Somewhere in the Garden State a warden is saying, "that's the last time I show the Shawshank Redemption to the inmates on movie night."

An AP story ganked from CNN.com -

Pinups of bikini-clad women hid jailbreak route, officials say

ELIZABETH, New Jersey (AP) -- Two inmates escaped from a county jail, hiding the holes they made in the walls by putting up photos of bikini-clad women, officials said.

Otis Blunt, left, and Jose Espinosa escaped from the Union County jail Saturday night, officials say.

Authorities searched over the weekend for Jose Espinosa, who was awaiting sentencing for manslaughter, and Otis Blunt, who was facing robbery and other charges. They also launched a review of jail security.

The two got out of the Union County jail Saturday evening. The county prosecutor's office said the two apparently removed cement blocks from two walls, squeezed through the openings, jumped to a rooftop below and then made it over a 25-foot-high fence. The section they escaped from was supposed to be the most secure area of the facility.

"I'm extremely disturbed that a jail with the capability of security it has would foster a breach of this nature," County Prosecutor Theodore Romankow told The Star-Ledger of Newark for Monday's editions.

Espinosa, 20, an alleged gang member, was awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to manslaughter in a 2005 drive-by shooting in Elizabeth. Blunt, 32, was awaiting trial on charges of robbery and weapons offenses.

The men helped cover up the break by placing dummies under their bed blankets, and hiding the wall holes with magazine photos of women in bikinis, authorities said.

Excellence in marketing...

Chanukah style!

Oh. My. God.

Just in case you need to let your wee ones know not to trust their local catholic priest, here's an educational coloring book!

Happy Ninja Day!

Today is the second annual Ninja Day. In honor of the national holiday, I wanted to talk martial arts and...well, ninjas.

First, check out these links -

The search engine Ninja.com and the info site askaninja.com and of course a Wiki on the subject. And of course, check out the following...





The day has inspired me to talk martial arts, a subject near and dear to my heart.

I have been involved in the martial arts since I was twelve, starting with Ryu Renshi-Dan Karate. I am ranked in that, Shotokan, and modern Wushu. I have trained under Yao Li, and Hoy K. Lee (Jow Ga Kung Fu), and dabbled in Aikido and Tai Chi (what can I say...I get around).

Growing up, I used to watch the old Shaw Brothers films. Most were trash, and I knew that back then, but there are a number of great martial arts films and a number of names starring in those films now with whom many Americans have become familiar.

Here are some of my favorites -

10. Jackie Chan's Police Story - Based loosely on a true story about a cop protecting a witness for the state in a corrupt Hong Kong, this is among the best of Jackie Chan's films which tend to be entertaining, but cliched. This is as much police drama as it is martial arts action film.

9. The Crow - I suppose you could make an argument that this isn't technically a martial arts film. I, on the other hand, would argue that it is. Brandon Lee, Bruce Lee's son, died in a tragic on set accident when the residual remains of a bullet left in the barrel of a gun acted like a projectile when the blank behind it was activated, pushing the cartridge remains out like a bullet, and into Lee's gut.
It was, by far and away, Lee's best film and would likely have led to other roles. That said, there are some great action sequences, and the fights, while raw and lacking the precision of most martial arts films, are well choreographed.

8. The Legend of Drunken Master - Jackie Chan, the clown prince of the martial arts, starred in this humorous and entertaining look at Wong Fei Hung, China's hero of legend. Some great fight sequences featuring drunken fist.

7. Once Upon a Time in China - One of Jet Li's earliest historical martial arts epics surrounding the stories told of national hero Wong Fei Hung. A very different look at the same martial artist that inspired the previously noted Jackie Chan comedy. Directed by legendary Chinese director Tsui Hark.

6. Fearless - Billed as Jet Li's final martial arts epic, this film goes back to the roots of the international Wushu Federation. There is a definite similarity in the story to Fist of Fury in that it deals with Japan-occupied China, and the hero of the story ends up in combat with a Japanese champion at the end of the tale. There is also something of the tale of the prodigal son to the story. Beautifully filmed piece.

5. Kung Fu Hustle - From the writer/director/star of Shaolin Soccer, this cleverly covers just about every cliche from every martial arts film ever. To top it off, it's well written, fun, silly and tense all at the same time. If you haven't seen this, you need to.

