Welcome to Dark Knight Station, the Hero Express‘s main stop for all the news onThe Dark Knight Rises.We’ll keep you up to date on all the biggest bat-news coming straight from Gotham City.
Mind the gap and avoid the shadows; This stop is the Dark Knight Station for December 19th, 2011.
Batman, and such. Christopher Nolan! Grappling Hook! Other Bat-words! None of what I’m typing matters, because here’s the new trailer for The Dark Knight Rises. If you treated yourself to Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows this weekend or caught one of the cammed versions before it was taken offline, you’ve already seen this beast of a trailer, but either way you’ll want to see it again. Enough text, here it is!
It’s a beautiful thing. Seeing this in theaters actually managed to get me as excited as the full prologue did the night before. That’s all for this edition, look forward to more traditional Dark Knight Station stuff next week!
Last Season: 42-40, 2nd in Division, 6th overall in East, Lost to Boston in 1st Round
Key Losses: Chauncey Billups, Derrick Brown, Anthony Carter, Roger Mason JR, Shawne Williams, Sheldon Williams, Andy Rautins, Ronny Turiaf
Key Additions: Tyson Chandler, Mike Bibby, Baron Davis, Jared Jeffries (resigned), Iman Shumpert (draft), Josh Harrelson (draft), Jerome Jordan (draft)
Main Rotation:Starters – Baron Davis, Landry Fields, Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler; Key Reserves – Tony Douglas, Mike Bibby, Jared Jeffries, Renaldo Balkman, Jerome Jordan
With the addition of Chandler to the mix, the Knicks now have the best frontcourt in the NBA without a doubt. Without Chandler, this team is pathetic on defense. Carmelo and Amare are nowhere near defensive stoppers so it was important for the Knicks to bring in a defensive presence. Although, the Knick’s backcourt, especially at point, is fairly weak. If only they were able to keep Billups while adding Chandler, the Knicks would have the best starting five in the league.
It’s no Hollywood secret that Tim Burton has lost it and hasn’t made a single good film in the last decade (probably because he keeps casting his psycho wife). However, his first claymation attempt just happens to be one of my favorite movies, holidays aside.
Nightmare Before Christmas pairs together my two very favorite holidays: Halloween and Christmas; and throws in a little musical pizzazz, which I love! The story centers around Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, whose fame in Halloween Town is only diminished by his lack of interest in doing his job. He is sick of Halloween, of scaring, of the routine; and wants to find something more meaningful to do with his life.
In his morose state, Jack wanders and finds himself at a cluster of trees, which the audience knows must represent the different holidays. Here, Jack opens the door to Christmas Town where his life is drastically changed.
In Christmas Town, Jack feels a warmth that he is unfamiliar with and desperately tries to duplicate it. When he returns to Halloween Town, he shares his discoveries and announces that the residents of Halloween Town will take over Christmas. He sends kidnappers to snare “Sandy Claws” and begins his Nightmare Before Christmas, as it were.
Jack and his cohorts are impossibly scary, and he does such a poor job with the gifts that he is blasted out of the sky and it is announced that Christmas will be canceled. Jack is distressed and heartbroken. He returns to Halloween Town to release Santa, the only one who can save Christmas.
In the end, Jack realizes that he doesn’t need to take over Christmas or even be a part of Christmas to find what he is looking for. Running Halloween is what he was born to do, but he has found joy and warmth in his love with Sally.
I’m a sucker for claymation, I don’t know why. Blame the California Raisins I guess. Couple that with the brilliant score by Danny Elfman and you have, in my eyes, a winner and a great holiday favorite.
As the year 2011 comes to a close, fight fans can’t help but be pleased with everything that took place over the last 12 months. We saw the rise of many new MMA stars such as Jon Jones, and Junior Dos Santos, and saw incredible upsets like JDS knocking out Cain Valasquez in the first minute of their highly anticipated title bout. While reflecting on this year in mixed martial arts, I felt that it was necessary to hand out some awards, to some very deserving individuals. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to GOdzark’s 2011 MMA award show…..
