One of my favorite episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation aired in the third season and guest-starred Andreas Katsulas as the recurring character of a Romulan Commander who had menaced the Enterprise before, and would again.

In the episode, Picard takes his ship into the Romulan Neutral Zone to investigate whether the Romulans are preparing a base as a prelude to invasion. Instead, it turns out to be a trap to determine the loyalty of a Romulan defector and the Enterprise is out-gunned by Romulan warships.

The episode is notable for Picard’s speech to Tomalak — the acting is incredible, and I still get chills when I listen to the exchange between Patrick Stewart and Andreas Katsulas.

Tomalak has just threatened his intentions to display the Enterprise’s shattered hull in the center of the Romulan capital, where it would inspire the Armies of Romulas for generations to come. Tomalak begs Picard to surrender: the Enterprise’s crew need not die in a battle they cannot win.

Picard turns, struts back to his chair, and retorts, “If the cause is just and honorable, they are prepared to die.” (beat) “Are you prepared to die, today, Tomalak?”

Tomalak assumes Picard is making an empty threat. Then Picard tells Worf, “Now.”

Of course, it turns out that Picard is no one’s fool, and several now-de-cloaking Klingon warships accompanied the Enterprise — when faced with equal forces and a good possibility of death, Tomalak sees the wisdom in letting the issue fall to the wind and everyone goes their separate ways. Of all seven seasons and hundred-plus episodes of The Next Generation, it’s still my favorite scene.

So I was filled with remorse today to learn that Andreas Katsulas, who also acted in Babylon 5 (which I never cared for), as well as movies like The Fugitive and Executive Decision, died yesterday of lung cancer.

Peter Jackson’s King Kong has a running time of three hours and seven minutes.

Likewise, his Lord of the Rings movies all had running times in the three hour mark. According to Amazon.com (and bear with me here) …

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring theatrical cut runs a very long three-minutes shy of three hours, while the extended cut (released on special edition DVD) adds nearly thirty extra minutes to the film.

The Two Towers theatrical cut runs five minutes short of three hours, while the extended version is a whopping three hours and twenty-eight minutes long.

Lastly, Return of the King checks in at three hours and twenty minutes for the theatrical cut, with the extended version thirty minutes longer.

Why’d I make you sit through and read all that? Because I was blown away to learn that rumors of an extended cut of King Kong have begun to circulate and were reported today on The Digital Bits Rumor Mill. Can you stand what will most likely be an extra thirty minutes of everyone’s favorite steroid-laced monkey?

Oh — and another rumor? There might also be an extended cut of The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe.

(Sometimes, there’s a reason films get cut down in running time. I’m just sayin’.)

… for content.

y’know, because, you should be aware. I’m unsafe for minors and children under thirteen. Unless they’re reading with an adult’s supervision.

(Which is creepy.)

I think I’ve lost count.

Two hundred and thirty pounds.

A loss of one pound, a disappointment from the four I lost last week, but any loss is a good loss.

I was very excited to learn about the rapidly growing “Cult of the Bush” movement yesterday. As a heterosexual male in his mid to late-twenties, I have more than a passing interest in what we shall refer to in slang here as “the bush.” And I suspect most heterosexual males do as well.

What particularly intrigued me about the “Cult of the Bush” movement was the unofficial slogan “have more bush!” and how it promised that by simply asking for more bush, one could get more bush! I mean, look, I’ll be honest with you, if you’d told me that by walking into a bar, store, or shopping mall and shouting “I want more bush!” I could get more Bush, I’d've been totally amazed and, frankly, dumbfounded — all I had to do was ask? No wining and dancing and movies and late-night coffee? Just … ask?

Now, of course, when I had time to get home and research the “Cult of the Bush” a bit deeper, I found myself entirely dissapointed. When they said all I had to say was “I want more bush!” but what they meant was “George W. Bush in 2008!”

Here I had been, completely excited all day with the possibility of a lot of calorie-burning, uh, “exercise”, and yet in fact, I’d completely misinterpreted a slogan adopted by anti-George W. Bush conservatives to describe the loonies who attack any who criticize their Leader (George W. Bush) as a “liberal.”

(My penis is very disappointed.)

However, since now all you have to do to be a “liberal” is to criticize his Royal Holyness, George The W. The Bush, there are a shitload of “liberals” in the country, and the conservatives are outnumbered! Must be why Ann Coulter is out advocating violence against political opponents (who does she think she is? PS - see her new mustache?). Guess we know why Dick Cheney’s out shooting people — he wants to be ready when it comes time to shoot some lefties.

(I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m disappointed too, but my penis is taking it really, uh, hard. I mean, badly.)

Okay, I can understand the internet moving like molassas during the day with all this snow outside and a ton of people off work or school, but at almost five in the morning? C’mon, what the fuck?