Ryan Newman wins at Phoenix

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Ryan Newman won last night’s NASCAR race at Phoenix International Raceway. I don’t post on Newman that much because, well, he hasn’t won a race since the Daytona 500 back in 2008. When he took the lead on that last restart with 2 laps to go I knew he wasn’t going to give it up easily. Great job Ryan!

Ryan Newman wins Phoenix

For the rest of the story click HERE.

TCM Akira Kurosawa day, part 4!

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Tonight is the last night of Akira Kurosawa day on TCM! Part 4 of the 100th anniversary of his birth. 3 great Kurosawa films TONIGHT:

8:00 PM Dersu Uzala (1975)
A Russian explorer brings the Asiatic hunter who saved his life back to civilization.
Cast: Maksim Munzuk, Yuriy Solomin, M Bichkov, V Khrulev Dir: Akira Kurosawa C-141 mins, TV-PG

10:30 PM Kagemusha (1980)
Japanese clansmen force a poor thief to impersonate their dead warlord.
Cast: Tatsuya Nakadai, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Kenichi Hagiwara, Kota Yui Dir: Akira Kurosawa C-181 mins, TV-PG

1:45 AM Ran (1985)
An aging lord’s decision to retire brings out the worst in his sons.
Cast: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryu Dir: Akira Kurosawa C-163 mins

Favorite TV shows of the week: March 21st to March 27th

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1) 24 – “Day 8: 4:00 AM to 5:00 AM” No Change
2) Parenthood – “Wassup” No Change
3) South Park – “The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs” +4
4) Modern Family – “Starry Night” Not Aired
5) Lost – “Ab Aeterno” +8
6) The Cleveland Show – “Once Upon A Tyne In New York” Not Aired
7) Breaking Bad – “No Mas” New
8) Family Guy – “Peter-assment” +2
9) 30 Rock – “Floyd” -2
10) The Office – “Happy Hour” -4
11) Community – “The Science of Illusion” -2
12) Parks and Recreation – “Summer Catalog” -4
13) Chuck – “Chuck Versus the Final Exam” -6
14) Caprica – “End of Line” -5
15) The Life and Times of Tim – “The Salty Jazz/Jews Love To Laugh” -1
16) Sons of Tucson – “The Break In” No Change
17) The Simpsons – “Stealing First Base” No Change

TCM Akira Kurosawa day, part 3!

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Today is Akira Kurosawa day on TCM! Part 3 of the 100th anniversary of his birth. Kurosawa films all day and night; TONIGHT:

8:00 PM Rashomon (1950)
In medieval Japan, four people offer conflicting accounts of a rape and murder. Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyo, Masayuki Mori. Dir: Akira Kurosawa. BW-88 mins, TV-PG

9:30 PM Seven Samurai (1954)
Japanese villagers hire a team of traveling samurai to defend them against a bandit attack. Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Kuninori Kodo. Dir: Akira Kurosawa. BW-207 mins, TV-14

1:00 AM Yojimbo (1961)
A samurai-for-hire sets the warring factions of a Japanese town against each other. Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Eijiro Tono, Seizaburo Kawazu. Dir: Akira Kurosawa. BW-111 mins, TV-14, Letterbox Format

3:00 AM Sanjuro (1962)
 A wandering samurai recruits younger fighters to help him battle corruption. Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Hakadai, Yuzo Kayama. Dir: Akira Kurosawa. BW-96 mins, TV-14, Letterbox Format

Favorite TV shows of the week: March 14th to March 20th

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1) 24 – “Day 8: 3:00 AM to 4:00 AM” No Change
2) Parenthood – “The Deep End of the Pool” +1
3) House – “Black Hole” +1
4) The Office – “New Leads” -2
5) Chuck – “Chuck Versus the Tic Tac” No Change
6) 30 Rock – “Don Geiss, America and Hope” +1
7) South Park – “Sexual Healing” Not Aired
8) Parks and Recreation – “Park Safety” +2
9) Community – “Beginner Pottery” -1
10) Family Guy – “Go Stewie, Go!” Not Aired
11) Caprica – “Ghosts in the Machine” -1
12) The Life and Times of Tim – “Pharmaceutical Sales Rep Gone Wild/Amy’s Got A Gun” No Change
13) Lost – “Recon” No Change
14) Scrubs – “Our Thanks” No Change
15) Sons of Tucson – “Pilot” New
16) The Simpsons – “Postcards from the Wedge” Not Aired

100th Anniversary of Akira Kurosawa's Birth

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I just posted this to my Facebook and just had to put it here on the blog as well:

This started last Tuesday on TCM! 100th Anniversary of Akira Kurosawa’s Birthday. Showing about 5 films a night. Last week they showed Throne of Blood and The Hidden Fortress. Tonight (1:15) they’re showing Red Beard. Next week is 4 INCREDIBLE films, Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Yojimbo and Sanjuro. The last Tuesday of the month they’re showing Kagemusha and Ran. Be sure to DVR all the films I listed if you haven’t seen them yet. They are not only classic Japanese films but they’re some of the most important films in the history of cinema. I’ve included the link for the complete schedule (only on Tuesday nights). WOW!!!!!

http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article/?cid=290029

I just mentioned my favorite of the films that they’re showing, there’s actually a few lesser known ones that I hadn’t seen but I’ve seen the majority of them. I’ve included links to the Wikipedia entries of each film. Rashomon and Seven Samurai are arguably his 2 greatest films so they can’t be missed. I’m really curious how good they look in HD. As far as I know, Yojimbo, Sanjuro, Kagemusha and Ran are the only ones available on Blu-Ray. This is the next best thing. Do not miss this!