Back to Work at "The Office"

The television program we’ve all been waiting for has arrived, Season Four of “The Office.” The time has come once again to laugh on Thursday nights at 9PM with our friends from Scranton, “The Electric City.” In tonight’s super-sized episode, the cast hits the ground running – literally.

Michael feels Dunder Mifflin is cursed after a freak accident occurs. He explores the religious beliefs of his employees before deciding to hold a charity 5K fun run. Meanwhile, further developments into the romance of Jam are explored. What exactly happened after Jim said, “It’s a date…”

And there’s more! The next THREE episodes of the season are new and will be an hour long. (That’s what she said.)


Be sure to TiVo or DVR Andy Bernard (Ed Helms) on Conan tonight! Or if you stay up that late, WATCH IT!

Relief in Sight for West End Drivers

Soccer moms and shoppers can breathe a sigh of relief. It looks as though traveling in the West End of Richmond might be a little easier in the years to come. Developers have salivated over new malls, new homes, new schools, but no new roads?

That’s all about to change.

In addition to ongoing improvements to widen Pouncey Tract Road, Henrico County supervisors voted last night to extend North Gayton Road into the northwestern portion of the sprawling county.

The project of extending the road over Interstate 64 should alleviate some of the congestion on nearby Pouncey Tract and Nuckols Road at a cost of $48.4 million dollars.

According to the RTD, the road improvements are scheduled to start in 2009 and be completed by 2011. (Don’t think the intersection at Broad Street and Pump Road will be a ghost town anytime soon.)

Click here to read more about the road improvements in Henrico’s West End.

photo courtesy of RTD

VitaminWater - DRINK IT

Glaceau got me! I admit it – I’m a sucker! I drink VitaminWater. In fact the fridge it chock full of it. It’s stocked like a MTV Crib.

Go to any local Ukrops and you’ll see VitaminWater splashed all over the store. I’ve seen Kasey Kahne’s 12 year old mug shot one too many times.

I don’t know what’s been promoted more these days, VitaminWater or NBC’s new “hit” show Chuck.

In addition to Kahne, rapper Fitty-Cent endorses the flavored agua. In fact, he has his own flavor, Formula 50. It’s grape.

What lures me to this magical drink? Maybe it’s the catchy language on the side of the bottles. What a job! (Yeah, were going to need you to write whatever you want, and then slap it on the side of our product. Got it?)

And with more flavors than Baskin Robbins, which one do I drink at any given moment? Honey, I need more guarana in my diet. Could you pick up some VitaminWater Energy for me?

Let’s face it, I like to be relaxed, be focused, have energy, have balance, have endurance, and receive all my essential vitamins ALL IN THE SAME DAY!!

Whatcha gonna do about that Gatorade?

Let's Go River Cats!

It's dubbed as the Bricktown Showdown. The Richmond Braves versus the Sacramento River Cats for the Triple-A Championship. Who cares about Sac Town? This guy. Sacramento is the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics, my squad.

But I live in Richmond. Part of me wants to root, root root, for the home team, but then my I also want to cheer for the future Athletics.

Nonetheless, the game is quite meaningless. I forgot to mention that the game is being played in Oklahoma City. Not exactly Sacramento or Richmond.

And one measly game? Have they heard of a series? It would have been pretty cool to see the dilapidated Diamond, packed full of fans for something other than fireworks twice a year.

Heck, why even play the game? All the good players have been called up to the big boy league earlier in the month. It's not the same teams that took the field back in April.

If you're interested in catching the "showdown" in OK, tune into ESPN2 tomorrow at 5. We'll all be on the edge of our couches.

Bill Would Have Been Proud

While most football fanatics started their NFL season over the weekend, I had to wait until 10:25 PM ET last night to kickoff mine. That’s right ladies and gents, the 49ers and the Cardinals. Woo Hoo!!

But I was jacked. Lots of Mountain Dew Game Fuel (great flavor by the way) and a seat in front of the 60 inch Sony and the night had just begun.

Mike (Greenberg), Mike (Golic), and Mike (Ditka) called the action at what I still call The Stick. The atmosphere was electric and reminded me of the Niners heyday in the 80’s and 90’s. Maybe it was the retro uni’s, donned in honor of a fallen legend, Bill Walsh. Nonetheless, game time had arrived.

I knew it was going to be a long night and early morning, but watching ESPN HD is not a bad way to spend it.

Surprisingly, both defenses played well. The Cards and Niners had two of the worst D’s in the league last season. The offenses were paltry at best. And Forty Niners Coach Mike Nolan, dressed in his Monday Night Football best, could only shake his head.

But, as 49ers quarterback Alex Smith said, the win is the most important thing. And that’s exactly what Smith orchestrated. Down 17-13 with just over three minutes remaining, Smith led the red and gold down Bill Walsh Field, something the squad had not accomplished all night, culminating with an Arnaz Battle touchdown with 16 seconds remaining.

As the fog rolled in off the bay, cloud Forty Niner had been reached by the faithful fans in attendance and in a quiet living room in Virginia with a 20-17 win on the books.

I looked down at the DVR with my bleary eyes. The clock read 1:45, and realized it was going to be a long day ahead. But starting the season with a much-needed W (even if it is the Cardinals), I knew sleeping easy wouldn’t be a problem.

Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images

Nothing Blu about Dave and Tim

I have to admit, my Dave Matthews Band jam sessions have been waning in recent years. But I still love the guys from C'ville and last night I popped in the first DMB Blu-Ray release and I was blown away. I’ve been waiting for LIVE AT RADIO CITY to hit the shelves, and yesterday it did!

I stopped by the local Best Buy (sorry Circuit City), went home and was mesmerized as Dave and Tim Reynolds played an acoustic set at Radio City Music Hall.

Music is what Blu-Ray needs. Right now there aren’t nearly enough Blu-Ray titles, let alone concerts. And since I’m not a Nine Inch Nails or Chris Botti fan (two of the handful of music blu-rays currently out,) I knew this disc wouldn’t disappoint.

LIVE AT RADIO CITY features over 2 1/2 hours of music, capturing all 26 songs of Dave and Tim's performance. Old and new, it's all on this 2-disc set. If you watch your movies in 1080 HD like I do, pick up this latest release – and have a jam session of course.