My Favorite TV Episodes - Free Streaming Online

Human Target - Series Pilot / Premier & Ep2 Rewind

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Staack) — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 06:46:00 +0000

I just caught Human Target on FOX, and was pleasantly surprised. It reminds me a little of The Pretender (which I enjoyed very much), and The Destroyer paperback book series featuring Remo Williams (one of my favorite series) with a good production budget. The first two episodes were fun, energetic, and showed great potential. I'm only vaguely familiar with it's DC Comics pedigree, a crossover with Batman, the Vertigo miniseries, or the old TV pilot - but the series didn't depend at all on any such familiarity. Hopefully it continues to do well, and has some legs. I hope it doesn't become another victim of regime change, being buried in stupid timeslots, or some other such screw-ups FOX is notorious for.

Human Target - Season 1, Episode 1 - S1E1 - Pilot - Chance switches places with a guy to save him from being blown up by an angry former employee. Chance then rescues Stephanie Dobbs from a horrifying train crash.

Human Target - Season 1, Episode 2 - S1E2 - Rewind - Chance and Winston take on protection duty on a passenger plane where they try to stop a deadly assassin from killing their client. As the plane catches fire, he puts it upon himself to save everyone else on board.

NCIS - Season 7, Episode 11 - S07E12 - Flesh and Blood

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Staack) — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 05:45:00 +0000

NCIS - Season 7, Episode 11 - S07E12 - Flesh and Blood - The episode starts when a Saudi prince manages to escape an assassination attempt while attending flight school in the United States. The team is tasked with the investigation as well as protecting the prince. Meanwhile, Tony's father appears, much to Tony's discomfort. His father is a business associate of the prince's father, and is trying to sort out a business deal. Later, the team discovers that the assassins weren't terrorists, but was in fact the prince's brother, who disliked his carefree lifestyle. However, the brother manages to escape the country due to his diplomatic immunity. Tony finds out that his father is actually a con man, and is nearly broke. However, he's unwilling confront his father. Before he leaves, Tony's father tells Tony that despite their rocky relationship, he has always loved him.

Click to watch NCIS S07E12 - Flesh and Blood - From Channel 131

NCIS - Season 7, Episode 11 - S07E11 - Ignition

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Staack) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 03:08:00 +0000

NCIS - Season 7, Episode 11 - S07E11 - Ignition - The episode starts with 2 forest rangers finding a body at the site of a forest fire. The team investigates and finds out that the pilot was flying a jet-pack and crashed. An attorney who dislikes Gibbs tries to keep him from talking to her clients. Ducky discovers that the victim had been poisoned and was already dead long before he put the jetpack on, leading to the team to suspect a third party. They figure out that it was the commanding officer, who stole technology from private companies and the Navy to build his own jet-pack and killed the victim to keep him quiet. Later, Gibbs discovers that the sly attorney was sent by an old enemy.

Click to Watch NCIS Season 7 Episode 11 - Ignition - From Channel 131

NCIS - Season Seven Episodes - Free Stream By Channel 131

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Staack) — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 13:31:00 +0000

Channel 131 is a pretty cool video site. They have available, a lot of top TV series, among which are some that are sometimes hard to find on on Hulu and Fancast. It can also be a real task finding the episodes on the network pages, since you have to navigate their hub, then their series pages, and then sort between clips and full episodes. It looks like they're just linking to the actual network streams, saving users the trouble of navigating the network pages. Cool stuff!

Note - The episode descriptions below contain spoilers! Skip over them, if you haven't already seen the episode.

NCIS - Season 7, Episode 1 - S07E01 - Season Premier - Truth or Consequences - Several months have passed since Gibbs left Ziva in Israel, and no one at NCIS has heard from her since. Concerned that something may be wrong, Tony, McGee and Abby track down her last known whereabouts, and discover that she was on a mission to take out terrorist Saleem Ulman in Northern Africa. Tony and McGee track him down to get answers about Ziva’s disappearance, but are quickly taken prisoner by Saleem. Unfamiliar with NCIS and Tony’s mission, Saleem administers a truth serum and questions Tony extensively about the inner workings of the agency, how he was able to find his base of operations and why he traveled so far in his quest. Unable to keep quiet because of the serum, Tony recaps the three months at NCIS since Ziva disappeared, and reveals that NCIS is under the impression that Ziva is dead. He tells Saleem that he traveled to Northern Africa to seek vengeance on the parties responsible. Saleem then demands that Tony reveal the identities of all NCIS agents in the region, and threatens to kill a hostage if he doesn’t speak. To Tony’s surprise, the hostage is Ziva. However, just as Saleem is about to execute Ziva, Tony tells Saleem one last thing: Gibbs is in Northern Africa too, and Saleem is about to die. Gibbs had been laying in wait the entire time, and just then takes a sniper shot and kills Saleem and the other guards watching over Ziva, Tony and McGee, allowing them to escape.

