Yikes. Battle Royale, one of my fav Japanese flicks of all time, looks like it will be coming state-side. But unfortunately not by the same director, actors, title, or plot. No, The Condemned takes Battle Royale’s premise, throws in a bunch of wrestlers (its a WWE film), and just adds some “big swinging dicks” Hollywood direction to give you a 90 minute game show of death. Yilck!!! It opens in April, will I be there opening night? Bet the house on it.

Ahhh, Wilford Brimley’s classic Liberty Medical commerical.
And the Die Uh Bee Tus remix!

Wow. This controversy has taken the web video world by storm. Joe Rogan has been a strong defender of a comedian’s creative rights. When a comic starts stealing jokes, Rogan has always called them out on it regardless of their status in Hollywood. Recently at the Comedy Store in L.A. (a regular performance spot for both Rogan and Mencina) Rogan confronted Mencina on stage in front of an audience about his alleged joke stealing. The argument gets pretty heated and essentially destroys Mencina’s credibility. The confrontation was filmed and viewed by over 50,000 people on youtube before it was taken down by Carlos himself. Rogan has subsequently been banned from The Comedy Store and has also lost his creative representation (who also represents Mencina). Props to Rogan for putting that guy in his place, definitely pick up his CD from 2001 I’m gonna be dead someday and support a true comic.

If you’re into stand up comedy, make it a point to check out aspecialthing.com’s message board daily. It’s visited by the likes of Patton Oswalt, Zach Galafianakis, Brian Posehn, David Cross, Todd Barry, and Louis C.K. just to name a few. Read up on the latest debates, news, show dates, and releases with an audience that shares a true love of the art of comedy.

My favorite anime series of all time. The story follows a highschool freshman cursed with not only ridiculous red hair, but a tendency toward the unlucky. He joins the basketball team to win the heart of a girl, and after discovering his skills grabbing rebounds, he gains a new respect for the sport and his team. This series runs 101 episodes and ran from 1994 - 1997 in Japan. Geneon attempted to release the entire series in the US but only got to episode 25. Luckily, fans have taken it upon themselves to translate the series and its readily available online and on ebay.

Wanderlei Silva puts his belt on the line on Feb. 24th after a crushing defeat at the hands of Mirko Cro Cop. For those who don’t know, Wanderlei Silva, hailing from Brazil, has been the Pride FC World Middleweight Champion for the last six years. Do a youtube search for the guy and bear witness to one of the most brutal, violent, and tactical fighters to ever step into an MMA ring. Watch him fight against American fighter Dan Henderson live from Las Vegas at Pride 33!

Some say SNL will never be as good as it used to be. I think it’s slowly returning to be the gem of television it once was. If you like SNL as much as I do, do yourself a favor and pick up Live From New York by Thomas Shales and James Miller. The 30+ year history of the show produced some amazing stories, and they’re told from the view of those who were there. The book is written in a sort of chronological interview between the authors and the hundreds of people who walked the halls of studio 17. Inside info, celebrity in-fighting, horrible guests, sex, drugs…and a lot more drugs, it’s all there. Wanna know why Chevy Chase is banned from ever being on SNL again? Wanna know how the show even got on TV? Then Read it!