ERIN GO BRAGH!!

I am very glum to see St Patrick's Day pass us by. I am exceedingly fond of that holiday. I am only 1/4 Irish but I think it's one of my finer quarters. I extended St Pat's this year so it took up the whole weekend--wearing my St Pat's finery on Fri, more green garb on Sat & a St Patty's party (where I ingested a good deal of Irish beer) and then listening to the Cheiftains at my sister's yesterday where we had a big corned beef & cabbage feed. MMMMmmm. But even after all that St Pattying, I could still go for some more. I suppose that part of the reason that I adore St P's Day so, is that the nearest preceding holiday is Valentine's Day...which is a sadistic bitch of a holiday for us singletons. Well there is President's Day in the meantime there, which is neither sadistic nor a bitch, but really, who gives a toss about President's Day unless they're buying a car???

I think we oughtta get the entire month of March designated "Irish Appreciation Month" Or would "Ireland Appreciation Month" be a more proper phrasing? I will have to get that point nailed down before I fire off my letter to Congress.

My sister sent me home last night with a buttload of boiled dinner leftovers that I brought in for lunch today. And then I get in here this a.m. and mi amiga/ officemate Lisa had brought me in a plate of her boiled dinner leftovers PLUS a St Patty's cupcake PLUS a hunk of homemade Irish soda bread (incidentally, I picked up some Irish soda bread @ Price Chopper for Sat's party...didn't want to be bothered w/ making anything. It was VERY good..I heartily recommend. At least I can recommend the white variety with raisins... Laura made Brown Irish Soda Bread for yesterday's dinner and it was very heavy and kinda plain) They so good to me. Although I think Lisa more so because she is not bound by the laws of nature to take care of me. Methinks I may have to by extra Mother's Day gifts this year.

So yeah, courtesy of Lisa, I had a magnificent lunch today-- corned beef, potato, carrots, turnip and a few beets. The beets are a novel twist on boiled dinner --to me anyhow-- but were very yummy. Same thing for lunch tomorrow... different chef, sans beets.

One would think that if you had boiled dinner everyday, you'd get sick to death of it, and probably develop a tremendous hankerin' for pizza. But I can't imagine it...getting sick of boiled dinner that is (I mean, the pizza jones I can most definitely relate to ... I could go for pizza just about anytime...a fact which does not, however, negate or decrease my love of boiled dinner)

I don't know why I got to thinking about The Prisoner -- oh hells yeah, now I remember, it was because today is Patrick "Number Six" McGoohan's 79th birthday (because not a single celeb birthday goes by without my knowing it...well maybe a few...but really, they'd have to be like, sub-Z list celeb) Anyways, the DVD set of this show has caught my eye whilest Borders browsing before and it kinda intrigued me. Six's 79th got me musing over it again today, and because it was oddly slow around here today (not that I'd complain about that!) I was reading all about it online.

Briefest of overviews-- it was this cult British series that ran for 17 episodes (in 1967 in the UK, aired in 1968 over here) where this spy guy quits his job over an unspecified "issue of conscience" and soon thereafter is drugged and taken to "The Village" --a prison dressed up to look like a resort town, where everyone is monitored by secret cameras and addressed by a number (no one has a name...not even the main character). Oh...and possibly the most enticing bit-- there are "Rovers" , big white weather balloons that beset would-be escapees and smash them to death and/or into submission. Does that not sound like TOTALLY my cup of tea?? If you're shaking your head "no" then you don't know me at all, fool!!

I'm puzzled though... if this show ran for just 17 episodes...what the HELL is up with this??

Yeah, I was contemplating purchase of the series on Amazon...but I was displeased at the enormity of the DVD set.

Sure...it's swell of them to put them in those space-saving slim cases, but couldn't they have fit 17 episodes on fewer than 10 DVDs?? C'mon!! That's like (typing fingers pause suddenly & hover uncertainly in the air above keys, brow furrows, tongue pokes out of corner of mouth in unseemly show of concentration as blogger tries to do simple math in her head) a maximum of 17 hours of TV...ummm uhhh..let's say an approximate 4 hr capacity on your average DVD. They should be able to do it in 4 DVDs but if they did the double-sided disc thing they could get it onto 2 discs. Then you could have the thing in one case, a regular size DVD case, but still it'd spare you from the storage quandary of having the colossal brick of slim cases in your DVD library.

