save houston's historic district

2006.07.26 18.37

Two very important historical buildings in the Houston community risk demolition. Please join me in expressing public distain over this outrage! Below is information on how to help.

The River Oaks is the oldest functioning movie theater in the fourth largest city in America. It is one of the only great venues left for independent films. Also in danger is the old Alabama Theater, now a Bookstop. While it's no longer a functioning theater, its integrity and artwork have been preserved.

Unfortunately, our local historical sites protection is very limited. We must insight a public outcry to have a chance at saving them. Please use whatever resources you might have to bring attention to this travesty.

-- Johnny Foster

Jef Rouner spoke with the Houston Preservation Alliance and has come back with this:

Calling the GHPA won't do much good. They suggest that everyone that has a concern to write a letter to the following person at Weingarten Realty, and copy the Mayor and Council Member Ada Edwards with the concerns. They recommend that the letter should include points such as the historical significance of the buildings, cultural significance of the theatre, that it meets the needs of the community it serves, and that there are few places in Houston where one can walk from their homes to enjoy shopping, dining, and entertainment.

This is the contact information:

Mr. Drew Alexander, CEO Weingarten Realty
PO Box 924133
Houston TX 77292-4133

cc Mayor Bill White City of Houston
PO Box 1562
Houston TX 77251

cc Council Member Ada Edwards City of Houston, District D
900 Bagby, First Floor
Houston TX 77002

minneapolis art car show 2006

2006.07.22 17.12

Upon learning about the Minneapolis Art Car Parade the day before, I immediately decided that my attendance would be mandatory. Unlike previous Houston Art Car Parades that I've seen, this parade's route does not loop back to the beginning. I shot this using my trusty Sony DSC-S75 point and shoot. The arts cars each did The Wave as they drove up the street, looping up and down so that spectators on either side of the road could enjoy the weirdness. My favorite car was The Sofa Car. The guy was driving his sofa with what appeared to be a remote control. The Yellow Submarine Car also made an appearance. That guy has been in every art car parade I've ever seen. There's a couple shots below of Galactic Pizza and their Galactic Pizza Delivery Car. The Animal Cruelty truck for DefendingFarmAnimals.org was particularly pleasant as they renounced Minnesota's treatment of livestock. Little kids had confused looks. Parents patted them on their heads. Good times.

al franken lives in my neighborhood

2006.07.22 15.26

Or at least I think Al Franken lives in my neighborhood. Minneapolis is his home according to AlFranken.com. I was at the Bruegger's bagels right behind my apartment at 1:45 PM trying to order my usual Salmon bagel (cream cheese, capers, onions, tomotoes and salmon on a bagel) on the way to see the Minneapolis Art Car Parade. Franken was on his cell phone and unable to order due to a heavy conversation about "not being on the payroll" and "doing interviews on a weekly basis." Sounds like fun. On July 29th the Uptown Theater is playing Franken's film STUART SAVES HIS FAMILY. I'll be in Houston so I won't be going. I'll totally survive.

LU1875

2006.07.22 9.53

My copy of Norton AntiVirus recently started choking on updates. I would always get the message, "LU1875 update failed during its preprocessing welcome text phase." To fix it, open a DOS window (Click Start, Run, CMD) and type in the following. Good times.

the madonna podcast

2006.07.16 10.24

Podcast Episode 007 -- On Tour With Madonna is now available for your viewing pleasure. It's 90% Madonna and 10% Super Genius and Christina. I used a Samsung SC-X105L NTSC sports camcorder. It's super itty bitty and uses Sony Memory Sticks. It also comes with a cool external camera (which I didn't use) that you can strap on your body (which I didn't do). Instead, I learned from the fine folks at MadonnaTribe.com that your best bet for getting a camera into the concert was to stuff it down your pants. It's illegal for the popo to touch you there, or so I hear. The extra bulge didn't get too many stares (except from me everytime I looked down). You see... I stuffed my camera into a, uhhh... camera sock. Yeah. That's it. They sell them at camera shops.

We arrived at the Wachovia Center around 6 PM by way of the SEPTA Pattison subway line. After initially thinking there were no pre-show drinking activities, we eventually discovered they were letting concert patrons into the stadium's bar. In 2001 and 2004, there was a pseudo-lame outdoor venue thing where you could buy food and drinks. It sorta sucked so this was a welcome change. You could hear Madonna doing her sound checks while we were there. Nice. We had to pass security and get our tickets scanned to get into the bar. I think the security guy was more enamored by Christina's beauty than making sure we weren't packing photo equipment in our panties. Christina even got a disposable camera inside even after being absolutely certain they were going to make her get rid of it. I got in with no pat down and a cursory wand wave. Yay! I've always been super paranoid about trying to shoot photos or video everytime I go to a concert despite the fact that people all around me were doing it. I figured I'd just do it this time and hope for the best. That was a great idea as it turns out. Security was awesome. They were more concerned about keeping people in the proper seats and keeping the aisles clear. Great guys. Larry the stadium camera guy was also very cool. Compared to his giant industrial sized camera, my camera was like a dot. John the security guy wanted to know if my camera took video or stills. I didn't know if he was aiming to get me to cease and desist depending on my answer. I played it safe and said stills. He bought it. I know. I know. I'm going to hell for lying to the Wachovia security dude. Tell me something I don't already know.