Click to open season 7 episode 1 in a new window

NCIS - Season 7, Episode 2 - S07E02 - Reunion - The team investigates a bachelor party where all three guests are murdered and left in very mysterious circumstances. One of the victims is found hanging, another is found drowned in the toilet, the third suffered from alcohol poisoning and all three are found with their heads shaved, post mortem. After a thorough investigation the team zeros in on a suspect, a police officer that had been bullied by the three victims during high school. The way that all three victims were found corresponds with the way they had tormented the cop, right down to shaving his head. They also discover that the three victims had used their Navy connections to set up the illegal sale of a decommissioned aircraft, and that the bachelor party was actually a front for the deal to go down during. The team figures the police officer had finally taken his revenge and not only killed his tormentors, but also stole their profits from the aircraft heist. However, after the officer turns up dead, the team learns that the real culprit also attended the same high school as the original three victims, and had framed the cop so they could steal the money from the aircraft job. Meanwhile, Ziva must deal with her feelings towards Tony.

Click to open season 7 episode 2 in a new window

NCIS - Season 7, Episode 3 - S07E03 - The Inside Man - When political blogger Matt Burns is found dead after being pushed off a bridge while following up on a tip, NCIS takes a special interest in his murder investigation. On his blog, Burns had accused NCIS of covering up the murder of a young Naval officer, Rod Arnett, who Burns suspected of insider trading. NCIS concluded that Arnett’s car accident was just that, an unfortunate car accident. However, unable to oversee jurisdiction over the Burns’ murder, NCIS reopens Arnett’s case. Things become even more complicated when they exhume Arnett’s body only to find that his body had been stolen. The team suspects that Burns stole Arnett’s body so that he could fuel the conspiracy that NCIS was covering up a murder. It’s discovered that Arnett gave insider information to an unassuming sandwich shop owner that he befriended while taking the train everyday. Hoping no one would ever suspect the two of them as conspiring together they agreed to split the $2 million earning. As it turns out, the sandwich shop owner, afraid his scheme with Arnett was about to be exposed, placed the tip to Burns and met him at the bridge to kill him.
Ziva resigns from Mossad as she wishes to become a full NCIS Special Agent, but, in order for this to happen, Gibbs needs to sign a consent form. The episode ends without revealing whether Gibbs signs the form.

Click to open season 7 episode 3 in a new window

NCIS - Season 7, Episode 4 - S07E04 - Good Cop, Bad Cop - When the remains of AWOL marine Daniel Cryer are found off the coast of Tanzania by a fishing boat, Ziva’s account of Mossad’s operation to take down Saleem Ulman is called in to question. It turns out that Cryer had deserted the Marines to become a soldier of fortune, and had been part of the team that Mossad had sent after Saleem. Ziva’s story that the ship they had been traveling on had gone down in a storm is proven false by the location of Cryers body, and the fact that he was shot to death confirms that something other than a storm had been responsible for the sinking of the ship. Using the location of Cryer’s body as a guide, the Navy is able to salvage the ship in question and discovers that the entire crew had been shot to death. Vance presses Ziva for more details, but her team leader, Malachi Ben-Gidon, shows up at NCIS and demands that Ziva return to Mossad’s control. Vance agrees on the condition that Malachi debriefs them on the rest of the mission. Malachi agrees and tells them that their cover had been blown and they were forced to kill everyone on the ship, and that Ziva had killed Cryer because he had been responsible for their discovery. However, when Ziva sets the record straight and tells them it was Malachi who had shot Cryer before asking questions, Vance sends him back to Israel. Through all of this Ziva was trying to get a permanent position on the NCIS team, and after proving her loyalty is accepted as an NCIS agent.

