Wednesday, 26 May 2004: A big debate that is currently waging in Chicago is the potential opening of two Wal-Marts within Chicago city limits. They've found land on the south and west sides to open the two stores and, of course, Wal-Mart never has qualms about expanding its evil empire. However, this land can be used as parks and whatnot so it has become a very heated debate.

The city council will soon be voting on the referendum and Wal-Mart is doing what it can to sway the vote in its favor. However, one such method they are employing may just blow up in their faces. They have outsourced a telemarketing company to call people in the area and ask them if they want a Wal-Mart. If they say yes, they are immediately forwarded to the phone of one of 11 of the Aldermen in the affected areas. The Aldermen's phone lines are ringing off the hook. However, when they asked the callers why they were forwarded to their office line, they have said that a telemarketer asked them if they would like to see more jobs in their area, not whether or not they want a Wal-Mart.

The Aldermen are now exceptionally pissed that Wal-Mart, via their telemarketing firm, are misleading the people in their districts that many have said they may vote against the two stores opening.

This cracks me up to no end. If you would like to read more, try this article... Wal-Mart campaign backfire.

Tuesday, 25 May 2004: I was so upset when I read an article about how several cast members of the show 24 may not be asked to return next season. The list includes Carlos Bernard (Tony Almeida), Reiko Aylesworth (Michelle Dessler), and James Badge Dale (Chase Edmunds).

Bear in mind that this is not a definite as of yet, but the likelihood of Tony Almeida returning is minimal since he's been placed under arrest on charges of treason. Dessler, being his wife, may just not come back. However, I'm most upset about Chase Edmunds possibly not returning. I have not yet watched the season finale, so he may have even been killed off if the teasers were any indication, but I'm hoping not. I like him and Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) together. Hence my award to them as the Best 1-2 Punch in a drama in the Kappy Awards.

I guess I'd better watch the finale. I've got it on tape. Just gotta find the time to get to it.

Monday, 24 May 2004: I have now crossed over to the Dark Side... I am getting a copy of the original Star Wars trilogy on DVD sans the Special Edition treatment of 1997.

For those who may be worrying that I am breaking the law, fear not. I own these movies on VHS and am entitled by the Fair Use Doctrine in copyright law to backup my media to another media. Just so long as I am not distributing it to other people, and I am not. Just for me to watch on my DVD player without running the risk of killing my VHS copies that can no longer be replaced (except via eBay, I suppose).

Also, for a copyright infringement charge to stick, it would have to be a copy obtained of a DVD that exists (or will exist in the near future) thereby causing the copyright holder to lose money. Since George Lucas has claimed that the original Star Wars movies no longer exist, in his mind, and he has no plans to release them on DVD, it's fair game.

SW DVDs... come to daddy.

Thursday, 20 May 2004: Tonight, on NBC, between the two scheduled repeats of Friends, you will be able to watch a 10-minute American Express commercial starring Jerry Seinfeld and Superman. Yes, not only is Jerry finally returning to NBC (albeit for only 10 minutes), but he finally will be sharing small-screen space with his idol who, if my ears serve me correctly, is being voiced by Patrick Warburton (Elaine's boyfriend "Puddy" on Seinfeld).

However, if you would rather not sit through Friends reruns, you can catch the commercial in Flash format at the AmEx website. Here's a direct link.

It's actually quite funny and Warburton is the perfect voice for Supes.

Wednesday, 19 May 2004: Wow. I've been posting a lot of images this week, haven't I? Well, here's another one for ya to consider...

This one comes from Ain't It Cool News and was confirmed by The Digital Bits as being one of the many changed scenes in the upcoming DVD release of Star Wars. This one is from the ending of Return of the Jedi and, if you recall, that head on the left should belong to Sebastian Shaw, the man who played Anakin Skywalker under the Darth Vader helmet. However, George Lucas has taken it upon himself to digitally insert Hayden Christianson (Anakin Skywalker in Attack of the Clones and the upcoming Episode III) over Shaw.

Seriously, though, shouldn't Anakin be showing in his Jedi ghost form in the way that Luke actually saw him? Which would be as Sebastian Shaw. Unless, of course, Lucas is changing the helmet removal scene as well. I wouldn't put it past him.

Disgusting and blasphemous... in a filmic sense, of course.

