Random Thoughts 10/29/10

What is the number one baby name for boys in Great Britain? Mohammad. Seriously. The top 5: 1. Mohammad (and variant spellings) 2. Oliver 3. Jack 4. Harry 5. Alfie. I'm not sure which is more disconcerting, Mohammad or Alfie.

All the contentious details have been worked out to produce The Hobbit films in New Zealand. The unions nearly killed it (or forced the movie to move to another country) but they gave in, the New Zealand politicians kissed the appropriate studio backsides, and everything is going forward. It sounds like there is some lingering resentment from all sides including some of the non-striking workers who would have lost their jobs but that's how things work in these cases.

Bilbo and Dr. Watson

English actor Martin Freeman has been cast in the role of Bilbo Baggins and I can now vouch for his acting chops. Freeman is starring as Dr. Watson in the new Brit television series "Sherlock," which re-imagines Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in modern-day London. I love it! The first episode was on PBS last Sunday (or watch it online) and it was fantastic. I like the current film-version of Sherlock Holmes alright, but this modern version somehow seems closer to the original stories than Robert Downey, Jr.'s version… and every bit as funny/quirky. There are only three episodes so far, but Freeman's Hobbit schedule specifically allows him time to film more Sherlock episodes in the next couple of years.

One more note on Martin Freeman: look carefully and you'll recognize the future Hobbit in a few Simon Pegg movies.

The Men's Retreat at Mission Lake Christian Camp is one week from tonight. If you're going to be there please make sure you RSVP me ASAP.

I got my mom to use Apple's new FaceTime video conferencing on her iMac. I think she likes it!

Good news and bad news for all you Battlestar Galactica nerds. A prequel series called "Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome" has been greenlit for production. It'll star a young rookie pilot William Adama as the main character in an action-driven series. The bad news? The prequel series "Caprica" is canceled immediately. "Caprica" was moved from its regular slot to make room for wrestling, of all things, and never recovered in the ratings. Why is wrestling even on the sci-fi channel?!