/dev/null/kevin

Call me Miss Cleo, just not to my face, but I've got some predictions for this year. Use them as you see fit. Just remember Kevin's Rule of Predictions: "50% of all predictions are correct and 50% are incorrect." Your job, is to figure out which 50%.

And remember, as always, no wagering.

Kevin's 2005 "Sure Thing" Predictions

• NBC's new reality show, The Contender, will fail miserably. I'm a little late with this prediction, and with the failure of Fox's "The Ultimate Chump" (or whatever), and the demise of reality TV in general, this almost seems too obvious for a prediction. But in my defense, I did predict this back when they announced the show, seemingly years ago. To me, boxing == boring. Also, reality TV survives (*pun*) on its casting. It's the people that viewers end up bonding with and boxers are not going to make compelling cast members. If in the unlikely event that this show is a hit, I will punish myself by watching Rocky V.

• On the subject of failed new shows, let me add the following: Committed, Numbers (aka NUMB3RS), Point Pleasant, Jonny Zero, The Will (oops, too late, already gone), Blind Justice, Cuts, Fat Actress, Revelations, The (Americanized) Office, and "Untitled John Stamos Project" (please keep that name!). None of these shows will live past 2005, most dying well before summer. I also predict that Eyes and Grey's Anatomy will fail, even thought they're getting big hype. Consider those my "upset" picks.

• A few stupid people watching Star Wars Episode III will be "blown away" by the plot twist in "Revenge of the Sith." No, I'm not talking about Anakin becoming Darth Vader, I'm talking about...
  spoiler for the clueless

  ...Senator/Chancellor Palpatine also being Darth Sidious, aka the Emperor. I really hope you knew that already (if you care about these things), but if you didn't, pay more attention! I mention this because I was recently berated for "revealing a spoiler" to someone. As someone who absolutely hates spoilers (I won't even watch previews or trailers), I am very sensitive to revealing them. But a spoiler is something that you're not supposed to know prior to watching a movie. A plot detail that you missed is not a spoiler. Sorry. Just checkout the IMDb entry for Star Wars Epidode III and look at who Ian McDiarmid plays.

• The Superbowl hype and news coverage will feature way too many references to last year's halftime show. Considering that one is too many, this is another slam dunk prediction. Blah, blah, blah, wardrobe mal... AH! Just stop already! Oh, and New England wins.

  Update: And so it begins...

• Metadata is the next big thing in IT. Like I tell my packrat wife, there's no point in saving something unless you can find it when you need it. Everyone knows this and everyone's doing it, whether you call it "metadata" or "tagging." Start thinking about it now if you haven't, lest you get left behind. That one's not really funny, but this is a company blog.

• Entertainment Tonight will run a segment about getting low cost versions of the dresses worn at the Academy Awards. This show will air on March 1, 2005, the Tuesday following the Oscars. The dress maker is called "A.B.S." How do I know this? Because this Groudhog Day story runs every year, like clockwork. Have I mentioned that I hate Entertainment Tonight?

• The lotto numbers will be 2-5-6-11-14 with "mega" number 15. I just don't know which lotto. Or when.