• Some of the regrets we have in having busy day jobs are not having time to run more events to get fans together online — So it’s always nice to know there’s places like Chat Askew out there, which has been hosting friendly online gatherings on a daily basis for quite some time now.

They’ve purchased a couple servers of their own and now have 6 servers networked together. Here they are:

Details on this big announcement at http://chat37.net/joomla/content/view/18/2/

The new network information can be found at www.chat-37.net. The updated FAQ section has lots of informationon their network services. And the #viewaskew room is always jumpin’ with a fun bunch.

We also want to say that Roger’s been kind enough to set us up with our own NewsAskew chat room there, which we do hope to soon use for some “official” type chats, perhaps even some special guests from the Askewniverse for your question asking pleasure. Winter months mean more time inside and in front of the PC up here in the Northeast, so we’re looking forward to bringing you some new features and activities to enjoy here at the site. Stay tuned.

• Catch Jason Lee late tomorrow night on Jimmy Kimmel live on your local ABC station — The program airs at 12:05 EST/PST. We’re assuming it’s to promote the new season of Earl, and perhaps the fantastic season one DVD box set.

• Jay & Silent Bob yet again return to the Horror Nights Halloween show in Orlando, Florida this year. Check out a photo from the event. We’re awaiting the inevitable barrage of costume photos, always a popular feature around this time of year.
• Vulgar’s made one website’s list of the top scariest clowns at #10. Patch Adams rightfully takes the top spot.

• Just a few quick weekend tidbits for ya here. First up, two new shots of the Clerks II DVD cover at beta portal site “Listal”. We don’t think that any changes have been made but you CAN see the little banner at the top indicating there will be a full screen edition of the set as well as a widescreen one. We think you’d be batty to get anything but widescreen, of course.

• Wanna see how Alanis is going to look on episode 6 of popular FX drama Nip/Tuck? Check out these 4 nice scans right here. Her character’s name is “Poppy”, described as “an athletic and perky woman who is into health and fitness”. She will play a love interest for the Liz character.
• And finally today, Kevin called in to the Opie and Anthony show on XM last week (10/4) to congratulate the boys on their second year anniversary since their return to radio. Most of the call was spent with Kevin talking about the Ebert and Roeper gig and just general chit-chat. He DID reveal that he planned to come in to the studio in November to promote the “Clerks II” and “Evening Harder” DVDs. We’ll certainly let you know when we get that info. You can also purchase the complete broadcast HERE right now. In the meantime, we’re working on tracking down clippage of the Kevin call, and hope to have that for you soon. Enjoy your Sunday NFL action, folks!

• We believe it’s for the first time, too, so we’re very pleased to bring fans in Hawaii their first chance to see Kevin Smith live and in person on these beautiful islands. Kevin will be attending the Louis Vuitton Hawaii International Film Festival in Honolulu and will be doing a Q&A at the beautifully restored Hawaii Theater on the 28th of October. The film festival is honoring him with their “Maverick Award” as well while he’s there at the festival.

But hey, you come to News Askew to SEE this stuff, not read about it, right? Wanna go? Get your tickets for a mere $15 at this very website. Showtime is at 7:30 HST on Saturday the 28th. And hey, don’t say we never did anything for you. Now hey, who’s got some beachfront property they want to put us up at for the weekend?

Don’t believe us? The Star Bulletin. Yeah!

• Subscribers to our News Askew YouTube feed already know — But we’re happy to inform the rest of you that we’ve now got full online clippage of Kevin’s “At The Movies” stint from this past weekend as part of our library now. Watch Kevin in his second appearance on the very popular, long running movie review program on televsion, kicking butt and looking comfortable as ever in the Roger Ebert chair as he takes on the role of reviewer (instead of reviewee) for fresh flicks this week.

What’s he think of “The Departed”, “Open Season” and more? We know. And you will know soon, as well, via our YouTube Channel. Enjoy!

• Here’s a cool one – An astue scooper (Thanks Riss!) found an old scan we were asking for, yet never received, of a Simpsons comic referencing Clerks back in 2003. Here now, for the first time on this site, is the scan of said panels. Enjoy!
• Another scan of the famous recent Buddy Christ incident can be found at the San Francisco Chronicle site, in color this time.
• MALLRATS’ Priscilla Barnes will be one of the guests at the bi-annual Chiller Theater con in NJ Halloween Weekend. Con details can be found at their website.No word if she’ll be doing any fortune-telling, though we’re guessing not.
• And finally on this fine day, not only did Salma get nods for her striptease, but Jason Lee as “Syndrome” in “The Incredibles” also gets nods as the number 5 man in a cape from movies.com. A memorable role, indeed. If you haven’t watched The Incredibles in a while, do it again. The flick really holds up, and might even play better today than when it first arrived. A true classic.

