Ok, so I have a niece that turns four in the first week of May and I have absolutely no idea what to get her for her Birthday. Yea, yea, yea… I could do the whole Barbie, Dora, markers or paints thing, but I was hoping some of you baby mamas or baby daddys might have some creative ideas. If you got something, lay it on me.

- Squiz

Working in the construction industry does have it’s advantages. Every so often you get a chance to be a small part of some pretty big projects. Click on the links below to take a look at two remarkable new buildings that are breaking ground this year in Chicago and Dubai.

Chicago Spire

Dubai Rotating Condo

Ahhhh yes, not much in life beats taking a half day off of work on a Friday for no reason what-so-ever other than to go home and do absolutely nothing.  (read the rest of Squiz’s diatribe) (more…)

Ok, so everone knows about the big blockbusters that are on their way over the next few months… Transformers, Spiderman 3, Ocean’s 13, Live Free Or Die Hard and of course, on May 25th… Pirates Of The Caribbean: At Worlds End. But there are quite a few lesser known flicks on the way that I think people should really check out.

Here’s a small list of the little movies that may make a big impression in the weeks and months to come…

Day Watch – This is supposed to be the second in a triology of action/sci-fi movies from mother Russia. The first one, Night Watch, is available at your local rental joint and I highly suggest you check it out. It’s a good story and it looks like the success of the first film has allowed the producers to loosen the raines on the budget a little because the trailer for this one lookes pretty sweet. A good story driven by some even better special effects makes for a great movie, even if you do have to read a few subtitiles.

Waitress – I know, I know… this one looks like a chick flick, but it’s got Nathan Fillion (lead actor of one of the best sci-fi shows of all time, Firefly) and of course the big selling point for me… Kari Russell. Just something about this girl, ever since her movie Eight Days A Week, I’ve been hooked. Not to mention that it looks like a pretty good romantic comedy to boot.

Air Guitar Nation – I was only going to throw this one in for Claude, because trust me, he is going to be the first one of us to go see this movie, but the more and more I check out the trailer, the more I find myself wanting to see it. I mean seriously, a real competition where people play air guitar? You must be joking. Well apparently not, because this thing exists and it looks like people take it pretty seriously.

Knocked Up – When the tv show Greys Anatomy started, I’ll admit, I watched it pretty regularly for the first season. But it wasn’t because I liked the stories or the witty banter between the characters, I watched for one reason and one reason only… Katherine Heigl. She is hands down the only reason girlfriends can get their boyfriends to watch that show (Arrrrgh, I’m so jealous Claude got to serve her drinks one night while he was bartending in Madison). And since I have not kept up with the hospital hijinks, I am pretty excited to see Ms. Heigl back on the big screen. Hmmmm, I wonder what would happen if a totally beautiful woman got a little drunk and had a one night stand with “Joe Ordinary” and then got pregnant. Guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Sunshine – We all have heard the scientific reports that one day, a long time from now, the sun is going to burn out. This futuristic sci-fi flick tells the story of a space mission that is tasked with the lovely mission of jump starting the sun. I have only seen a teaser trailer for this one, but it looks like a cool concept and a seriously special effects ridden film. I’m in.

Good Luck Chuck – Mr. Dane Cook (love him or hate him, you have to admit he’s pretty friggen funny) is back in what honestly looks like a simple remake of his last movie Employee Of The Month. Joe Ordinary guy is lonely, but has a gift for interacting with people, meets the girl of his dreams but can’t move forward, finally overcomes what ever reason it was and lives happily ever after. Here’s what you need to know that makes this one a little different. For some reason, women seem to think that after the sleep with Cook’s character (Chuck) that they immediately find the man of dreams. This one time joke among friends has grown into a massive urban myth and now Chuck has everyman’s dream. Then he meets someone he really falls for (Jessica Alba – so that’s not too hard to comprehend – duh) and as much as she wants to, he won’t sleep with her out of fear of losing her. Much hilarity and slapstick humor ensues.

A few more movies to keep an eye out for are… Next (Nicholas Cage sci-fi flick), Mr. Brooks (Kevin Costner as a psycho killer), Blind Dating (comedy about a blind guy going on blind dates), Balls Of Fury (not out till Sept, but trust me, this one looks hilarious) and The Invisible (a little who-dun-it ghost story).

All of these movies have trailers that can be seen at www.apple.com/trailers or www.themoviebox.net/trailers.

It looks like it’s going to be a summer for movies

Hey Dog, pretzel bites and a large white soda please.

- Squiz

Oh NCAA tourney Gods, why hast thou forsaken us?

Once again, the decision makers, the glorious and wise men on high, have made some unbelievable brackets for this year’s NCAA basketball tourney.

I want to take a small moment to point out what I can only think was a massive oversight buy the tournament comittee… Marquette: 8 Seed, Duke: 6 Seed ?!?!?!? Wha, wha, what?

Here are a few comparisonsons for ya…

Over all record – Duke: 22-10, Marquette: 23-9
Conference Record – Duke: 8-8, Marquette: 10-6
Conference Tourney – Duke: 0-1 (Lost to unranked NC State), Marquette: 1-1 (Lost to #7 Pitt)
Conference Standing – Duke: 6th, Marquette: Tied 5th

Now I know people always say… Yea but what if the two teams had to play eachother. Normally that’s a good defense, but not this time. Because as all Marquette fans know, the two teams did play eachother this year… and Marquette won the game by 11 points.

Don’t get me wrong, I love NCAA tourney time, and I look forward to watching the first two rounds from fabulous Las Vegas later this week, I just think it’s about time that the committee (and the rest of the country for that matter) let go of the dream that is Duke. Stop putting them up on a pedestal just because of their name. Make them earn their way just like everyone else.

I’m looking forward to the big matchup of the teacher versus the student when the Marquette and Michigan State coaches play eachother, but I’d rather see my team get the seeding they deserve. Or at least not get slapped in the face by the committee by putting a team like Duke above them.

Go Marquette! Go Wisconsin! Go VCU!

On the heals of Fuzz’s post about men getting back to their roots and being men, I figured it was high time we got a list of Man Laws rolling. So if you got a few, post em. Long live manhood.

A few to get started…

Men do not shop. Men buy things.

It is ok for a man to leave the toilet seat up in his own house.

No man shall ever hit another man in the balls, unless it is a life and death situation.

Never call a fellow man’s ex a slut/whore/skank or any other demeaning name, unless he does so first.

Never, ever, ever, ever refer to a trip with your fellow men as a “mancation.”

As long as you are willing to deal with the consequences, it is perfectly ok to karate chop any non-living object.

And finally for my man Fuzz…

Men shall always make sure their daughter’s boyfriend knows who’s boss.