don’t watch to watch the whole thing, then just fast forward to Biel’s few parts. I won’t hate on you for that.

2. “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”

I’m actually one of the few people who liked this 2003 version better than the original. Yes, the original is a classic, but it doesn’t hold up well over time. It comes off as cheesy in parts, where this one is more about straight terror (though R. Lee Ermy does provide some comedy). Biel is at her finest here (in every sense of the word). She carries the movie dramatically, and looks hot while doing so.

1. “Blade: Trinity”

Again, I’m in the minority here, but I find this to be the most rewatchable of the 3 “Blade” movies. No, it’s not the best, but it’s the one you can pop in and have fun watching. Biel looks incredible here and has a nice role to work with. Plus, loading an iPod with music from iTunes has never looked so damn sexy. Honestly, I’d really love to see a follow-up movie to this, with Biel and Ryan Reynolds reprising their roles. And if Biel wanted to keep wearing skin tight outfits to fight in, I’d be fine with that too.

Tuesday Night Quick Hits

• I came away from work Monday having learned one important thing: Jessica Biel is easily the hottest person I’ve ever seen in person, ever. It’s not even close. All you other Jessicas (Alba, Simpson, et al) get in line behind Biel. She’s freakin’ incredible.

• Of course, my time in New York wasn’t spent solely thinking about how hot Jessica Biel was (as a reminder, she’s hot). I also finally got to visit the Apple Store 5th Avenue (pictured above). It’s a really cool store. I love the glass cube, and I was amazed at how packed it was, even at 11:30 at night.

• Also, I had dinner with Phil and his girlfriend Alanna and I got to tell her all the sordid tales of the trouble Phil and I would get into growing up. Well, mostly the trouble Phil would get into, thanks in part to myself and others. Good times.

• Did I mention that Jessica Biel is hot? Well, she is. She’s also the Desktop Girl of the Week. Enjoy.

• Fave 5 coming Wednesday. Right now, the plan is to do my Fave 5 Jessica Biel movies (notice a theme here?). And yes, I have seen at least 5 movies she’s been in. I absolutely loved her in at least two of them. Which ones? Well, come back Wednesday to find out.

Wikked Buffy Grrrls

My third “Buffy” video - it’s the wicked women of the Buffyverse, set to the Esthero song “Wikked Lil’ Grrrls”. I had the idea for this video a few months ago, and ever since then, I haven’t been able to hear the song without thinking of ideas for it.

Director’s commentary:

- I didn’t use any iMovie transitions except a fade in at the beginning and a fade out at the end. I liked the cut style much better on this video, and with such short clips, transitions wouldn’t have looked good.
- I pulled a TON of video from both “Buffy” and “Angel” and used quite a bit of it. There were a couple women who I’d pulled video of that I didn’t end up using at all, but that’s because not every female villain on the show fit the flow of the song.
- Yes there’s video of Buffy. I know it’s “wikked” girls. If you’ve watched the show, you know Buffy wasn’t always exactly a saint.
- I really wish I could have worked in more Lilah Morgan clips, but I hated the widescreen of “Angel” clashing with the fullscreen of “Buffy” so I tried to use it sparingly.
- Speaking of people who should be in there more, there’s only one brief clip of Anya. I was actually reviewing the video for credits purposes, when I realized she wasn’t in there at all. I slipped in a scene from “The Wish”. I probably should have gotten one in there from “Selfless” too, but I didn’t want to have to re-do too much.
- I’m posting it to YouTube right now. I’ll post a link once the conversion process is complete.

This Week in “Buffy” History: July 16-22

July 16

1974 - Robinne Lee born (played Charlotte, Sired Vampire in Episode 7.08, “Sleeper”)

July 17

1978 - Katharine Towne born (played Sunday in Episode 4.01, “The Freshman”)

July 21

Jack Stehlin born (played Dr. Angelman in Season 4 of “Buffy”)

Back from LA

Well, my trip to LA went pretty well, save for a few hiccups. Of course, it was also the trip where technology revolted against me.

The tech revolt started on Tuesday, when I was flying out there. My flight from Hartford to D.C. was fine, but my flight from D.C. to LA was cancelled. That was bad enough, but while I was waiting to get rebooked, my Treo was constantly resetting on me. It reset in the middle of doing stuff no fewer than 15 times during the course of the day. I still managed to get a prodigious amount of texting done (both Lisa and PooZ can confirm this).