Madonna's show was amazing, as usual. My seats were on the front row right side of the cat walk. I was at the very end of the row, but that didn't really matter as everyone compressed toward the center quite nicely. I think I was the only guy in the front row on that side. What's up with that? Madonna kept noticing people a few rows behind us were just standing around and gawking. MadonnaTribe.com member DJ Barney attended the show and filmed the entire performance of ''Let It Will Be'' *and* includes Madonna confronting some dude behind us that was bringing her down. If you watch closely you'll see my head at the end of the row (far right) when the camera swings around during the confrontation. Nice! I didn't get Madonna winking at me this time around, although you may notice she walks right up to us with her hand stuck in her pants, pulls it out, then licks her finger. For me, it's not a Madonna concert until Madonna is making lewd hand gestures in my general direction.

wally and kim

2006.07.13 10.42

Hello from Christina and I to Wally and Kim. Welcome to the web site that's all about me. Riiight. Wally and Kim sat next to us during last night's amazing Madonna Confessions Tour performance at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. Good times all around. To everyone else... yes, I have video. Lots of it. And yes... it was worth it.

madonna countdown

2006.07.12 11.43

It's been a really busy week here in Philadelphia. I've made a list of interesting (to me) accomplishments from over the last few days.

• rented yellow Mini Cooper from PhillyCarShare.com
• drove to Manayunk
• drank coffee and ate yogurt from Starbucks
• got haircut from newly single stylist Sona
• returned rental car
• ate at the Larry Fine birthplace restaurant on South
• fell off the fish-eggs-dairy only diet and ate chicken
• shopped on South Street
• purchased mojito supplies and wine from 2nd St. liquor store
• attempted to make mojitos (failed)
• rented maroon Prius and drove to Cherry Hill, NJ
• saw PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST (3 out of 5 stars)
• ate at TGIFs across from the theater (ate more chicken)
• returned to hotel and retrieved the vino
• drove to Conshohoken to see Kevin and Steve
• went to Conshy dive bar with aforementioned friends
• stayed up until 6 AM playing cards
• drove home and returned rental car
• slept til' noon
• ate at Famous' Deli on Bambridge St.
• visited Ben Franklin gravesite and Liberty Bell museum
• took 69th Street line to 40th Street
• bought more mojito supplies (limes, mint, sugar, sprite zero)
• returned to hotel and made lots of mojitos (finally success!)
• decided mojitos were more appropriately called Markjitos
• ate dinner at Hard Rock Philadelphia
• watched The Dead Zone at the hotel while imbibing more Markjitos
• crashed at midnight
• ate breakfast at Cafe Olay
• accidentally spilled coffee on Christina
• toweled down Christina's wet knee
• laid out by pool for 30 minutes
• received phone call from The Daily Show saying I had tickets for the show that night
• took taxi to Chinatown bus and left at 1:30 PM bound for New York City
• took the (1) train to 50th street and walked to Daily Show
• barely got into show (we were the last 10 people in line allowed in)
• ate sushi at little sushi place in Clinton
• walked to Times Square and got Letterman tickets from Late Show intern
• visited Toys R Us and Hard Rock NYC
• returned to Philadelphia at 11 PM bus
• went to sleep
• woke up at 9 AM and got on Chinatown Bus for return visit to NYC
• went to SIRIUS studios but missed interview (no big deal)
• investigated NBC Tour (started too late)
• stood in line at Letterman (this time we were #4 and #5 in front)
• asked Late Show security guy where nearest liquor store was located
• got weird looks from Late Show security guy
• got picked by interns to sit in front row for the show
• watched Paul Reubens and Nelly Furtado perform live on Dave's show
• went to nearby liquor store using security guy's directions for more rum
• took (1) train back 34th Street
• toured the Empire State Building
• walked back to Times Square
• ate at Bubba Gump Shrimp Restaurant
• returned home to Philadelphia and made more markjitos
• slept
• Madonna preparation day! More to come...