Click to open season 7 episode 4 in a new window

NCIS - Season 7, Episode 5 - S07E05 - Code of Conduct - On Halloween night the team investigates what looks to be the unfortunate suicide Lance Corporal James Korby who is found dead in his car. However, they soon discover that Korby was murdered as his organs are frozen with liquid nitrogen. Someone got Korby to drink the nitrogen and staged his death to look like a suicide. Tony can’t shake the hunch that Sara, Korby’s wife and a three-time marine widower, is involved. We soon discover that Private Singer, who belonged to Korby’s unit, was having an affair with Korby’s wife Sara. Sara also confesses to coming home to confront Korby right around the time of the crime. Just as Tony is about to cuff Sara, Gibbs realizes that Sara had nothing to do with Korby’s death, there was someone else with a real motive. Rachel, Korby and Sara’s teenage stepdaughter, was about to cash in on a pretty hefty trust fund and inheritance and the only way she knew to do it was to kill Korby and frame Sara.

Click to open season 7 episode 5 in a new window

NCIS - Season 7, Episode 6 - S07E06 - Outlaws And In-Laws - When Gibbs' boat mysteriously shows up in the San Diego harbor with two dead men in it, Vance, Gibbs and Ducky travel to San Diego knowing this investigation needs to be handled with extreme sensitivity. It turns out Gibbs dropped his boat off to Franks in Mexico but Franks is nowhere to be found. Franks shows up at Gibbs' house with his daughter in law, Leyla (Franks' deceased son's wife), and granddaughter in tow. It is revealed that the two dead men worked for a private military company that was hired by Leyla’s mother, Shada, a powerful tribal leader in Iraq, to kidnap and bring back her daughter and granddaughter to Iraq. It was her way of trying to re-establish a relationship with her estranged daughter. Franks takes full responsibility for the shooting but further investigation reveals that it was Leyla who shot and killed the men when she saw them approaching Franks. In the end, the private military company is also held responsible for bounty hunting in Mexico, and Leyla and her mother come to terms.

Click to open season 7 episode 6 in a new window

NCIS - Season 7, Episode 7 - S07E07 - Endgame - When a doctor is found murdered, Director Vance shows up at the crime scene, claiming he's seen the type of murder before. The director confirmed that the killer was a North Korean assassin, named Lee Wuan Kai. The team finds that Kai has left her DNA on the victim’s body for them. The director is completely surprised and shocked when Kai calls him at home and is sitting in his driveway. As the investigation continues, the team discovers that Kai is in town to kill a North Korean official. Meanwhile, McGee’s new love interest turns out to be working for the North Korean government and gets killed by Kai in McGee’s arms. They discover that Kai is in D.C. to kill all the men who made her an assassin as a child. Vance returns to his home to find Kai pointing a gun at his wife. Kai reveals that she is there because she wants Vance to kill her in order to finally end her pain. The director lowers his gun to help her, but his wife finishes the job instead.

Click to open season 7 episode 7 in a new window

NCIS - Season 7, Episode 8 - S07E08 - Power Down - When the power goes out, the team must solve a case relying solely on good, old-fashioned police work.

Click to open season 7 episode 8 in a new window

NCIS - Season 7, Episode 9 - S07E09 - Child's Play - After the body of a Marine is discovered in a corn field, the team investigates at a military intelligence base that uses genius children to crack military codes. The team discovers that one of the children is making collages that contain codes with important military secrets in them, secrets that are being sold. A second dead body points to the woman running the organization, but when the young girl escapes from the safe house (Ducky's house) and runs home to her mother, the team must race to save her from her would-be murderer. Meanwhile, Ducky attempts to convince Gibbs and the team to spend Thanksgiving at his house, in spite of previously made plans.

Click to open season 7 episode 9 in a new window

NCIS - Season 7, Episode 10 - S07E10 - Faith - The team works to solve the murder of a Reverend's son and they soon figure out he may be involved in a hate crime. Gibbs' father returns for Christmas and Gibbs tries to figure out why he has a sudden change in behavior right before the holidays. An old friend of Abby asks McGee for a favour - her nephew (who is living with her) wants to see his mother for Christmas, who is currently on a Marine ship in the Indian Ocean, but only McGee can make it happen.

Click to open season 7 episode 10 in a new window

Again, credit goes to Channel 131, for linking to the videos!

Criminal Minds S5E11 - Retaliation

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Staack) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 13:47:00 +0000

Criminal Minds S5E11 - Retaliation - The BAU must profile a criminal's past in order to catch him after he escapes from custody and begins a killing spree. Free stream provided by the folks at Channel131.com!