When I arrived in LA (after a much longer stay in Washington, D.C. than I should have had) I took a cab from LAX to Sofitel -- easily the nicest hotel I’ve ever stayed in. But, of course, I had to pay for wireless access, and even then, I couldn’t get FTP access. Stupid T-Mobile wi-fi.

Then, Wednesday, after the ESPYs, that’s when everything went horribly wrong. I was loading some new music on my iPod (I bought a couple of CDs while I was out there) when it gave me a read/write error. So I restarted, hoping everything would work better then. Well, the restart was taking a while, so I went down the street to pick up some food. When I got back, my computer had KP’d. Then it booted to flashing question mark. It was all bad.

Well, I figured at least when I flew back to Hartford on Thursday, if I wouldn’t have my computer to watch movies, I’d have my iPod. Whoops. I turned on my iPod when I got on the plane, and it said it was almost full, but had 0 songs, 0 videos and 0 photos. Crap. It needed a restore. So I had to endure the flight back with no computer and no iPod. Thankfully I had my DS Lite with me, otherwise I might have gone crazy. Making things even more frustrating was the fact that on the flight out to LA, the in-flight movie was “Blades of Glory”, which I hadn’t seen, and watched completely, even though I had plenty of my own entertainment. On the flight back -- the one with a dead hard drive and iPod -- the in-flight movie was “In the Land of Women”, which I had ZERO desire to watch. So I played more “Tiger Woods Golf” and “New Super Mario Bros.” then I ever planned on.

OK, but enough about my dying technology (all of which has now been revived, by the way, though I’m still in the process of re-setting up my MacBook with a new hard drive). The actual time in LA was fantastic. I didn’t have too much time to do all the touristy stuff, so I’d really like to go back at some point (if only to do the “Angel” location shoot tour). I did visit a pair of Apple stores -- Beverly Center and The Grove -- and called PooZ from an iPhone in each of them. I’m going to try to call him from iPhones in SoHo and 5th Avenue when I’m in New York next week.

The ESPYs were awesome. First off, my favorite current athlete was co-hosting, and had a good time poking fun at himself (though there were no Eric Snow jokes, which disappointed me). Plus, Kelly Clarkson co-presented an award. Being in the same room with both LeBron James and Kelly Clarkson -- well, let’s just say things could have ended with me in jail on some kind of stalking charge, but I managed to keep my composure and get back home.

The picture above is from outside the ESPYs before the show. Walking in was a very surreal experience, especially for those few feet right before the entrance where the ticketed guests were side-by-side with the celebrities. At various points, I was right next to Dwyane Wade, Brady Quinn and The Rock (the guy in the sunglasses, getting his picture taken with some random woman). It was really just a pretty cool day (actually, it was very hot, and I got badly sunburned, but that’s besides the point).

Ok, I’m all blogged out for now. I promise that some time in the next few days I’ll have my long-awaited review of Kelly Clarkson’s “My December”, which is really growing on me. Also, I promise to have a Fave 5 next week -- though I’ve still got no clue what to write about. Suggestions will be taken under consideration. Leave them in the comments. Leave anything in the comments. Seriously. I don’t care. Just comment, for the love of the Goddess.

This Week in “Buffy” History: July 9-15

July 13
1999 - Episode 3.22, “Graduation Day”, airs on The WB

July 14
1956 - Vladimir Kulich born (played The Beast on “Angel”)

Bizzle bash

So Sunday, after getting fitted for our tuxes down in Orange, I went back to Pooz’s place, hung out with Pooz, Sarah, Geoff and Bill, played some Wii, and then we all went to Bizzle’s 4th annual birthday bash (with Black Ops football game).

Now, I haven’t been to this party since the first year, when we started the tradition of out-of-shape Apple employees playing touch football. To be fair, some of the guys are in shape -- the geniuses are not. We are, for the most part, not an athletic group. Now, Pooz can run a little, and I throw a decent ball to an open receiver, but that’s not enough to win a football game.

Sunday’s game started off well enough. After we gave up a touchdown, we drove right down and got one back, when I tossed a nice ball in the corner to Pooz, who made an incredible diving catch. We unfortunately didn’t get that on video, but we did get this: I threw a flat-footed pick (to be fair, it was deflected a few times in the end zone). Ed ended up with the ball and started running in the other direction. Wayne got in his way. Destruction ensued.