If you have RealPlayer (which is a terrible product), you can click this link and watch a highlight from the Letterman show (we are in this shot but you won't see it clearly due to the poor picture quality). Still, it's something. Dad taped the shows so expect a screen cap to hopefully appear on this site one day.

podcast episode 4 is up

2006.07.02 13.09

Watch The Super Genius Podcast Episode 4: Trip to Valley Fair. It clocks in at just over seven minutes. I would rate this one a 6.5 out of 10 on the Funny Scale. Enjoy.

madonna confessions tour map

2006.07.01 13.51

So, check this out. The chart below tells you how good your seats will be for the upcoming Madonna Confessions tour. My seats are marked by the little star in the front right of center stage. I knew ahead of time that Madonna would be downstage at the ''B'' platform, but this makes me feel pretty good that her time at ''A'' and ''E'' are plentiful. Like A Virgin being performed at ''C'' sucks for me, but meh, I'll survive. I've been reading a lot of blogs that reviewed the concerts thus far and have learned Madonna is turning off the air conditioning during her performance to preserve her voice. That's hot. And I'm cheesy. July 12th is the day and it's drawing closer and closer. Today I booked my hotel at the Holiday Inn historic district in Old City so it's made me get that nervous anticipation thing going. This is my third straight tour and fourth show (I saw both Philly shows during the 2004 tour). I've only missed four previous tours in the 80s and 90s. Not bad for a straight guy, eh? My next order of business: Must see what I can do about smuggling in a camera. Confidence is low considering Madonna might be the person that catches me in a bootlegging moment. That would suck. I'll try to maintain Blue Steel while covertly documenting.

you need google adsense

2006.07.01 7.39

This is my semi-monthly entry about the earning power of Google AdSense™ banners. If you've got a blog or some website that's got updated content then you should consider adding unobstructive Google ad banners somewhere. Everywhere! Even if you're not a freak of nature like me, it's still nice to go back and read old blogs detailing what you did and where you went and with whom and how you felt about it. Below are my June 2006 AdSense results. As you can see, MARKSHIELDS.COM completely blew away my other sites, although MARKWAHLBERG.COM's tiny little text banners moved up a bit in their earning potential. I have some new look and feel stuff to apply to that site which will make it considerably less boring looking. I'm thinking this weekend is the time to do that. I've been a huge slacker this year due to work taking up a lot of my free brain cycles. Also, I need to combine my REALWORLDPHILLY.COM site with what is now THEREALWORLD.BIZ (formerly known as THEREALWORLDAUSTIN.COM). I almost forgot to mention that I was recently interviewed by The Denver Post newspaper about my real estate observations in Philadelphia regarding The Real World house. I didn't get to plug my sites, though. Always remember to include your site's URL whenever you are interviewed by anyone. Mental note. I did manage to get linked from FARK, but that ended up bringing in a bunch of homophobic sports car humpers who were more concerned about guessing (incorrectly) my religious and sexual orientations than actually reading my Batmobile Photos and FAQ page. Some people did read it. Well, sorta. Good times.

Channel Description	Page impressions	Clicks	Page CTR	Page eCPM	Earnings
MARKSHIELDS.COM	193,029	1,271	0.66%	$0.65	$125.03
MARKWAHLBERG.COM (Forum)	73,070	236	0.32%	$0.24	$17.82
THEREALWORLD.BIZ	42,763	83	0.19%	$0.26	$11.05
THEREALWORLDPHILLY.COM	4,609	12	0.26%	$0.31	$1.43
MARKWAHLBERG.COM (Old Forum)	2,005	7	0.35%	$0.47	$0.94
QUARK.NAME	858	19	2.21%	$1.04	$0.90
THEREALWORLDPHILLY.COM (Forum)	1,836	5	0.27%	$0.27	$0.50
QUERYLETTERS.NET	44	2	4.55%	$8.04	$0.35
ASTROWORLD.CC (Blog)	1,747	4	0.23%	$0.07	$0.12
ASTROWORLD.CC (Homepage Header/Footer)	361	1	0.28%	$0.06	$0.02
ASTROWORLD.CC (General Header/Footer)	1,393	0	0.00%	$0.00	$0.00

superman returns review

2006.07.01 0.35

I just returned from watching SUPERMAN RETURNS a second time. I went to an old school non-stadium seating theater that's just up the road from my apartment at Excelsior and I-100. I'm breaking up this review into a few components in order to maintain focus and not turn into a blathering idiot. I decided not to review the film until I saw it twice. Now I realize that most of the negative reviews that I've read online are the result of previous expectations going awry. Watching something twice will also give you a better idea of whether or not this is a One Time See or a Multiple Time See. In my case, it's the latter.