Once again, I would like to throw out a plug for OriginalTrilogy.com. If you haven't signed their petition to bring the unaltered original SW trilogy to DVD, please do so now.

Oh, and if you would like an alternate take on changes that should be made to Star Wars (these to Episode III, and not to the original films), read this article from MSNBC. It's quite funny.

Tuesday, 18 May 2004: Never before have I wanted to be a police officer so much. Or a criminal being arrested, for that matter. Check out the new ride that the Italian Polizia have as part of their Force.

It is a Lamborghini Gallardo. This puppy reaches a top speed of 185 miles per hour which is faster than I could ever possibly even imagine.

Arrest me... please.

Monday, 17 May 2004: Considering that tonight marked the introduction of the new CSI: New York cast in a crossover episode of CSI: Miami (which was very cool, by the way), I have a question to throw out there...

The original CSI uses The Who's "Who Are You" as its theme song. CSI: Miami uses The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again". My question is, will Bruckheimer, et al, be able to keep up the trend and employ another Who song for CSI: NY and, if so, which one will it be? 

Friday, 14 May 2004: I ask only that you check out the image below [IMAGE MISSING]...

This, people is what's known as the "PSP" or "PlayStation Portable". It was unveiled at this week's E3 electronics convention in Las Vegas and has to be about the coolest thing I've seen in quite a while. It plays smaller, Sony proprietary 5" gaming discs and uses a Sony MemoryStick to expand on its built-in memory capacity. This will be available in Japan later this year (go fig). And will be available outside Japan in 2005.

All I can say is... me likey. All but the price tag, that is, which amounts to $300. Ouch.

Tuesday, 11 May 2004: I know it may sound hypocritical to bemoan the injustice that was doled out to U.S. civilian Nick Berg who was just beheaded by radical Islamic militants in Iraq considering what has been happening to Iraqi POWs at Abu Ghraib prison, but I'm gonna sound off a bit anyway.

Berg's beheading and the subsequent airing of this "punishment" on the Web is just sick and wrong. Now, I will admit that I have not been privy to the actual video, but I have seen several photographs of the before and after and even that is just wrong. I have a friend who did see the video and he says it is one of the most horrific things he has ever seen. He even had to cover his eyes at one point. This guy does not have a weak stomach in any sense of the word and is usually able to withstand some pretty disgusting stuff. This just went beyond his threshold of tolerance.

I can only imagine... but I prefer not to.

To Berg's family and friends in Westchester, PA, my sincere condolences. That you, or anyone else for that matter, should ever have to live through this is wrong.

Monday, 10 May 2004: I will never again question the pain that Katie endures when she gets her migraine headaches. I, like any human being, am prone to a regular old headache every once in a while. But, until today, I had never suffered the hell that is a migraine.

It came out of nowhere and made my eyes feel like they wanted to pop out of my skull and I was constantly suppressing the urge to throw up. That's how bad it was.

So I left work early, went home, and took one of the migraine pills that Katie has around. Knocked me out for the next three hours. Wow. I've never had any pill, prescription or not, hit me that hard. But, hey, at least the migraine went away.

Sunday, 9 May 2004: Well, I think it's safe to say that no one in the Bush White House reads my website, if what I received in the mail is any indication.

This photo is something I received from the Bush/Cheney 2004 campaign. The text on the bottom of the photo reads...

"To: Kevin Apgar, Thank you for your support and friendship as a Charter Member from Illinois. With your help we can make America stronger, safer and more prosperous.

Best Wishes,

Laura Bush, George Bush"

I'm a Charter Member of what? I don't recall signing up to be a charter member of anything regarding the Bush campaign.

Nuh uh. Don't think so. Especially when the enclosed letter claims that the envelope contains my "personalized" photo of the president and Mrs. Bush.

"Personalized"? My name is printed on the photo in what can only be described as really bad dot matrix quality (it's that pixellated). No, I don't expect to have Dubya personally make it out to me, but at least make the print quality something resembling legitimate handwriting. The technology does exist. You can make it look better. Hell, a five-year-old could make it look better.

Friday, 7 May 2004: Sorry, but I just couldn't go without getting my two Lincolns worth in on this one...

Apparently Columbia Pictures and Major League Baseball have struck a $3.6 million deal to promote Spider-Man 2 in major league ballparks. Not that unforgiveable under normal circumstances, right? So you deal with some Spider-Man posters and cups and popcorn containers or whatnot, right?