I highly recommend you check out that link. I put the video on YouTube, including a slow motion replay. And the audio on the slow-mo is not computer altered at all. It really just sounded like that when slowed down. It’s awesome.

Also, this was the second time Wayne ended up laid out due to Ed. The first was when he ran a nice little route up the middle, I hit him with the pass, and Ed hit Wayne (mostly due to the third law of motion).

For the day, I ended with 2 TD passes and 3 interceptions, then 4 hot dogs eaten (which is, I’m sure, what all NFL quarterbacks eat in the locker room immediately after the game).

Seriously, enjoy the video. I’m going to post a couple more from the day, which are considerably less entertaining.

Also, I’m going to LA this week, so updates might be sparse. I’ll be sure to post “This Week in Buffy History” tonight after work, and I’ll try to get a new DGOW up on Tuesday before I head out for my flight, but I probably won’t have a Fave 5 this week (which is good, since I’ve got no clue what to do).

More than meets the eye

So I just got back from watching “Transformers”, and I have to say I was very impressed. Sure, the story was kind of cheesy, but so was the cartoon. The special effects were freakin’ awesome. And seeing Optimus Prime as a full-sized live action robot was everything I’d hoped it would be.

If you loved “Transformers” when you were a kid, you’ll enjoy this movie. The action is just amazing and you won’t care about the thin plot. Seriously, it’s giant freakin’ robots fighting. What is bad about that?

I will say this, the movie did do a little mind fuck on me (and I don’t just mean because I left the theater really thinking “man, I should buy a GM vehicle -- the movie comes off as a very long GM commercial). When I got into my car after the movie and started it up, I expected something awesome to happen. Well, the car started. I guess that’s a “kind” of awesome. No giant robots though, which was a little disappointing.

Also, trailers have to be mentioned -- there were two of note before the movie: “I Am Legend” and “Untitled J.J. Abrams Project”; Yes, that’s actually a movie -- it has no title yet (none was shown in the trailer, and IMDB doesn’t have one either). “I Am Legend”, the new Will Smith movie, will be awesome. I have ZERO doubts about this. Will Smith as the last man on Earth, kicking some ass, driving a badass car: these are the things that make for a fucking amazing movie.

As for the Abrams project, I got excited when I saw the Bad Robot logo come on the screen, because I love everything J.J. Abrams does. But this looks amazing. They didn’t even show us much of what was happening, but when the severed head of the Statue of Liberty gets tossed halfway across New York and lands in a street, well, that’s going to be a good movie.

That’s all I have for now. I’m gonna go to sleep and hope my car decides to steal itself then turn into a giant robot that signals for all of its giant robot friends.

Thursday Afternoon Quick Hits

• Yesterday was the 4th of July, and as I’ve done for the last 5 years, I spent part of the day watching the movie “Independence Day”. I saw this movie multiple times when it came out in theaters, and I still love it. Sure, the special effects don’t hold up very well (the explosions look like pre-recorded video laid in poorly over the actual footage), but it’s a fun movie.

• I don’t write very often about my favorite baseball team, the Mets, but something has to be said about the pathetic showing by the team in Colorado this week. They were swept in devastating fashion, allowing Rockies batters to hit .409 while giving up 34 runs -- the most the team has ever allowed in a 3-game series. Yes, it was pretty bad. But it doesn’t get much worse than El Duque’s Eephus pitch on a 3-2 count with the bases loaded. WTF! Full count, bases loaded, still close game... throw a fucking real pitch.

• Dustin McGowan update: my near-no-hitter boy had another great outing Wednesday, giving up just 4 hits in 7 scoreless innings against the Athletics, improving his record to 5-4 on the season. The 5 wins are more than double his career total entering the season (2 combined in 2005 and 2006). Now he just needs to work on his consistency. Check out his last 5 starts:

IP H ER K

July 4 at OAK 7 4 0 4

June 29 at SEA 5 8 5 4

June 24 vs COL 9 1 0 7

June 19 vs LAD 1.2 8 6 2

June 13 at SF 6 7 2 6

Up, down, up, down. Not a formula for long term success. On a positive note, he’s hasn’t allowed a homer in any of those 5 starts, which more often than not will lead to success.

