.12/3 -	Kahuna notes: We got 34° right now and we're supposed to get more snow later. It could get sloppy. Hey #12 Michigan State (4-1) host #1 North Carolina tonight at 9:15pm on ESPN. Hopefully those guys with good hands and shots will show up. We'll see. Go State! ... Now I'm heading out to meet Kahunette for lunch ;)
.	Gaming Scene News:.
	Fallout 3 review -  9.2/10  Oooh !
	Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor preview.
	Q&A - City of Heroes.
	Lawsuits against EA DRM in Spore moving forward.  Responding to accusations these suits are frivolous, one of the attorneys said, "...just because you buy a game doesn't mean that a company can do whatever it wants to your computer. I find it somewhat ironic that game companies or any company would seek to protect its own intellectual property rights by infringing on the intellectual property rights of the computer owner." Amen!
	Dynasty Warriors 6 review -  5/8  Hmmm...
	Hardware Scene News:.
	Dell Studio XPS Intel Core i7 System review -  86%  Oooh !
	Dell snags Microsoft as data center customer.  Dell is one of the companies that helps power MS's server farms, including the ones that power Microsoft's operating system in the cloud, Windows Azure.
	Netbooks dominate Cyber Monday on Amazon.  The mini-laptops, with 7-inch to 10-inch screens, are popular because they're about half the size of a normal laptop and much lighter, usually less than 1.5 kilograms (3.3 lbs). They also cost less, but allow people to surf the Internet wirelessly and work on full, if downsized, keyboards.
	Asus: $200 netbooks next year.  Asus plans to take on the $199 OLPC XO laptop with a $200 small, cheap computer for the developing world. The company is keeping mum about the details of the machine, saying only that it'll debut in Q1 2009 for $200.
	ZPower bets on silver-zinc batteries for laptops.  ZPower says silver-zinc batteries are more powerful than lithium-ion, safer, and potentially more earth-friendly as well.
	Patriot 128GB Warp SSD review -  9.15/10  Oooh !
	Tech Scene & Miscellaneous News:.
	Vista Service Pack 2 beta 2 out Thursday.  Nothing special to look forward to - SP2 includes all of the updates that have been delivered since the release of SP1, and incorporates some improvements discovered through automated feedback. This time around, the public is apparently invited to download SP2.
	White House rejects cell-tower backup power plan.  The White House has rejected a plan by the FCC to require eight hours of backup power on every cell-phone tower in the country. Damn, seemed like a reasonable idea to me since just about everyone out there is now using cell phones to communicate.
	Massive new botnet building on Windows hole.  The worm exploiting a critical Windows bug that Microsoft patched with an emergency fix in late October is now being used to build a fast-growing botnet. The worm is known as 'Downad.a' by Trend, 'Conficker.a' by MS and 'Downadup' by Symantec.
	Study confirms mobile phones distract drivers.  A study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, confirms that Mobile phone calls distract drivers far more than even the chattiest passenger, causing drivers to follow too closely and miss exits. However, California's ban on using a handheld cell phone while driving isn't working. Using a hands-free device does not make things better and the researchers believe they know why - passengers act as a second set of eyes, shutting up or sometimes even helping when they see the driver needs to make a maneuver. Interesting study.
	.Tuesday 1:50 PM EST -
.12/2 -	Kahuna notes: Old Man Winter is kicking our asses with a vengeance. As of noon, it's 25° with the wind chill at 13°. Brrr... It finally stopped snowing this morning - we've got about 4 inches on the ground. Tomorrow the forecast is calling for a slight warm-up into the 30s with a snow/rain mix. Brutal. The rest of the week is supposed to be in the 20s. So much for global warming. ... I talked with ChiefKahuna. He had a restful night and is really enjoying being back home. So it looks like his recovery is finally on track. Hallelujah!
	.Monday 4:15 PM EST -
.12/1 -	Kahuna notes: Hey, the #12 MSU basketballers (4-1) salvaged their weekend tourney with a win against Wichita State (3-3) 65-57. Next up, MSU hosts #1 North Carolina Wednesday at 9:15pm on ESPN. Da Bears (6-6) lost to Minnesota (7-5) 34-14, giving up control of the NFC North to the Vikings. Damn.  ...  Man, we got our asses buried with snow today. Kahunette had a 2 hour delay. I talked with WindyC today. We discussed our now out of date rigs and what to do about it. I'm still thinking of waiting until Windows 7 comes out. ChiefKahuna got out of the hospital today. He's home resting comfortably. Finally. He's glad to be home. I busted out the holiday decorations for the Surf Shop. Season's Greetings! ;)
	.Saturday 9:40 AM EST -
.11/29 -	Kahuna notes: The MSU Spartan Football team (#19 BCS; #22 AP; 9-3) await their bowl assignment. Looks like they'll probably be playing in January. Meanwhile, the hapless Michigan Wolverines (3-9) will be sitting out this bowl season with the worst finish in the team's 129-year history. Ouch! It's the first time Michigan has missed a bowl game in 34 years. Double ouch!! The pitiful LieDowns (0-12) got stuffed on Turkey Day by Tennessee (11-1) 47-10. It's beginning to look like the LieDowns may not win a game this season. Why, oh why did Matt Millen and the rest of those assholes fire Steve (15-28) Mariucci after less than two years, only to keep the atrocious Rod Marinelli (10-34) for three of the worst seasons in Detroit football history? Brutal. Da Bears (6-5) travel to Minnesota (6-5) for a Sunday game at 8:15pm on NBC. This is a showdown between the leaders of the NFC North and a crucial game for the Bears to keep their playoff chances in good shape. Thursday, in the Old Spice Classic tournament, the #6 MSU Spartan Basketball team (2-1) lost to unranked Maryland (4-0) 80-62 on an absolutely horrible performance. Then Friday, #6 MSU (3-1) beat Oklahoma State (4-2) 94-79. Here we go. Same schizoid MO as last year - never knowing which team is going to show up: the brick a minute turnover kings, or the well coached accurate winners. I hope Izzo can get this shit straightened out. Sunday, #6 MSU (3-1) plays Wichita State (3-2) at 12:30pm on ESPNU. The Pistons (10-5) took out Milwaukee (7-11) 107-97, despite the practice ethics of that idiot Iverson. Currently Detroit (10-5) is 2½ games behind Cleveland (13-3) in the EC Central. Next up, the Pistons (10-5) host Portland (11-6) on Sunday at 3:00pm (no TV scheduled).  ...  Me and the Kahunette chilled yesterday. No fighting the shopping crowds. Very relaxing. I talked with ChiefKahuna and Bones. CK's water retention is in check and he's feeling even better, and is now demanding to be let out. Looks like the hospital might cave today and let him go home. I'd like to see him spend one more day being monitored in the hospital, but CK says he's going stir crazy and wants out now. Me and the Kahunette are going to take a road trip to visit him. We'll keep it brief as I'm sure the transport home is going to wear him out. A sunny day is on the docket with temps near 40°. Enjoy the weekend ;)
	.Friday 11:00 AM EST -
.11/28 -	Kahuna notes: MarkyMark visited ChiefKahuna yesterday morning and thankfully, his water retention problem was relieved with the diuretic treatment and he was feeling much better. Now, hopefully, his recovery can proceed on a more normal path.  ...  MarkyMark and his crew were at the BeachShack yesterday for Thanksgiving dinner. BigBear, BlueEyes and Herbal all made it too. We had a great time. Hey, it's Black Friday. If you're going out to do battle on the shopping front, good luck ;)
	.Thursday 8:15 AM EST -
.11/27 -	Kahuna notes: Ahhh... Turkey Day. Chow time. Feasting. Oh yeah. Here's a couple of fun tidbits from good ol' Wiki: The earliest attested Thanksgiving celebration was on September 8, 1565 in what is now Saint Augustine, Florida, but the traditional "first Thanksgiving" is venerated as having occurred at the site of Plymouth Plantation, in 1621.  ...  MarkyMark and his crew are gonna visit ChiefKahuna and then drive down for a big ass turkey dinner. We're lookin' forward to a nice visit. If you're travelin' for the holiday, be safe. Happy Thanksgiving!