Lois Lane as played by Kate Bosworth is no where near the same character that Margot Kidder created. Margot was huskier. She was sassier. Some might even say pluckier. Kate comes off as mature, but only on occasion. At other times she looks or sounds like she's 16 years old. I figure she'll settle into the part as time goes by. Lois Lane does a lot of annoying things in the comics, so I'm willing to let slip some of the actions she takes in this film. Lois is a screw-up on occasion. That's not Kate Bosworth's fault. She portrays that aspect quite well. You never know what impulsive decision may be next and whether or not she'll need saving or not.

Jimmy Olson as played by Sam Huntington is like a breath of fresh air. He's funny and he pops up unexpectedly. He's nerdy and he seems to worship fellow nerdling Clark Kent. It's good to see that his role hasn't been minimized as it often has been in the past. There are some pretty good scenes from SUPERMAN that were removed which feature more Jimmy Time. Here's one.

Perry White as played by Frank Langella gives me a warm feeling. He's not a jerk like most editor or boss types have been played in the past. He's thoughtful while still being strict about his way or the highway. At one point in the film he addresses all section editors of the paper by asking them to cover Superman based on their area. That scene is brilliant. There aren't a lot of Perry moments, however, but I think it's wise that they went Perry Lite in this film. He's no Jackie Cooper, but his new take on the character is refreshing.

Richard White, as played by X-MEN's Cyclops, also known as actor James Marsden, is somewhat of an enigma. How did he fall for Lois? His dad is Perry White and he works in the newsroom. That makes sense. Nevertheless, I feel like his real backstory was missing. From what I can tell, it seems that Richard caught Lois on the rebound when Superman disappeared five years earlier. He's a good guy, but he's got the disadvantage of being Rebound Guy. You feel for him. Sorta.

Jason White, also known as The Kid, as played by Tristan Lake Leabu in his acting debut, is Lois Lane's son. Bosworth looks more like his older sister than his mom. Kate is 22 so this means she would have been 17 when she had him. Riiiiight. See the problem? The kid is done with a light touch. I couldn't figure out if I liked him or hated him until I watched his performance the second time around. He's cool. Granted, he's no Haley Joel Osmant.

Clark Kent as performed by Brandon Routh is exactly how I like my Clark served up. He's nervous. He's nerdy. He's very aware that he's doing much more than just putting on a suit and glasses to disguise himself. Like the late Christopher Reeve, Routh uses awkward mannerisms and gestures to bury Superman beneath layers of angst and discomfort. People say he's imitating Reeve. I say he's channeling. Besides, I've never liked the way previous Clarks were portrayed. Reeve hit it right on the nose and I would be quite happy to see Clark played the same way regardless of who has the role. The only discernable difference in his performance happens where Clark's glasses fall off. Routh does not have the same physical disparity when he's wearing the glasses and when he's not. Still, he's good.

Superman, as also portrayed by Routh, is dead on perfect. He has enormous strength and can move mountains if he wants to, and yet he's still vulnerable. People say he's a boy scout. People say he's two-dimensional. What they fail to recognize is the fact that given great power comes great responsibility. SPIDER-MAN literally called out those exact words and no competent reviewer could ever say that Spider-Man was a boy scout. Superman is a hero and a hero can be a boy scout or a police man or a fireman or whatever. They don't cower. They don't hide in the dark. Why the unfair comparison, then? Superman in this film has his flaws. He's unsure of himself at times. The one moment of the film that makes me love this movie happens when Richard White asks Lois if she ever loved Superman. Her reply, after a lengthy pause, is no. Superman happens to be outside listening to their exchange unbeknownst to them. He reacts by looking away and leaving. He's clearly heartbroken. You can see tears welling up in his eyes as he passes a dark storm cloud in the night and flies toward the stars. That moment is priceless.

The movie's look and sound are also a welcome blast from the past. The film addresses change indirectly. Cell phones and flat panel televisions are now everywhere. Technology has advanced, but the core elements remain. John William's theme is thankfully preserved. The writing team for SUPERMAN is far better at telling a story than Lucas. I have some minor quibbles with re-treaded plotlines and dialog stolen from the first film, but this is a new story while still acknowledging the preceding films. I'd like to see new character elements added when they make the next one. How about those Clark Kent robots from the Fortress of Solitude? Superman uses them whenever he has to look appear at the same time as Clark. What about Brainiac? Bizarro? I thought there were scenes in SUPERMAN RETURNS with General Zod. They're missing. There are so many stories. The writers need to pluck one out of Superman's nearly 60 year history. I'm fervently happy with this story and how it was told. I hope Bryan Singer will stick around for another one. Any movie that can make you feel like you can fly as you're walking outside to the parking lot is okay in my book.