• Hey there, folks. Haven’t written one of these in a while and I figured it’d be a good time to check in. We’ve been busy around here lately, so it’s been sort of all business rather than just chatting about things. Still, it’s good to update on stuff every once in a while.

I finally joined the land of the speedy with a new DSL connection installation at the house yesterday. Now, with Chris’s cable connection at his place and my DSL at mine, we should be able to pass important files back and forth easier, hopefully allowing us to post some bigger stuff on the site. More multimedia, for example. Anyway, it’s a good thing. Coindidentally, if any of you internet-savvy folks out there know of a fast, free news (NNTP) server that carries the binary groups, let me know. We’ve been using a monthly pay service and it’s beginning to become a drag. ISP news servers just don’t cut the mustard these days, alas.

Oh, and while I’m asking about stuff, if anyone’s looking to get rid of an older PC that’s just collecting dust in the closet, let me know. I’m looking for a fast 486 or a slow pentium PC (no monitor needed). Drop me a line if you’re feeling charitable or want to let one go really cheaply. Naturally, I’d cover all shipping costs for the unit.

On the web front, Chris has been putting together materials for our new View Askew 5 site. There’s more news coming on that in a couple of days, actually, so watch for that. We also haven’t forgotten about the News Askew merchandise idea, and are getting closer to making News Askew mousepads (on sale through the Stash) a reality. If all of you that voted in the poll topic way back when were serious about purchasing one, we expect them to be a hot-selling item.

Other than that, still business as usual here at News Askew, though we’re doing our best to juggle personal lives, day jobs, and keep this site as current as possible all the while. With the holiday season approaching, things get a little tougher, but you can always be sure that we’ll get the big news online ASAP. And, on that note, here’s the headlines:

• Many of you heard Kevin’s unannounced (at least, one we didn’t know about) on New York’s afternoon radio drivetime show “Opie & Anthony”. Sorry we didn’t have notice of this appearance up for you to catch. We’d previously heard of these guys only through Howard Stern, who doesn’t much care for them (because they stole his format, basically, though we hear they’re big fans of Howie’s). At any rate, here’s a summary of the 10 minute appearance, courtesy of their message board:

You can visit O&A’s official site HERE.

• The Yahoo website’s got a club system set up, which is basically a place for folks to meet who have similar interests. They’re often good places to gather information, chat with friends, and the like. In the past couple of days, TWO new clubs that you might be interested in have appeared. First of all, Vincent’s “A Better Place” has its own area (and it’s about time!) which you can access HERE. We expect Vincent himself is a member and will stop by often. Also, there’s a “Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back” club which, naturally, will feature discussion on the new Kevin Smith flick due next summer. Enjoy!

• Just a teaser: Kevin will appear in Roger Ebert’s Movie Answer Man column again this Sunday. A reader asks a question about why directors call it “a film by So-n-so” at the beginning of a flick and at the end list themselves as the director. Ebert turned to Kevin to answer the question. We’ll have the full text for you this weekend.
• Betty Aberlin, the woman who played the nun in Dogma’s opening airport scene, is better known for her role on a show that most of us in our 20’s watched growing up. Now, she’s taping her final appearance in that role:

• We’ll be back tomorrow, don’t forget there’ll be a new PSYCOMIC piece from Kevin!