4. Unleashed - Also called Danny the Dog overseas, this might be the best acting you will ever see from Jet Li. The supporting cast includes Morgan Freeman and Bob Hoskins. This is one hell of a film.

3. Ong Bak: The Thai Warrior - Tony Jaa, quite simply is one of the most impressive martial artists I have ever seen. I will pop this one into the DVD player just to skip from one fight sequence to the next. One of the best ones in this film starts and ends in about four seconds.

2. Fist of Legend - A Jet Li remake of the Bruce Lee classic Fists of Fury. The climactic fight sequence was one of my favorite fight sequences in any martial arts film ever.

1. Enter The Dragon - The Bruce Lee classic. The best film he did, and the one that was supposed to launch his American career, cut tragically short by what is believed to be a aneurysm. The movie itself was supposed to give the world an Asian super-spy, James Bond without the gadgets. It even inspired the great parody "Fist Full of Yen," in the John Landis comedy Kentucky Fried Movie.

Honorable mentions (ie: depending on my mood, many of these could bump almost anyone of the above off the above list) -

House of Flying Daggers
Jet Li's Hero
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Shaolin Soccer
Fist of Fury
The Big Boss
The Bodyguard (Tom yum goong)
Magnificent Butcher
Wheels on Meals
Black Mask
Batman Begins
Equilibrium

For those of you not familiar with the last one, a Christian Bale movie, I give you the gun kata...

Christmas on the idiot box

A little background...

I love animation, comic art, comic books and comic strips. Always have.

I love the work of Gerald Scarfe, Ralph Bakshi, the work of Hayao Miyazaki, and the advances made by Pixar. Growing up a ten minute drive from the Museum of Cartoon Art when it was located in Rye Brook, NY, I would wander the exhibits for hours, and spend time sitting in the viewing rooms watching things like the old Max Fleischer Superman cartoons (absolutely brilliant animation, by the way).

For me, as a youth, part of the magic of the holidays (be it Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, or Christmas), was the animated specials. For me, there have been a handful of greats, some classic, some relatively new, but destined to be classic.

These are, for my money, the best animated Christmas specials...

10. South Park - Technically, this isn't a Christmas special done for television, but was an animated short done for animation festivals like Spike and Mike's, and is directed at adults. But there are few Christmas related things funnier than the scene in this first South Park animated piece when Jesus shows up and yells at Santa, "Kringle, you ruined my birthday!" To which Claus replies, "there can be only one," as he whips out a samurai sword.

9. Frosty the Snowman - Not my cup of tea anymore, but a sweet piece about the enchantment and magic of Christmas for any kid.

8. Year Without a Santa Claus - Gotta give this one props for bringing us the cultural icons Heat and Cold Miser. I still find myself occasionally singing the Heat Miser song.

7. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer - Five words...The Land of Misfit Toys. I don't think I need to say anything else.

6. A Claymation Christmas Celebration -This was a result of the annoying California Raisin commercials in the 1980's and they do indeed make an appearance. In spite of that, this is a pretty entertaining collection of Christmas carols coordinated to claymation.

5. Bugs Bunny Christmas Carol - Actually, not the big BB at his best, but still an entertaining endeavor from Warner Brothers' big animated star.

4. Justice League: Comfort and Joy - If you haven't caught this one, find it. This is amongst the best of the animated series Christmas specials. Nothing says Christmas like the Flash and the Ultra-Humanite.



3. How the Grinch Stole Christmas - The classic Seussian Christmas complete with song and narration from Frankenstein himself, Boris Karloff.

2. A Wish for Wings that Work - Of all, probably my favorite, and the one I think as the best. Based on the Berkeley Breathed kids book, this features old Bloom County favorites Opus and Bill the Cat in a story as much about accepting who you are, as it is about the goodwill of the season.

1. A Charlie Brown Christmas - The sentimental favorite, the music and story is tinged with that little bit of angst that creeps in to the edges of the season for so many. More religious than I tend to like for a holiday that co-opted the pagan celebration of the winter solstice, but it still comes back to the goodwill message of Christmas. Besides...it's Charlie Brown.

Yeah, the Simpsons had some good episodes, and there were other South Park episodes, but right now, these are what I'm putting on my list. I'm sure I've forgotten shows I would want to include on the list, but anything I missed, feel free to remind me.