Criminal Minds S5E4 - Hopeless

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Staack) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 08:40:00 +0000

Criminal Minds S5E4 - Hopeless - The BAU track a pack of douchebag suspects who randomly murder their victims for the thrill of the kill. Stream provided by Channel 131.

Criminal Minds S5E5 - Cradle To Grave

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Staack) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 08:26:00 +0000

Criminal Minds S5E5 - Cradle To Grave - The team hunts a suspect who impregnates young women and has them give birth before murdering them; Morgan takes over as team leader. Streaming episode from Channel 131.

Criminal Minds S5E6 - The Eyes Have It

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Staack) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 08:21:00 +0000

Criminal Minds S5E6 - The Eyes Have It - The BAU is called to Oklahoma City to help local authorities track a serial killer who removes the eyes of his murder victims and keeps the eyes as souvenirs. Streaming full episode provided by Channel 131.

Criminal Minds S5E7 - The Performer

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Staack) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 08:16:00 +0000

Criminal Minds S5E7 - The Performer - The BAU is called to Los Angeles to investigate a series of killings that lead to a Goth rock star who appears to have become lost in the creepy alter-ego he portrays when he is on stage. Free streaming full episode provided by Channel 131.

Criminal Minds S5E8 - Outfoxed

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Staack) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 07:56:00 +0000

Criminal Minds S5E8 - Outfoxed - While investigating a series of murders of entire families in Hampton, Virginia, the BAU is forced to visit Red Onion State Prison to seek advice from one of the most atrocious killers from the team's past, nicknamed "The Fox" (from episode 1x07), who delivers a portentous message to Agent Hotchner. Free streaming episode provided by Channel 131.

Criminal Minds S5E9 - 100

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Staack) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 07:48:00 +0000

Criminal Minds S5E9 - 100 When The Reaper returns to Washington for a final showdown, the team works frantically to catch him before he reaches SSA Hotchner's family. Section Chief Strauss returns once again in this episode in addition to Kevin Lynch, William LaMontagne Jr., Agent Anderson, Tech Agent Sharp, U.S. Marshal Sam Kassmeyer, Haley Hotchner, Jack Hotchner, and C. Thomas Howell as George Foyet/The Reaper. Free streaming Criminal Minds episode provided by Channel 131.

Criminal Minds S5E10 - The Slave of Duty

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Staack) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 07:34:00 +0000

Criminal Minds S5E10 - The Slave of Duty - While Agent Hotchner takes a leave of absence from the BAU, the team must regroup to solve a home invasion case. Free stream provided by Channel 131.

Eddie Fatu - March 28, 1973 ~ December 4, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Staack) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:58:00 +0000

Official word is out that Eddie Fatu (aka Umaga, Ekmo and Jamal) was taken off of life support, after having suffered a heart attack earlier today. Having wrestled for many different organizations, Eddie is probably most famous for his stints in WWE as Jamal (along side his cousin Matt Anoa'i, aka Rosey) in 3-Minute Warning, or as the Samoan Bulldozer Umaga. Like so many other Samoan professional wrestlers, he was a skilled and ultra-versatile performer.

Despite his immense size - a near 300 pound super-heavyweight (often billed at 350 lbs.) - he was lighting quick and very agile. Throughout their stays in WWE, Eddie and Matt would stun audiences, by regularly flying off the top rope... A rare feat for super-heavyweights, in the WWE. I've seen Eddie go nearly the full length of the ring, attempting a body splash. I've seen guys literally half his weight struggle to get that much distance off of ropes, or even cables. But Eddie wasn't just a bunch of fancy moves - he could really sell offense and defense, and had exceptional ring awareness and was tuned into the audience. As a monster heel, he didn't just squash people with a few power moves, he was terrorizing everyone at ringside with his focused high-energy presence and guttural yells. He knew how to work to the crowd, took his time when menacing his opponent, and would build up his moves so they looked even more devastating to the audience. For a dude his size, he was also a pretty safe worker. He knew how to execute humongous moves and convincingly throw his weight around, without crippling anyone or taking any great liberties with other talent.

