Double Singularity Blog

Avast! Happy talk like a pirate day, ye swabs!

The new season of Beauty and the Geek starts tonight - if you watch it, my new roommates know one of the Geeks. So, root for Dave!

The next Indiana Jones movie, Indy IV, is set to be released May 22, 2008. Up until the MTV Video Music Awards, we the public didn't know what the name of the movie would be - live in uncertainty no more! Actor Shia Labeouf, one of the films stars, revealed at the VMAs that the name of the film would be Indiana Jones and the ...

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For those who are interested, History Channel is doing Krav Maga on Human Weapon Friday night. Check local listings.

Once in a long time, a news story comes around that just can't be improved upon. This is one such story.

Trojan, the condom manufacturer, recently decided to run some test commercials in Pittsburgh and Seattle. First, it had to clear the commercials with the national broadcasting companies, like NBC, CBS, and ABC. There's where their trouble started.

Fox rejected the ads - not because they were raunchy or inappropriate, but because it "objected to the message that condoms can prevent pregnancy."

Wha?

Apparently, Fox is a graduate of Bush's abstinence-only education system.

But that's not where the troubles stop. While most affiliates in Seattle agreed to run the advertisements, affiliates in Pittsburgh refused. Citing inappropriateness, Pittsburgh's ABC and NBC affiliates decided the condom ads weren't for them, and that they would not follow in their national brothers' acceptance of the ads.

Ray Carter, the General Manager of Pittsburgh NBC affiliate WPXI, believes the tag line "use a condom every time" is "not one that is appropriate for this market." Also, he needn't follow NBC's lead because "I'm not employed by NBC. We're owned by Cox Television."

You just can't make up lines like that.

The Princess Bride is twenty years old, and ABC News has a photo collage about what has happened to the actors in the intervening time.

You keep using that word ... I don't think it means what you think it means.

This one's for Ross. I just heard this on Late Night with Conan O'Brian

Animal Hunter: Trombone players are an endangered species.
Conan: What are you talking about? I thought there were lots of trombone players.
Animal Hunter: There used to be ... back in the big-band era, trombone players roamed free across the land. But no more.
Conan: Well, could we breed them to get more trombone players?
Animal Hunter: Ha, no. A woman hasn't been attracted to a trombone player since the forties.
Conan: Did you ever think of getting a female trombone player together with a male trombone player?
Animal Hunter: Unfortunately, trombone players won't breed in captivity.
Conan: I see. Is this a problem for trumpet players, too?
Animal Hunter: No. Trumpet players have managed to keep their numbers up by hitting on literally anything that moves.

I was just on Digg, when I noticed the website of an urban planner who ranked his favorite 18 skylines in the world. I took a glance and wasn't surprised by the top few: Hong Kong, Chicago, Shanghai, New York ... But check out what his #16 is, right after Seattle. That's right ... Pittsburgh, PA!

Don't know if you caught it, but Family Guy spoofed How I Met Your Mother last night. Check it out:

After two seasons and critical acclaim, CBS may not renew How I Met Your Mother for a third season. Citing unidentified sources at CBS (so take this with a grain of salt), one blog had this to say:

Per sources, some suits at CBS don't find the show that funny and are thinking of yanking it. Seems that currently chances for HIMYM are 70% cancellation and 30% renewal. Better start your petitions, sending tiny paper suits to CBS by snail mail, and have all your US friends watch the remaining episodes or... I can't bear myself to say it. :'(

The whole thing is being followed on the official HIMYM forums here.

Apparently, several of the shows that will be picked up for another season have already been renewed; the last chance for us to find out is when CBS announces its fall lineup a week after the season finales in May.

The original post was on April 4. In an interview a week later with TVGuide, HIMYM writer Carter Bays expressed optimism that the show would be renewed:

TVGuide.com: OK, the last topic here, of course, is Season 3. What’s the latest temperature reading?

Bays: Oh, I feel very good about it. I’m not worried. It is nerve-racking, like waiting to get asked to the prom, but I think this show has such a strong fan base and it’s been getting such good responses….

TVGuide.com: It gets such critical acclaim and the fans are so avid, it’s almost surprising that the pickup hasn’t been handed down yet.

Bays: Yeah, but it will make it that much more exciting when they announce it in May.

Meanwhile, Josh Radnor (Ted) confirmed on his blog that the show has not yet been picked up for a third season.

USA Today, on the other hand, predicts that the show will be renewed.

There is a "Save How I Met Your Mother" Petition at iPetitions here.