Congratulations are due for Sean and Christine Astin!

"Lord of the Rings" star Sean Astin is set to become a dad for a third time, after announcing to pals his wife Christine is pregnant.

According to Star magazine, 31-year-old Astin made the happy announcement to his friends at the Sundance Film Festival.

Astin and his wife already have two daughters -- 8-year-old Alexandra and 2-year-old Elizabeth.

Have fun with a family of 5!

Interview with Dom in Rolling Stone

Monaghan learned to surf in New Zealand while filming the Rings trilogy. But his ultimate wave came this past New Year's Eve, when he went surfing with fellow hobbit Billy Boyd. After catching a big one, he shot to the top, only to realize the water behind him was about to collapse on him. "For about three seconds," he says, "I was surrounded by cascading silent walls of water -- then I shook the spray from my face and emerged on the other side, ten feet taller."

Boyd saw the whole thing happen but doesn't want to give Monaghan too much credit. "His surfing's all style and no substance," he says. "I'm a better surfer, by about a million." He laughs. "Make sure you print that -- it'll piss him off."

Poe's visitor

This year, the visitor arrived at 1:10 a.m. in a heavy coat and obscured his face with a black pullover, Jerome said. He was not wearing the traditional white scarf and black hat.

"He put the roses and cognac at the base of Poe's grave and put his hand on top of the (tomb) stone. He paused and put his head down," the museum curator said. He left after about five minutes, Jerome said.

The visitor's three roses are believed to honor Poe, his mother-in-law and his wife, all of whom are buried in the graveyard. The significance of the cognac is unknown.

Great Interview with the folks behind "Ringers"

Very interesting article, they didn't talk to us though.

Andy Serkis

In an article about the movies of 2005, there was this interesting bit at the end...

Having Serkis on set has been a great help for Watts as she re-creates the role originated by Fay Wray as the object of King Kong's affections, the actress said."It's wonderful having a pair of eyes to look at," Watts said. "Andy Serkis is there, and they're filming him at exactly the same time as they're filming me, so everything is in sync in terms of our reactions and connections together."He's got a special suit on, not like a hairy gorilla suit, but it's a thing that pads out his body, gives him posture and big teeth, and he's hooked up an audio system so his voice carries around the whole stage. He's studied and prepared so well that I forget I'm actually looking at Andy Serkis. Other than the size, everything seems as it should be."

Movie: The Merchant of Venice

Wow, Joseph Fiennes and a great cast!

TV show: Lost

Interesting article about the philosophy of the TV show "Lost."

Sometimes a little research helps. For example, in "Lost," Terry O'Quinn (a veteran of "X-Files" and "Alias") plays John Locke, which is also the name of the Enlightenment-era British philosopher who originated the term "tabula rasa," or "blank slate," to describe the unformed state of the mind at birth.

The second episode of "Lost" was called "Tabula Rasa," and Locke has become sort of the island philosopher, moving from character to character. He found the dog belonging to young Walt (Malcolm David Kelley), helped Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) overcome drug addiction and has taken Boone under his wing.

He's also the beneficiary of a miracle. In his flashback, viewers learned that Locke had been in a wheelchair for four years but dreamed of going on walkabout in Australia. When that dream was frustrated, he got on a plane to return home -- only to discover, after the crash, that his useless legs worked. Locke has now become the hunter-warrior of his dreams.