Top Gear Series 11… yes, it’s really happening.

Good ol’ Andy Wilman (Top Gear’s producer) sent me (and millions of others) an email this morning, and it’s primarily about the Top Gear gang getting together to brainstorm for new ideas.

At 10.30, half an hour after the appointed start time, James rang and said he was lost, going round in circles in Watford. Jeremy meanwhile, in honour of the brainstorm, had brought along a laser pointer for the power point presentation, with which he managed to blind the waitress bringing in the tea and coffee facilities.

Humor aside, there are several juicy details concerning the upcoming season.

“Gear” becoming official?

We’ve all known for some time now that NBC was (supposedly) preparing an American Top Gear spinoff called “Gear,” which was to star Adam Carolla as the host. Amazingly, it seems that this story wasn’t complete bollocks, as NBC now has mention of a Top Gear-esque “new show” on their website.

In fact, it’s so Top Gear-esque, it’s called… Top Gear? Huh?

Sounds good to me. Don’t worry about making some crappy American spinoff that can’t do auto reviews because of corporate sponsorship. Jeremy Clarkson is oodles better than ol’ Adam, anyway.

To Africa.

It’s not often that one finds religious quotation on Crispy Quips, but the other day I found a beautifully written piece by Bishop Catherine Roskam concerning western relations with Africa and the situation that much outside influence has created. A short quotation from this wonderful piece follows.

I am sorry, Africa.
Of all the places we have exploited - and we have exploited many - it is only from you that we have also stolen the people.

I would strongly encourage everyone to browse to “Blane,” a blog written by a Rhodesian which has a copy of Roskam’s transcript… amazingly appropriate considering that Rhodesia itself no longer exists due to the strife of Africa.

Bueller? Bueller?

Anyone here remember Ferris Bueller’s Day Off?

That movie featured many memorable items. The first that comes to my mind, however, is the famous scene in which a Ferrari 250 GT California goes flying backwards through the window of Cameron’s dad’s garage. Of course, it was no real 250 GT; the car featured in the movie was actually a Ford Mustang with a special body kit. However, the 250 GT California is a real Ferrari, and perhaps one of the most well known (and best looking) Ferraris ever made.

Of course, Ferrari never likes to let a good car go by the wayside (think Superamerica), and so they have revamped their famous 60’s roadster and embodied its essence in something fully modern: the new 2009 Ferrari California. With that name, I like it already.

Same-Sex Marriage Legalized in California.

w00t!

Same-sex marriage has FINALLY been legalized in California. From the New York Times:

The California Supreme Court, striking down two state laws that had limited marriages to unions between a man and a woman, ruled on Thursday that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry. The 4-to-3 decision, drawing on a ruling 60 years ago that struck down a state ban on interracial marriage, would make California the second state, after Massachusetts, to allow same-sex marriages.

It’s about time! Separate-but-equal DOESN’T WORK… and it’s been proven time and again.

““This decision will give Americans the lived experience that ending exclusion from marriage helps families and harms no one,” said Evan Wolfson, executive director of Freedom to Marry, who noted that same-sex marriages were legal in Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, South Africa and Spain. Opponents said they expected the proposed ballot initiative, which has been submitted to election officials with more than one million signatures, to pass in November.”

I’m proud to be Californian again… unless, of course, the religious bigots hell-bent on oppressing people who harm no one get their way. We can’t let that happen! Keep Same-sex marriage legal in California!!! Keep equal rights!!!

Product Review: “No More Heroes” for Nintendo Wii.

A Wii-exclusive title not made by Nintendo? Yes, it’s true! (And yes, there will be many, many more thanks to Wii sales)

No More Heroes places you into the action as Travis Touchdown, a young thug from Santa Destroy, who’s out to raise his rating on the list of top assassins. Seriously, this game really keeps a list.

At first glance, the game may seem like one to pass up. But the art design, the controls, and (amazingly) the story make this game a must-have for any Wii owner.

BMW to take on Audi’s R8?

Unless you’ve been under a rock (or perhaps not interested in high-end cars), you’ve surely heard of Audi’s amazing R8 supercar. It’s got it all: style, performance and grace, and deals with all of them in a fresh new way that other companies (even Ferrari, in fact) may have difficulty matching. The R8 is both a performance car and a technophile’s dream, and it makes no bones about it.

BMW, on the other hand, have been busy uglying up their cars for the past few years. Certainly, performance is still good, and reliability is said to have been improved, but a quick look at a new M3 or M5, and one realizes that the dream is over. These cars are so ugly that all desire for speed or performance is ripped from one’s body at the very sight of the curvy little headlamps.

The question has been posed: can a company now busy with ruining previously good cars release a car that is good enough to take on Audi’s new juggernaut? If a new BMW concept is any indication… maybe.

Wesley Snipes goes to prison.

The famed Wesley Snipes has been sentenced to prison, and for once, it’s no Paris Hilton-esque stint: he’s going for 3 years.

It was Denzel Washington and not Wesley Snipes who recently played the “American Gangster,” but perhaps it should have been the other way around; Snipes was sentenced to prison on 3 counts of misdemeanor Tax Evasion… in other words, he didn’t file 3 returns. Interestingly, 3 years is the maximum sentence for such a crime.

Product Review: Samsung SyncMaster 953bw

For any of you in the market for a new monitor, take note: you won’t do better than Samsung.

For me, this is a rather new development. I’ve used a Mag Innovision CRT at home for… oh, about 8 years now, and I’ve used a ViewSonic at work. I’ve been happy with both, until now.

Samsung’s SyncMaster 953bw is brand new. It’s more stylish than its predecessors, has a quicker response time, better color management features, and (most importantly), it’s cheaper.

Britain smells the Germans.

It seems that a pungent odor has permeated southern England… yes, almost all of southern England.

The so-called “Euro-whiff” has been described as reminding one of “manure or sulphur”, and the predominant theory points to one origin: the Germans.