Tuesday Odds & Ends: Torchwood, Douglas Adams, Iron Man 2, Lost and great Scots

+ Good news for "Torchwood" fans: John Barrowman confirmed in a radio interview yesterday that the series will be back for a full 13-episode run. Fingers crossed they keep up the stellar quality of the "Children of Earth" mini-series.

+ Do you have a bathtub? Would you like a new one? Or rather a slightly used one? Well, you're in luck. Douglas Adams' bathtub -- the one in which he apparently soaked when he needed ideas -- is up for sale on eBay. You still have one day and a few hours left in the auction, so gather up your rubber duckies and start bidding!

+ Check out the swanky new poster for "Iron Man 2." I personally can't wait for this sequel.

+ Speaking of highly anticipated movies, USA Today has a small behind-the-scenes article on part one of the upcoming "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" films.

+ Have you seen this awesome "Lost" promo from Spain, featuring the cast as chess pieces? I got goosebumps watching it. Hurry back to my TV screen, "Lost," I miss you!



+ And finally, David Tennant has finished fifth in the "Greatest Scot" contest, behind those slackers Robert Burns, William Wallace and some fellow who invented penicillin. As if that wasn't enough, David also will be featured as The Doctor on a new commemorative Royal Mint coin, giving women everywhere a whole new reason to carry change in their pockets. "What's that jangling?" "Oh, it's just Janet, she loves a good commemorative coin." Thus ends my Royal Mint fan fiction.

Wednesday Odds & Ends: The Force, Nighy and Robots

+ In all seriousness, I dreamed of a toy like this when I was a child, but now that it actually exists, I'm more than a little freaked out by it. The upcoming "Star Wars Force Trainer" toy straps on to your head (or, okay, some child's head) and uses your brain waves to help you move a ball in a tube a la The Force. Did I mention it uses YOUR BRAIN? Here's a demonstration:



P.S. Did you like the way the New York Post spelled "Brake Through Toy" at the beginning? Not proud would Yoda be.

+ British actor Bill Nighy, who I still think should have been cast as Eleven in "Doctor Who," has gotten a huge consolation prize with a role in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows." He'll be playing Rufus Scrimgeour.

+ Rotten Tomatoes has counted down its Top 50 Best Movie Robots. Fingers crossed the metal dude from "Short Circuit" gets that well-deserved top spot.

+ Want a preview of the latest "Buffy" season 8 comic? It's here. Called "Always Darkest," it's penned by Joss Whedon and Jo Chen.

News of the Day -- Friday, March 14

+ Happy Pi Day everyone! There's a terrific article at BBC News outlining the history of pi and a lot of fascinating facts about its various applications. For example, did you know that "In ancient Greece, the great mathematician Archimedes worked tirelessly to discover the ratio, uncovering only a few digits of accuracy. When he tried to stop a Roman soldier from blundering over his work by shouting "do not touch my circles" he was unceremoniously murdered." That, right there, is probably why the ancients never invented computers. Bad soldier!

+ A tidbit on Billy Crystal's chance to play in the Yankees-Pirates pre-season game yesterday. I know some folks think it's stupid, but come on, comedians never get to play sports. I'm putting this one in the nerd win column.

+ As you've probably heard, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows" is going to be split into two films with one being released in Nov. 2010 and the other to follow in May 2011. Director David Yates says this is because the book is too important to leave anything out for the movies. Really? Really? Gee, that would have been a nice philosophy with "Order of the Phoenix." Yates, I'm still shaking my fist at thee.