Ben Affleck as Mr. Spock?

One of my earlier blog posts, regarding the firing of former MTV honcho Tom Freston by Viacom, was reposted in a music biz newsletter and the response has been over-whelming. I have received job offers (!) among other accolades and I would like to thank each and every one of you for the outpouring.

It's nice to know, albeit 3 years later, that I wasn't crazy for fighting some of the battles I went through regarding intelligent reporting vs. treating-your-audience-like-they-are-14-year-olds (and dumb, vacuous 14 year olds, at that!). It also inspires me to share a few more stories "from the trenches" from time to time. And while I'm on the subject, I do want to point out again, that there are great people at that network (like any company) and that includes in management. Thankfully the VPs I'm talking about in the post making the 'rounds are gone. The replacement for one of them? He kicks ass. He's one of the guys repsonsible for hiring me (and responsible for my exit!) and I still think the guy rules whether or not I always agreed with him. He's smart. He gets it. Plenty of them do. There's another longtime VP there who similarly rules. All love there.

Anyway: Matt Damon as Captain James T. Kirk and Ben Affleck as First Officer Mr. Spock?

Kevin Smith thinks it's a good idea for JJ Abrams re-boot (a la the excellent "Batman Begins" and "Casino Royale") of the "Star Trek" franchise. And I sort of do, too. "Good Will Hunting" remains one of my favorite movies of all time (hey, I am Irish). And much like Robin Williams, I can see Affleck getting a Best Supporting Actor nod for "Hollywoodland," and this casting would make his reemergence nearly complete (but wait! He's got a movie to write and direct first! Also a GREAT idea. I love it!). Speaking of Kevin Smith, I totally should have gone to see him speak with Stan Lee when my friend Derek invited me.

While on the subject of reboots: you have GOT to read the Q&A Ain't It Cool did with Stallone. Witty, self-deprecating, highly-intelligent, and a blast to peruse. He has no problem answering anything the fans have to offer. Finally, I know how to use the "three sea shells" from "Demolition Man" (excellent question!).

And speaking of "Rocky" -- I wore my new Ivan Drago shirt for the first time the other night. It shreds. I actually wore it to see Throwdown, which rules, since Throwdown's drummer looks a lot like Dolph.





And speaking of shirts: trying to get some things together for this great charity, Children of the Nations. MxPx did some really great stuff with them. I can't wait to see kids wearing Demon Hunter shirts!

More later. My head hurts.