 
 

	RECENT BIGKAHUNA MOVIE REVIEWS
	A word about the ratings - Since being a movie critic is not my occupation, as a rule, I generally avoid bad movies. That's why you won't see very many bad ratings here. Occasionally I go to a movie and find out the hard way it's a clunker. The other thing is, I hate critics who knock 2 or 3 points off of a rating because the movie is a seasonal comedy. My ratings are given based on other movies in the genre. Therefore, you'll see some of the seasonal fluff getting high ratings compared to dramatic, action and straight comedy movies. If you care to check the Box Office Rankings, you'll see those numbers will support most of my ratings, even though my ratings are based purely on my experience at the theatre and, as I've said, compared to other movies in the genre.
	September - Tropic Thunder:7/10.
	August - The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor:7/10.
	July - The Dark Knight:10/10.
	June - The Incredible Hulk:7/10, The Love Guru:6/10, You Don't Mess With the Zohan:6.5/10.

BIGKAHUNA GRADES EXPLAINED

We post the grades given by the reviewing website and then add a comment to give BigKahuna's take. Our grades have a little bit of overlap which gives us some flexibility in grading. Here's the key: . Primo !    -  -  BigKahuna's comment for receiving a perfect score. . Wow !     -  -  -  Top notch; scores from about 92% - 99%. . Oooh !   -  -  -  Great; scores from about 83% - 93%. . Hmmm... -  -  -  Good; scores from about 70% - 85%. . No Comment -  Average quality, about 40% - 70% . Ouch !    -  -  -  Dubious quality, less than 40%.