Nope.

Spider-Man logos are going to be in on-deck circles and imprinted on bases and the like in all ballparks except Yankee Stadium because Steinbrenner said, "Hell no!" He will have the bases and whatnot out during batting practice, but once the game starts, the promo material goes bye bye. And I applaud him for standing up against it. This is ridiculous. I don't want to see Spider-Man logos on the baseball diamond. That's horrible and it takes away from ballparks. I can handle signs on the walls surrounding the playing field, but not literally on the field. I can't even count the number of levels on which this is just so wrong.

Here's an article to read for more information.

Thursday, 6 May 2004: I know that by saying this, I risk alienating my wife and one of her brothers. But, the best thing about today is that, when it's all over, Friends will finally be done.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the show. However, if I see advertising for one more friggin' Friends interview special or hear Jennifer Aniston whine about not knowing what the future will bring her, I'm gonna scream. How many damned Friends specials can you possibly have? How many times do the six of them truly need to say the same thing over and over and over and over ad infinitum?

My God, just let it die. Talk about shameless exploitation. I don't even think Seinfeld and Cheers were this bad.

I should have created a Primetime Kapgar.com Award for Most Shameless Exploitation of a TV Show Finale.

Wednesday, 5 May 2004: Sebacious Cyst.

Under normal circumstances, that would just be another one of those cool medical terms that I wish I was being paid to come up with.

Alas, I know this term because I have one... as per my doctor in an appointment that I had this morning. No, it's nothing serious. Just a growth on my neck that's been bugging me a little bit for the last week and a half. No, no pictures and I don't want to receive any e-mails alluding to mental images of Frankenstein and his neck bolts.

The doc put me on some antibiotics to hopefully help reduce it. Then, in two weeks, we'll see how big it is and determine whether or not he should remove it entirely.

Me... I want it gone. Shaving around it is a bitch.

Tuesday, 4 May 2004: Cracks me up to no end when this happens. As with most workplaces, the IT related stuff where I work has its downtimes. Today, for example, the mail server has been acting a bit temperamental. In many cases, people weren't receiving messages at all.

As you would expect, the IT department felt it was in our best interests to inform us of these problems. How did they do it? Via e-mail.

Aye aye aye.

Sunday, 2 May 2004: After discussing things a bit with Katie, I must now re-declare a tie in the Most Overplayed Sports Moment category listed below... yep, it's a tie between the Bartman catch and Janet's sunshiny nipple in the Super Bowl. Since it's the Super Bowl, it definitely constitutes a sports moment, wouldn't you think?

I also changed the Most Overhyped New Show winner from a tie between Miss Match and Skin to a solo winner with Coupling. Completely forgot about that piece of worthless tripe.

Thanks for reminding me, hon. I think.

Saturday, 1 May 2004: Holy hell... I'm a month behind! I completely forgot to do the Primetime Kapgar.com Awards. I really thought it was the beginning of May that I did these. It is, in fact, the beginning of April. Yikes.

Oh well, if the Oscars can be given out in February this year instead of March, the Kappys (my pet name for them) can be given out a month late to balance it all out. Yin and Yang.

Just as a reminder... the Primetime Kapgar.com Awards are my answer to the Primetime Emmys. Except that the only opinion that truly matters here is... well... mine. This is the third year that I have given these awards. And, again, this is really just recognition since I can't afford little statuettes.

Note that when I say "rookie," I refer only to the fact that a person is new to a show this season regardless of if they've acted on other shows or in films. "Veteran" means that a particular actor/actress was with the show prior to this season. And, yes, I reserve the right to declare a tie if the need should arise.

So, let's get on with it, shall we?