I've always been a big fan of Samoan professional wrestlers, since I was a kid. The legendary Anoa'i family has been booked every which way imaginable, from franchise-carrying babyface superstars to monster heels, and everywhere in between. With a little creativity, whole organizations could be booked around standouts, like Eddie's cousin, Dwayne Johnson, whoe helped carry the WWE for years as The Rock. Rodney Anoa'i, as Yokozuna, was one of the most dominant heels in the mid '90s. In teams, they could be utilized as powerhouse stables, or even feuding amongst their ranks. As such, I was excited when Eddie & Matt (previously working as the Island Boyz) showed up years back, as Eric Bischoff's enforcers - 3-Minute Warning. They came in strong, but were quickly split up (much too soon, IMO). When Eddie stormed back as the monster heel Umaga, I saw limitless potential for his character. I always wanted to see him and Matt teamed back up, as a modern day equivalent of the Wild Samoans. Incorporating Afa Jr. or Jon Fatu (son of Solofa Fatu Jr., aka Kishi) would have also been sweet, though I think it also would have been cool if they built them up by feuding against one or both of them. Really, there were just so many ways to utilize the current generation of Samoan wrestlers, and the industry takes a great hit in the loss of Eddie Fatu.

Cross-posted on my Livejournal - Re: Eddie Fatu

Metal Gear Solid: Philanthropy - A Highly Recommended Fan Movie

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Staack) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:22:00 +0000

The first completed chapter of Metal Gear Solid Philanthropy, The Overnight Nation, is available to watch streaming or for download (total run time 1 hour, 10 minutes including extra features after the credits). Although you can watch the stream, below, the visual effects and audio are good enough to warrant downloading the higher-fidelity versions.

Click For Download Options
This non-profit fan movie, by Giacomo Talamin and presented by Hive Division, is better than many theatrical releases. The story is engrossing, while staying reasonably true to the source material (with events taking place largely in 2007, after the founding of the anti-Metal Gear group, Philanthropy, presumibly before the tanker incident). The acting is pretty competent, with a few moments seeming a little quirky and forced - but actually very-well emulating the style of Hideo Kojima, which has similar moments. As stated, the effects are very good, considering its grassroots origin. The 3D, matting, lighting, environmental and special effects are all a step above many direct-to-DVD films, and even some lower-budget theatrical releases. The audio is exceptional, except for the levels on a few bits of dialogue - again, emulating a few quirks native to the Metal Gear Solid games. The score is very good, suiting the movie very well. The costumes and makeup are on par with many direct-to-DVD films, and low-budget theatrical releases. The props and weaponry are good, though some of the tactics are a little strange... But - again - fit perfectly within Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear world.

In all, I thought it was really good, and I heartily recommend it to any Metal Gear fan, who is willing to give it a chance. I look forward to additional chapters. It's very apparent a lot of care and work has gone into its production. I hope as much, or more, care and consideration for the source material is taken by the official theatrical production, due out in a year or so.
Screen Captures (click each to see full version):

Cross-posted to my LiveJournal, Testimonial Blog, and even my little Anime Blog.

ECW #142 - Featuring Christian vs. Jack Swagger

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Staack) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 20:09:00 +0000

Christian and Jack Swagger had several GREAT matches in the beginning of 2009, and this was one of the better ones. Pretty much, from this point on, ECW has consistently been a better wrestling program than the WWE's flagship show, RAW, in my earnest opinion. Original broadcast was 02/23/2009. Stream provided by Hulu.

Psych - Season4, Episode 3 (S4E3) - High Noon(ish)

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Staack) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 03:26:00 +0000

Psych - Season4, Episode 3 - S4E3 - High Noon(ish): An Old West tourist attraction called Old Sonora, run by Sheriff Hank Mendel (James Brolin), is in danger of being shut down due to sabotage. Since Lassiter is very fond of the town - he spent many weekends there as a child - he enlists Shawn and Gus to investigate. Thanks, Hulu!

Psych - Season4, Episode 2 (S4E2) - He Dead

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Staack) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 02:22:00 +0000

Psych - Season4, Episode 2 - S4E2 - He Dead The private jet of billionaire hedge fund manager Warren Clayton crashes in a forest. Shawn and Gus manage to find him first and are asked to fulfill his dying wish: to find out who killed him. His widow (Christine Baranski) is one of the suspects, and as Shawn digs deeper, he uncovers more than a murder. At the same time, Abigail (Rachael Leigh Cook) insists on meeting Henry, which Shawn isn't ready for due to their complicated relationship. Online streaming episode, provided by Hulu.

