The Shallow End of the Pool

I don't have much to say today, and I'm leaving for Florida for a week to visit family so I won't be updating again until after my trip. So I'll tide everybody over with some random nonsense until I return.

If you haven't seen Vh1's "SuperGroup," it should not be missed. Sebastian Bach is clearly not living on the same planet as the rest of us, although his genuine love for what he does shines through.

Also on the TV front, Phil Hellmuth has taken over as the poker expert on the latest season of "Celebrity Poker Showdown." I already miss Phil Gordon. Hellmuth seems very uncomfortable and just doesn't offer as much as Gordon did.

And with that segue, I picked up Phil Gordon's "Little Green Book" a few weeks ago on my brother's recommendation and it is absolutely fantastic. I played a tournament online the other day after finishing the book, and ended up taking 3rd place out of 120 entrants. It was only a $5 entry fee and my finish earned me $75. Not a bad return on my investment. Anybody who is serious about poker should check it out.

Moving on to the movie theatre, I've seen a slew of films over the past two months. In a nutshell, I loved "Mission: Impossible III." A huge step up from the lackluster second effort. On the flipside, "X-Men: The Last Stand" was a bit of step down from the incredible second chapter, although I still enjoyed it. Pixar's "Cars" extended that studio's incredible run; in my opinion, they have yet to make a movie that is anything short of extraordinary. Also on the animated front, "Over The Hedge" was very enjoyable. Steve Carrell stole the film as an over-excited squirrel. "Poseidon" was just okay. Nothing spectacular, but it didn't suck, either. Next up, Jack Black in "Nacho Libre" and the highly anticipated "Superman Returns."

More to come when I return next week.