Acting/Hosting Awards

• Best Veteran Actor (Comedy)
  John C. McGinley - Dr. Perry Cox, Scrubs
• Best Veteran Actress (Comedy)
  Kim Cattrall - Samantha Jones, Sex and the City
• Best Veteran Actor (Drama) (tie)
  David Caruso - Lt. Horatio "H" Caine, CSI: Miami and
  Kiefer Sutherland - Agent Jack Bauer, 24
• Best Veteran Actress (Drama)
  Khandi Alexander - Chief M.E. Alexx Woods, CSI: Miami
• Best Rookie Actor (Comedy)
  Jon Cryer - Alan Harper, Two and a Half Men
• Best Rookie Actress (Comedy)
  Portia de Rossi - Lindsay Funke, Arrested Development
• Best Rookie Actor (Drama)
  Peter Gallagher - Sandy Cohen, The O.C.
• Best Rookie Actress (Drama)
  Carla Gugino - Marshal Karen Sisco, Karen Sisco (despite its cancellation)
• Best Veteran Kiddie/Teen (Comedy or Drama)
  Martin Spanjers - Rory Hennessy, 8 Simple Rules
• Best Rookie Kiddie/Teen (Comedy or Drama)
  Angus T. Jones - Jake Harper, Two and a Half Men
• Best One-Two Punch (Comedy) - new category
  Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer - Charlie and Alan Harper, Two and a Half Men
• Best One-Two Punch (Drama) - new category
  Kiefer Sutherland and James Badge Dale - Agents Jack Bauer and Chase Edmunds, 24
• Best Cameo Appearance
  Michael J. Fox - Dr. Kevin Casey, Scrubs
• Best Recurring Guest Star
  Chris Noth - Mr. Big, Sex and the City
• Best Game Show/Reality Show Host
  Jeff Probst, Survivor: Panama and Survivor: All Stars

Show Awards

• Best Veteran Sitcom
  Scrubs
• Best Rookie Sitcom
  Two and a Half Men
• Best Veteran Drama (tie)
  CSI: Miami and 24
• Best Rookie Drama
  The O.C.
• Best Damn Show on the Tube
  Survivor: All Stars
• Show Most Deserving of its Cancellation
  Boston Public
• Show Least Deserving of its Cancellation
  Karen Sisco
• Coolest Revelation - new category
  Mr. Big's real first name on Sex and the City
• Most Overhyped New Show
  Coupling
• Best Show I Wish I Watched Last Year
  24 - although I did see it a couple of times

Other Awards

• Best Overall Network
  With Survivor, CSI, CSI: Miami, Without a Trace, and Two and a Half Men - CBS
• Best Commercial on TV - new category
  "Pepsi Loves Hot Dogs" with the two people in promotional hot dog and Pepsi cup costumes who fall in love. I'll never throw away a promo flier again (well, not in front of them, that is). Check out AdWeek for more information.
• Best Sports Show - new category
  SportsCenter on ESPN
• Most Overplayed Sports Moment - new category (tie)
  Steve Bartman catching the foul ball in front of Cubs leftfielder Moises Alou in the NLCS and
  Janet Jackson's "Nipplegate" stunt during the Super Bowl
• Most Painful Sports Moment - new category
  See Steve Bartman/Moises Alou above

That's about it for the 2003-04 run of the Primetime Kapgar.com Awards. If you have any comments or questions or just want to tell me that I'm full of crap, contact me.

Friday, 30 April 2004: How's this for a surreal wake up call? This morning, Katie and I decided to write out checks on a couple of bills so I could drop them off at the post office on my way to work. We were going to completely pay off one of my credit cards, including any charges that have been incurred since the close of the billing period, so we called up the credit card company to check my balance.

If you've ever called up a credit card company, you know that they usually ask you to punch in your card number and then either your billing ZIP code or the last four numbers of your social security number. Then your call typically goes through to an automated voice system that allows you to check your balance, etc., right? Well, I punched in my card number and it immediately took me to an operator who chimed in with those dreaded words, "we have a problem with your account."

Yay, just how I dreamed about starting out my Friday.

According to the operator, someone had hacked in to a merchant account and my card number was compromised. They had already immediately canceled out my account and are reissuing me a new credit card. They are also sending me out an affidavit so I can authorize an investigation to make sure everything is okay and I can also include any questionable charges on it.

Despite my annoyance at having to check with any online accounts I have so I can change my card information, I must say I'm happy they did this. I like knowing that my card company is on top of things.

Guess I'd better get cracking.

Monday, 26 April 2004: Well, the Movie Critique section will soon have another guest reviewer. This one promises to be a bit more regular than past ones have been. His name is Stephen Weyland and, if you post or lurk regularly on the OriginalTrilogy.com forums, you will know him by the name Sweyland. He's got four new reviews for you that I will post over the next couple of days here. And, hopefully, he will add more soon. He likes a lot of foreign films and says he can make up for my site's foreign flick deficiency. Hey, I try! I'm only one man.