Psych - Season4, Episode 1 (S4E1) - Extradition: British Columbia

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Staack) — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 02:22:00 +0000

Psych - Season4, Episode 1 - S4E1 - Extradition: British Columbia: While on vacation in Vancouver, Shawn and Gus are suddenly on the trail of elusive art thief Pierre Despereaux (Cary Elwes). Since Lassiter has been trying to arrest this criminal for years, he and Juliet arrive in Canada as well, and Shawn believes that this thief has pulled off the perfect crime, until he realizes what's really going on. Stream provided by Hulu.

Nutnfancy Review: SOG Flash II: Light Weight, Big Blade

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Staack) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 05:14:00 +0000

Nutnfancy Review: SOG Flash II: Light Weight, Big Blade

The Nostalgia Critic - The Super Mario Bros. Super Show

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Staack) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 07:04:00 +0000

The Nostalgia Critic - The Super Mario Bros. Super Show

Bas Rutten Street Defense

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Staack) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 03:00:00 +0000

Do not mess with Bas Rutten.. He'll MESS YOU UP!!

Re: NCIS - Marine Bravo-51 Sniper Rifle "Kate" Mythology

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Staack) — Sun, 24 May 2009 22:50:00 +0000

I actually get a couple of inquires every month, and lots of traffic from people Googling about the Marine Bravo-51, which was used to kill NCIS Special Agent Caitlin "Kate" Todd (portrayed by Sasha Alexander) at the end of season 2 (continuing into the season 3 premier episodes) of the popular CBS drama NCIS.
Photo, courtesy of Jakub of imfdb.orgThe genuine Bravo-51 is a Remington M700 tactical bolt-action rifle, expertly customized by Tactical Operations Inc. (Tac-Ops), in California. It's one of a series of duty-specific rifles (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, etc.) by Tac-Ops, popular among military, police, Coast Guard, hunters, survivalists, and more.

The Bravo-51 is most-often chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO (.308 Winchester), with a reasonably flat trajectory for engaging within 300 ~ 700 meters (in my opinion), and a short case designed for reliable feeding in a short action. .300 Winchester Magnum variants are also available. They're outfitted with match grade heavy barrels (457mm, 508mm, 559mm, or 610mm) and threaded for a suppressor, in a fiberglass McHale stock with aluminum pillars, Harris bipod, scope mounts / Picatinny rail, and sling.

Most just refer to it as Bravo-51, if anything at all. From the Marine friends I've asked, they hadn't ever seen one deployed, but apparently Sniper Platoons were trained in their use. It seemed to be more associated with the Army, within which I (regrettably) haven't yet any friends to ask. NCIS writers seem to have employed a little artistic license, and tenuously basing the "Kate" mythology on a US Army National Guard sharpshooter who runs the Sniper Central webpage. When he served, he was issued an Army M24 SWS, he had named Kate (pic) - a common tradition. After serving, he ordered himself a Spec-Ops Bravo-51, which he dubbed Kate II - presumably to honor his original M24, Kate, with which his Bravo-51 shares many similarities. Besides this, I'm not aware of any other connections to the Bravo-51 rifle, and the nickname Kate.

Lyoto Machida - New UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion - Full UFC98 Video Streaming in High Quality

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Staack) — Sun, 24 May 2009 07:36:00 +0000

Lyoto Machida
UFC Light Heavyweight Champ
All Photos, Courtesy of ZUFFA, LLC.
Click For UFC98 Streaming Video

UFC 98 was a pretty good show, with several interesting fights. The bad blood between former UFC Welterweight Champs Matt Serra and Matt Hughes culminated in a great back-and-forth battle, with both fighters displaying their strengths, and Hughes walking away with a unanimous decision victory. But, the big thrill - even though I honestly saw it coming months in advance - was the undefeated Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida beating the previously-undefeated "Sugar" Rashad Evans for the UFC Light-Heavyweight title. Although I was rooting for Machida, the truth is that Evans is VERY capable of knocking any fighter out in the blink of an eye, and was on the edge of my seat the entire fight. To the untrained eye, there wasn't much action, but you could see them feeling each other out and trying to find any flaw they could exploit. Both quick and seemingly-unorthodox strikers, with knockout power, you could see them switch up stances, feigning, and reading each other for minutes at a time. After some quick encounters, Machida managed to drop Evans with an expertly-timed low-kick, straight-right combination, and press him until Rashad regained his balance. Into the second round, Machida caught Evans in an exchange with a stiff left, and kept on top of him with a Chuck Liddell-like flurry of punches, before putting Rashad to sleep with another left on the button

"Oh shi..."