The first award that will be handed out tonight is the (drum roll please).…
“WTF” – Comeback Win of the Year
And the winner is……Cheick Kongo knocking out Pat Barry
Ok so let’s face it, on any Pay-Per- View card, Cheick Kongo vs. Pat Barry is easily going to be the guilt free piss break fight of the night. This is a fight that featured two fighters who are more than likely never going to even fight in a number one contender bout ever again. However, it was free and I had nothing else going on that night so I figured what the Hell?
I sat down to watch this fight and within the first 15 seconds of the promo remembered why I hate Pat Barry so much. He is that cocky, arrogant, loud mouth who was never good enough to back up anything that he said, so instantly I’m hoping he gets knocked out and knocked out fast. Within the first few minutes of the fight, Pat Barry lands a huge right hand and drops Kongo. As Kongo stumbles over his feet barely conscious, Barry lands another shot that drops Kongo, and this time it looks like for good. But wait, Kongo half asleep, fights to his feet, and two quick shots later, Knocks Pat Barry the F out.
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Congratulations Kongo on winning what will undoubtedly and sadly be the biggest win for the rest of your career, and congrats Pat Barry on not getting fired for being 6-4 against lackluster opponents in your MMA career.
The second award of the night is the…
“Don’t Ever Wear That Again” award.
And the winner is……Dennis Hallman!! I refuse to believe that I even need to give further explanation as to why I gave this award to him.
The third award of the night, and a more serious one is the:
On December 30th, the UFC is putting on UFC 141, whose main event will feature a heavyweight collision between Brock Lesnar and Alistair Overeem! I felt it necessary to throw my two cents into the penny fountain that everybody else has thrown their two cents into, and give you my breakdown of this fight and my prediction for it.
Brock Lesnar is coming off over a year off from fighting, and during which he had to overcome his second serious bout with Diverticulitis. Last October, we saw Cain Valasquez pick Brock Lesnar apart in the first round with his striking, until a final TKO victory for Valasquez, stealing the title from Lesnar. I will not say that striking is Lesnar’s issue, after all who can forget the incredible right hand that sent Heath Herring in a backward cart-wheel across the cage, breaking his Orbital bone. I will say that Lesnar’s issue, is striking defense. Brock hasn’t quite found out how to get hit, and keep moving forward. This fault may present a huge problem when fighting Alistair, who will undoubtedly be the best striker that Lesnar has fought thus far in his career.
Overeem comes into this fight making his UFC debut, and there is a big question mark over how well he is going to be able to stop Brock Lesnar’s takedowns. Brock has made quite a name for himself with his explosive takedowns, over powering of opponents, and destructive ground and pound.
There is nothing on TV that gets me in the Christmas spirit quite as much as A Charlie Brown Christmas. Released in 1965, it is a timeless classic that endures for many fellow lovers of the holiday season. Charlie Brown we all know and love as the ho-hum, down-on-his-luck grade school boy with the yellow and black shirt. In this particular made-for-TV special, Charlie Brown searches for the true meaning of Christmas. In his conversations with his fellow classmates, he realizes how commercialized Christmas has become. There are Christmas cards to give out. There are pageants to organize. His sister is more focused on her letter of demands to Santa. Even Snoopy has bought into the hype, decorating his dog house like a Macy’s Christmas float.
And then, Linus has the answer. Readers, you may have a wide range of beliefs, but there’s something incredibly sweet and innocent about the way Linus recites the Christmas story. There’s something incredibly poetic about Charlie Brown’s love for a wimpy Christmas tree, shunned by everyone, in which he can see so much of himself. He is able to take something everyone sees as ugly and make it beautiful. And then the kids sing with their faces in the air and their mouths open wide.
I have always enjoyed the humor and the heartwarming stories that the Charlie Brown cartoons have told. The Christmas special reminds us to slow down at Christmas time and remember what it’s really about – celebration, family, of giving.
As a musician, I appreciate the soundtrack almost as much as the story. Vince Guilardi’s jazz piano carols are some of the few holiday tunes I can stomach, let alone enjoy, every year. All of these reasons make A Charlie Brown Christmas a top contender on my list of holiday favorites.
Grizzly Bomb 