• Wow, holy cow — You crazy kids sure know how to end a contest! Mere hours after the contest was announced, it seems that many fans got click-happy and sat their butts at the PC refreshing News Askew to ensure they had a shot at the big prize and the claim of being our 20 MILLIONTH visitor — Many of you tired. And yes, we’re talking to YOU Turbobadger, Ben Roffman, Chris Davis, Anthony McConnell, Chris Cutshaw, Carl Sodergen, ArrogantJon, HomerGator, Stephen Schneider, Peter Langton, James Eakins, Fatbob, Ethan Long, Mel, John Couture, Jonathon Miller, Jon Madden, Dave Turnbull, Nick Bartlett, Enden, Tom Henry, Wes Clark, Jeff Morris, Average Joe, Joshua Cheung, Alex Eschbach, Matt Lavanco, Ben Szymkow, Tim Caballero, Croth, Eddy Eddy, Jim Page

However, there could only be one winner. Alex Traynor was 20 mil plus 4. Jordan Flanagan missed it by three. Jason Huff missed it by two. Our friend Remy in FRANCE missed it by ONE. However, one man can claim the prize and the title: That man is…

JOHN HABASHI.

So we’d like to congratulate John, and let him know that a pair of Kevin’s ex-Vans will be autographed and sent his way! Nicely hit, sir. Nicely hit.

We’d like to again thank each and every one of our readers for all they do to help us keep the site rolling. For your scoops, your visits, your support. Dig it all. Thanks so much. And congrats to our winner once again as well. We hope you all had fun trying to hit the magic number.

• Almost as popular as contest submissions today is a story floating around about the famous Buddy Christ appearing in Iraq, and causing some ire amongst the locals — And rightfully so, perhaps. Judge for yourself. This story from the Chicago Sun-Times:

Why is ‘Buddy Jesus’ in Iraq?

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraqi troops backed by American military advisers arrested a suspected Shiite militiaman Saturday, but a gunbattle at his house left a woman and a girl dead, Iraqi police said.

Afterward, angry men at the scene held up a color photo of a smiling, winking Jesus giving a “thumbs up” that they said was left by troops at the raided house — an allegation denied by U.S. and Iraqi officials.

The photo, known as the “Buddy Christ,” is from the movie “Dogma,” a 1999 religious satire in which “Buddy Christ” is part of a church campaign to improve Jesus’ image.

U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Barry Johnson said the photo was a ”rather ridiculous attempt” to discredit the raid. It was unclear how it ended up at the site in Baghdad’s Shiite stronghold of Sadr City .

The scan above comes from “The Californian”.

• Seems a new era is upon us – User-modifed inaction figures, anyone? Seems one Buffy fan has taken a couple of C.L.I.T. members and turned them into two famous slayers.

• A small mention of Clerks II heads up this review for the new “Employee of the Month” flick hitting theaters this week. Scan is above.
• And finally today, congrats to “My Name Is Earl” star Jaime Pressly. Jason Lee today seemed to confirm her alleged pregnancy in a story posted over at the IMDB. Pressly hosts a brand new Saturday Night Live this weekend.

• It’s an exciting time for us here at News Askew — We’re nearing our 10 year anniversary of the site (coming this May, we celebreate a whopping TEN YEARS bringing you the latest news from the world of Kevin Smith and the View Askewniverse), and we’re also amazingly close to another huge milestone – Our 20 millionth hit to the website. That means that, on average, we’ve had 2 million visits per year here at News Askew. Not too shabby for a website that started with just a few silly drinking games back in 1997, when the View Askew canon consisted of only 3 films. My, how time flies and how things change.

So, what could we do to celebrate 20 million? Well, a couple of things, really. But more on that later. First up, what can we do for YOU? Tell ya what — How about a prize? Yep, that’s right, the hitter who e-mails us at 20 million or closest to that number AFTER the 20 million turns will get a prize from Mr. Kevin Smith himself — A signed pair of his worn Vans shoes! Will this be a pair that’s been seen on the red carpet? The Tonight Show? Perhaps even during one of the famous “Evening With” segments? You never know. But what we do know is that Kevin generously offered to donate a pair once he heard of the big milestone. And we’re looking forward to giving them to one of our lucky readers.

The contest is simple — Just capture us a screenshot of your hit and email it to us. Use your PRINT SCREEN key and then cut and paste it into a photo program, word, anything you can do to get it to us. The screen will display a special message if you’re the winner, so there will be no faking this one (or we’ll know if you did) so don’t bother trying using any Photoshop jobs to pull one over on us.

So good luck, thanks for visiting, and we’ll be back with more exciting anniversary news soon. For now, let’s hit that 20 million and work on the next milestone. Thanks to all of you who continue to make News Askew a success. We wouldn’t be here without you.