.

I admit, I was a little late to jump on the Lyoto Machida bandwagon. While he held early victories over future champions Rich Franklin and "The Prodigy" B.J. Penn, they occurred early in each fighters' careers, so you could accept them being flukes. As well, being associated with Antonio Inoki, who always seems to inspire rumors of fight fixing and shady-doings, didn't help his credibility. But, after seeing more and more footage, and reading about his style, I was intrigued. Here was an elusive fighter, with very precise Karate striking - which is very hard to predict, since kicks aren't telegraphed as much, and even harder to counter since strikes are often thrown with the head back and out of range. He's pretty much been training in street-modified Shotokan Karate, with his father Master Yoshizo Machida, since he was a baby. To add to it, Lyoto has trained in Sumo (effective takedown defense), and recently earned his BJJ black belt from the legendary Nogueira brothers. That's a hell of a skill-set, and he's put it to good use by earning an increasingly-impressive string of victories over some serious competition - including a dominant performance against another former champ, Tito Ortiz. To date, nobody has really even caught Machida and done any kind of damage to him. Taking the title from a still-evolving Rashad Evans further showcases how his relatively unique style, on top of his great physical and mental conditioning, is proving to be effective in MMA.

Click here to see UFC98, streaming at 300k, 700k, and 1200k high quality, in case you missed it!
The current list of UFC champs seems like the most dynamic bunch of fighters to date, all being considered among the very best in their respective specialized styles, while continuing to build on top of it. UFC Lightweight Champ B.J. Penn's moniker, "The Prodigy," describes him to a tee - he's a world-renowned BJJ expert, with just about as many wins from strikes as submissions. UFC Welterweight Champ, Georges "Rush" St-Pierre, is another Karate-inspired fighter, with swift and lethal circular-style Kyokushin striking and movement, who is also expertly versed in wrestling and submissions. UFC Middleweight Champ, Anderson "The Spider" Silva (left), is one of the most skilled and lightning-fast Muay Thai kickboxers in MMA history, who is also a Nogueira BJJ black belt and argued to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world today. The interim UFC Heavyweight Champ, Frank Mir, is and extremely-dangerous Ricardo Pires BJJ black belt, with expanding Kenpo and Muay Thai skills, who managed to be the first person in the history of MMA to stop Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira while on the comeback trail from a heinous motorcycle accident that would have killed of permanently crippled most people. The current UFC Heavyweight Champ, Brock Lesnar, is a freestyle wrestling monster and NCAA Division I Champ so physically gifted, he managed to defeat the legendary Randy Couture to earn the belt after only 3 professional fights. And, the sick thing is, despite this eclectic collection of supermen holding UFC gold, there always seems to be new fighters showing up in each respective division who - with some time and the proper guidance - could be even more monstrous. The level of competition, even on the smallest shows, has leaped up at a tremendous rate in just the last 2 or 3 years. MMA, as a sport, is just exploding with new talent, and ever-evolving dangerous skill-sets making their way to the top. I for one welcome our future rulers.
Cross-posted to my LiveJournal and Misc. Blog

House - Season 5, Episode 24 "Both Sides Now"

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Staack) — Tue, 12 May 2009 03:17:00 +0000

House - Season 5, Episode 24 (s5e24) - "Both Sides Now" - House and the team are intrigued by Scott, a man who has undergone a corpus callosotomy procedure to treat epilepsy. At the same time Cuddy and House try to deal with their relationship, or lack thereof. House enters a mental health facility after he becomes unable to tell fantasy from reality. Full streaming episode, courtesy of our alien masters, Hulu!

House - Season 5, Episode 20 "Simple Explanation"

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Staack) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 02:05:00 +0000

House - Season 5, Episode 20 (s5e20) - "Simple Explanation" - An older woman, Charlotte, who has been taking care of her husband Eddie (guest star Meat Loaf) for the last six months, is rushed to Princeton-Plainsboro for treatment after collapsing at Eddie's deathbed from respiratory failure. The case is further complicated as Eddie's condition improves while Charlotte's deteriorates. Meanwhile, the team try to deal with their grief over the suicide of Kutner. Streaming episode provided by Hulu.

Alternate stream, here