Dave Caolo

It’s fantastic. The plot, which I won’t reveal, makes every aspect acceptable and sets up potential sequels. The actors capture the essence of their characters without doing impressions (Bones and Scotty* are particularly good. Heck, they all are), there are plenty of goodies to delight old-time Trekkies and the action is unlike anything in a previous Trek offering.

Go and see it right now.

*Scotty should have been introduced sooner, because Simon Pegg was a lot of fun. That’s my only complaint.

The two iPhone games I keep returning to are Frenzic and Zen Bound; Frenzic because the gameplay is a perfect match for the iPhone’s size, touch screen and portability, and Zen Bound because it’s an atypical puzzle game and a lot of fun (especially for the closet bondage fetishist).

The idea is to wrap wooden objects in rope, thereby “painting” them. You’re successful when you’ve covered 98% of the object. It’s a game that rewards patience and planning.

The visuals are terrific. You feel the pull of the rope and the “weight” of the object. Shadows and lighting react to your twists and turns and each surface seems gritty enough to soil your fingers while offering realistic depth-of-field.

The soundtrack is just as good and available as a free download with purchase of the game. I listen to it while working all the time.

According to Touch Arcade, objects slated to be added include Childhood, Old Days (1920s or so), 50s Sci-Fi and Retro Gaming. I can’t wait.

Look for it on March 9th. Zen Bound costs $4.99US [App Store link]. There’s also a free lite version.

The once mighty Star Wars galaxy has become a parody of itself, largely in part to shamelss, incessant merchandising. I can’t respect a franchise that’s so obviously used as a cash grab.

The folks at Spyglass must have the same goal for Star Trek movie as their marketing eruption gets underway. I’m sure I’ll be completely turned off by May.

I love Scranton, Pennsylvania. The way Di Nero loves NYC. The way Bostonians love David Ortiz. I love it.

I love the endless rows of nearly-identical homes wrapped in faded aluminum siding. I love slate sidewalks. I love sitting on the front porch, the fake “grass” underfoot and talking to the neighbor across the street who’s sitting on his porch, for hours at a time.

I love the chili dogs served at St. Ann’s Novena. Travel the entire planet and you’ll not find a tastier combination of hot dog, bun, chili and mustard. Served on their own, each ingredient is ordinary, but the combined result is transcendent. Don’t ask me how.

I love that I can still recall skits performed by 107 DJs Daniels and Webster when I was in jr. high school because they were that damn funny. I love that the Christmas lights in the Times Tower never come down.

I love a city populated by 70,000 honest, hard-working blue collar people who want to put in a week’s labor, catch a Yankees game, grab a tray from Maroni’s, bring the kids to Nay Aug and go to bed content with happy children, bills paid and friends and family nearby.

I love that while my wife and I were touring Italy for our honeymoon, she turned to me upon entering a small, family store selling meats and cheeses and said, “Wow, this is just like Catalano’s.”

I love buying bootlegs in The Electric Mind Shaft. I love Electric Mary. I love people who remember Skateaway, Hatchy Milatchy and Manny Goron. I love the IGA and South Side bowl. I love driving down Fireman’s Hill with the lights off.

I know that you love Scranton, too. Really love it. Let’s talk about Scranton. What do you love? The comments are now open.

From Spike Jonze. Max, his PJ’s and the monsters themselves all look fantastic. Can’t wait.

From Apple to the US Festival to Wheels of Zeus to Segway Polo, Woz is always up for a fun challenge. It’s awesome to see him on Dancing with the Stars. Your nerd minions love you, Woz!

Episode 23 of The Sci-Fi Cast is now ready.

Below is a gallery of screenshots I took this morning of the Kindle for iPhone application [App Store link]. Buying a book via Mobile Safari sucked, but watching it magically appear without having to sync the iPhone or connect it to anything was nice. The text is easy to read and navigation works as you’d expect, though it lacks the eye candy of Classics and the Iceburg books.

For now, you must purchase books and subscriptions via Mobile Safari or your desktop browser. That’s the speed bump here. As soon as users can buy content from the app itself, it’ll be killer.

Here’s our initial post on TUAW. Speaking of which, I’m currently writing an “iPhone eBook Reader Smackdown” for TUAW, featuring Classics,  Iceburg, Stanza, Bookshelf and Kindle. Look for it later this week.

Update: Here’s the Wall Street Journal’s coverage, as well as that from The New York Times and The AP. Here’s a nice side-by-side comparison of the iPhone app and a Kindle 2.

That’s all well and good, but the real fun for me is watching the world’s reaction in real time.

From Louis CK on the Conan show. Fantastic.

Boxes of Trix, Kix and Wheaties with old-school packing have begun showing up a Target and elsewhere in the US. Check out how absolutely stunning they are, and how busy the current designs are by contrast.

[Via Coudal]