IS IT HULK OR THE HULK?

1. Both, it seems. The ads for the film say Hulk and the opening title of the movie says An Ang Lee Film and HULK underneath, but elsewhere in the credits for the movie and on the movie posters and in the newspapers, it says The Hulk. It’s easier to say The Hulk, I think. So I’d say it’s both, but that doesn’t make a hill o’ beans.
2. . . . So who cares?
3. . . . MINI-REVIEW. It’s pretty incredible. In fact, when you buy The Incredible Hulk TV series now on DVD you can see the movie free. It starts off slow but with a lot of setup/exposition. The characters are given time to act and that’s good. Eric Bana and Jennifer Connolly are a couple who work in the same science lab. It’s almost an hour before you see some action. But when he changes he’s huge and green and computer generated. He busts out of places, gets in fights with dogs, is caught, escapes. He can leap tall mountains and it may seem sorta dumb at first but you really have to be impressed at the animation. After all, it is a cartoon brought to life. But overall, well-done, but not for everybody.
4. King Abdullah of Jordan said on This Week With George Stephanopoulos that Saddam Hussein was like Elvis. "There are a lot of sightings," he said. How true.
5. How long is the Hollywood Walk of Fame? They keep adding people all the time. Haven’t they run out of space yet? It seems like by now it would be halfway to the moon or something.
6. . . . And it seems like nowadays, anybody can get a square on it. Standards aren’t as high.
7. LEARNED. The common earthworm (lumbricus terresetris) grows to be about 10 inches long and lives about 10 years.
8. ". . . Hotdogs, Armour hotdogs, the dog kids love to bite."
9. Christina Aguilera’s hair now is jet black. Wow, that’s a big dif. She looks like a gypsy-ish seductress on the cover of Rolling Stone with Justin Timberlake staring down the front of her open-tied dress.
10. On Friday in Baghdad it was 117 degrees in the shade and 124 in the sun. ABC’s Hilary Brown showed us a thermometer. She’s a good reporter and has had a long life in network news. That’s unusual.
11. Greta Van Susteren’s a Scientologist. That’s what Lloyd Grove of The Washington Post said. Is that okay with Fox News?
12. Bishop Thomas J. O’Brien of Phoenix really looked like his tail was between his legs when he got arrested for hit-and-run.
13. Luther Vandross’ new album, Dance With My Father, sold more than 440,000 copies and debuted at #1, his first album to do that. Good news. And he’s out of intensive care now. Hope he makes it back.
14. David Beckham, the soccer player, has his hair fixed back like a girl.
15. MSNBC called an upcoming segment on people in jail and their partners who aren’t, Jailhouse Love.
16. Dolly Parton to Al Roker who was down in Dollywood with her last week, sitting in a carriage: "We both lost a lot of weight but inside there’s a hog trying to get out." Ha Ha Ha.
17. I saw somebody on a Segway the other day in Arlington. He had a lot of space to run it. But on the streets of a big city? And Christine Todd Whitman, the former energy chief, came on David Letterman the other night riding one.
18. Hanalie, dog in the neighborhood, was boarded at the vet this past week because owner Sally had to go out of town for a few days. They call her Wiggle Butt there. And now she’s a little overweight so she’s been put on special high fiber diet.
19. SYNERGIZING. That’s a new one on me. Broadcasting term now. CBS was accused of it in its pitch to "get" the rescued soldier Pfc. Jessica Lynch for an interview when she was at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The network supposedly sweetened the exclusive interview package with some perks, including additional exposure in the form of a documentary, an entertainment show, another entertainment show on MTV and maybe a book deal. It’s the synergy of one multimedia conglomerate company splaying out all over the place in order to get "the get."
20. I doubt Star Jones wears shoes from Pay-Less but she advertises them. She ought to be made to model them in those commercials.
21. The bachelor from NBC’s For Love or Money is a big zero. He can hardly speak. And his hair. What’s going on with that? He’s like Joe Millionaire. Never looks like he dragged a comb through that mess.
22. PR CAMPAIGN. There are a couple "ads" - more like PSAs (Public Service Announcements) - for The People of Saudi Arabia running on TV now. They show life there and everything seems hunky dorey. Then they put Allies Against Terrorism on the screen.
23. Harrison Ford doesn’t look right with an earring.
24. Britain’s Prince William turned 21 Saturday. Someone said she thought he had a horse face.
25. Russ Mitchell of CBS’s Saturday Early Show said he has been anchoring the program for six years. Does one anchor a morning show? I think not. Anchors are at news desks or in news rooms, if you ask me. But I’m old-fashioned I guess.
26. That Einstein-looking lifer who hangs outside the Today show on the weekends is named Manuel. Janice Huff, the weather woman, said hello to him the other day. He nodded and again pointed his fingers. He likes to point his fingers.
27. Michael Ledeen of the American Enterprise Institute was the sole guest on Nightline the other night and sat right on the set with Ted Koppel. That’s a rare occurrence. Guests on the show are always in another studio or location. Very seldom do they sit face-to-face. Then on another night Chris Bury interviewed someone and she was on the set with him. So are they changing the concept of the show now?
28. . . . Also, I think Nightline got a new set and it’s really nice. Big round platform stage with small lights recessed in it and the show logo on the walls. Looks very classy.
29. Robin Roberts was sitting in for Diane Sawyer last week. Diane was "on a well-deserved vacation," said Roberts.
30. . . . Will people say that about me when I go on vacation?
31. ABC’s 20/20 had a report done by Lynn Sherr on hymen restoration.
32. MORON JOKE. Why did the moron close his eyes when he opened the refrigerator? He didn’t want to see the salad dressing. Think that’s funny?
33. Is the American Idol movie, From Justin to Kelly,that bad? Critics say it is but who cares what they say? They didn’t like Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello either in all their Beach Blanket Bingo movies either. They’re just kids. Let ‘em have fun.
34. Will Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore last? Already the tabloids are saying he’s cheating.
35. The new Shrek movie’s coming June 18, 2004. "not so far, far away ...," say the newspaper ads.
36. So they all went to the Charlie’s Angels premiere. Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, their girls - Rumer, Scout and Tallulah - and Ashton Kutcher. Somebody had nerve.
37. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s all over the place. He was on the cover of Parade. He’s on the cover of Muscle & Fitness. He was on Good Morning America on Monday. He’s on Regis and Kelly Tuesday. He’s got Terminator 3 coming out. He’s got a good agent. Is it all for the movie or is he gonna run for governor of California?
38. Martha Stewart had a nice umbrella the other day, heading into court. Can you buy those?
39. American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken tells the next Rolling Stone that he bites his toe nails. Uh … nice.
40. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s audio book (abridged) is available on six CDs and runs seven hours. God, that’s long. It’s a real commitment.
41. Next week’s TV Guide has the Hulk in 3-D on the cover.
42. Mr. Big Stuff has taken up juggling and he can do it with three tennis balls. It’s not easy. Next he’s gonna practice with knives.
43. UH . . . It Don’t Come Easy - Ringo Starr, on Apple Records. From 1971.

rocci@roccifisch.com

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