Fave 5 - Entrance Songs

Entrance music is a huge part of sports, but it’s not something we usually think about. Boxers have it, batters have it, relief pitchers have it, and entire teams have it. Now I need to have it. Apparently for Pooz’s wedding, I need to pick entrance music for the reception. So, with that in mind, I pick my Fave 5 entrance songs.

5. “Remember the Name” - Fort Minor

A relative newcomer to the scene, this song is already being used by batters around the majors. Unlike most entrance songs, the lyrics are actually on message (it’s about someone giving his all to succeed). Plus, the opening bars convey the proper gravitas to establish that you are, in no way, to be fucked with.

4. Victory - Puff Daddy

This is a great song all around, but mostly because it’s built on a sample from Bill Conti’s “Going the Distance” off the original Rocky soundtrack. It’s got Biggie, it’s got Busta Rhymes, it’s got a solid chorus, and it was even used for entrance music for “Fight Night 2004”. It’s perfect for boxing, but can be used in pretty much any situation.

3. Ether - Nas

The opening notes of this song are great for entrance when you drop the Nas vocals. It’s like a setup -- you let your enemies know something big is coming, but don’t let them know what. Then you kick in the vocals at the opening chorus. Now you’ve established yourself as the biggest fucking deal around -- no ifs ands or buts (and yes, both “Takeover” and “Super Ugly” were better responses as dis songs from Jay-Z, but neither have the appropriate sound for a good entrance song).

2. The Imperial March - John Williams

Who doesn’t want to walk in to Darth Vadar’s theme music. Anytime you hear this music, you know exactly what you’re in for. I don’t understand why more relief pitchers wouldn’t use this. Sure, technically Vadar is evil, but isn’t that the message you want to send to opposing batters? They need to understand that if you’re coming into the game (or into the ring, for that matter) that they’re in for the biggest challenge in the universe, and there’s no way they’re going to win.

1. Second Coming - Juelz Santana

I have to admit a little bias here. The Cavaliers used this music to introduce their starters at the NBA Finals (in a bit of irony, they used the Imperial March to introduce the Spurs; probably a bad idea). But check out their intro from Game 3 and tell me that doesn’t get you pumped. I still get chills hearing it. Too bad the Cavs lost. But if it’s good enough for Nike’s all-star team to enter with, it’s good enough for me.

This Week in “Buffy” History: July 2-8

July 6

1978 - Adam Busch born (played Warren Meers on “Buffy”)

July 7

1970 - Robia LaMorte born (played Jenny Calendar on “Buffy”)

July 8

1979 - Iyari Limon born (played Kennedy on “Buffy”)

Sunday Night Quick Hits

• Good news! The DGOW page is updated with all the stuff I had on my old site. Thank God for Backup.app, which I’d used a while back to save my old dotMac site (basically, all the non-blog entries never got migrated to iWeb, so my backup became pretty critical). Plus, now I think I have all my old LeBronJamesNews.com entries and entertainment reviews.

• Speaking of reviews, I will have that Kelly Clarkson album review soon. I’ve listened to the album twice through now, and I’ve got to say, it’s pretty damn good. “Never Again” is growing on my, and really, the first 5 or 6 songs on the album are very re-listenible (and I know that’s not actually a word. I don’t care).

• I got to play with the iPhone a little bit. I need one. It’s freakin’ awesome. I can’t really describe how awesome it is, so I’ll go to a nice go-to movie for quoting, “Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle.”

Goldstein: You know the Holocaust?
Kumar: Yeah?
Goldstein: Picture the opposite of that!

Basically. That sums it up.

• I’ve been traveling a lot more lately, for both work and pleasure, and I’ve gotten a little more used to flying. I still hate it, of course, but I don’t freak out on flights like I used to. That will be put to the test next week, when I have to fly to LA. Even with the stopover, that’s a long damn flight. It’ll be worth it though, when I get to go to the ESPYs.

• OK, I swear this really just happened. I’m watching “Sunday Night Baseball” and they’re talking about the iPhone. Peter Gammons interviewed Justin Verlander, who bought his, and one for Justin Morneau, at the Apple Store Friday night. This thing is so pervasive that even Jon Miller and Joe Morgan have now had a 10 minute conversation about it. Gammons even explained that to activate it, all you have to do is use iTunes. This is freakin’ incredible. I need one now.