Ehhh, I still might buy it. Amazon's price is about half of what I saw it selling at Borders for and I love a bargain like Gargamel hates Smurfs. Like Garfield loves lasagna. Oy. Like, like...Sonny loves Cocoa Puffs. Nope.. no, I'm sorry! Lame, lame, LAME-ASS! There must be something wrong with the simile synapsis in my brain. I keep firing off duds. I give up.

no time for love dr jones...

and no time to post...it's really snowing out there!!! Motherfucker!! On St Pat's Eve? I am mightily miffed.

Nothing much to post, I only wanted to share my severe disappointment with the Precipitation Gods. I thought we had commenced the lamby part of March already!!! Grrr..

BEWAAAAARE THE IDES OF MARCH

Come March 15 every year, I like nothing better than warning people "Bewaaaaare the ides of March!!" in the most ominous voice I can manage.

But, curious cat that I am, I like to know the backstory behind the catchphrase. So I've read up on the execution of Caesar. So should you. Check out this schpiel on the ides of March.

The most interesting new bit of info I gleaned from this was---

"One other omen was that Caesar's wife had a dream, the night before Caesar was killed, that he was lying on the ground dead and she begged him to not go to the Senate that day and Caesar agreed. But later Caesar decided to go when he told a member of the senate to inform everyone he wasn't going and the senator said, "Would you like me to tell them that their Caesar couldn't meet today because his wife had a bad dream?" "

Now I remember that from the Shakespeare play (and more clearly from the 1953 movie made from the Shakespeare play) but I thought that was a li'l fictional embellishment courtesy of the bard. It seemed to me to be just a little device in the play to work Calpurnia into the action...add a dash of romance y'know? But when mentioning this, the article cites it as being from " the most detailed account of Caesar's assassination, written by Nicolas of Damascus,a few years after the event and likely based on eyewitness reports" And granted, wikipedia is not 100% reliable, but still, this ups the probability that it actually DID happen (the bit about Calpurnia's dream)?? So, while the Ides of March still should be observed with reverent caution, one could also definitely argue that the chief lesson to be taken from Caesar's sad demise is that it is BAD NEWS to go back on a promise to your wife. Even if it gets you picked on by your buddies. Do NOT dismiss her concerns as silly or trifling, or you will wind up sorry in a MAJOR WAY, buck-o.

relieved to be back at work??

Seems utterly impossible but it's so true. Amazing , huh?

I took yesterday off for a doctor's appointment. It was just a standard physical (complete with dreaded cooter check up) but due to a raging case of doctor-phobia on my part it was loooooong overdue. Last time I had gone to the doc's was 2001. I know, I know! It's awful. It's deplorable! Look, I've already given myself a stern lecture on the subject (followed up by a stern pep talk that resulted in this recent appointment) so don't look at me like that. As of yesterday, I am back on the medical diligence wagon, okay?

Gawd, I HATE being responsible. On to more pleasant subjects...

Very glad that Matt won this past Top Design challenge. I was glad because Matt has emerged as my numero uno fave and so obviously I like to see him win one. But I was also stoked for Matt's win, because Carisa so COMPLETELY tried to hog all of the glory, and seemed to really think she deserved it. Take THAT, beeeeyotch.
So what does Matty get?? One whole extra hour of time for his next project-- yippy freakin' skippy! I realize probably every extra second helps, but still...WHY are they being so stingy with the rewards on this show?? I don't even think they gave Matty immunity with this win. What the hell??? He should've gotten his extra hour, immunity, and a check for 10k...and that last one just as reward for his working with Carisa and Michael and not maiming or killing either. Better yet-- a 20k check if he had killed off one of 'em. Just kidding. But truly, I find both Carisa and Michael INSANELY irksome, so I was incapable of taking sides during their many squabbles. And yet, squabbles aside, they did manage to put together the better room. Yeah, I saw how the other team's room was all conceptual, & clever, jam packed with ideas and all that happy horseyshit, but bottom line is that I would rather have partied in the Carisa-Matt-Michael room. Damn your lofty ideas Goil & Andrea, it's all about what's condusive to the WANG CHUNG. Knowwhatimean, baby?

Tues night I was unhappy with the offerings on the telly, so I watched a BBC miniseries I 'd recently bought. It's North & South ( do note that I am referring to a 2004 BBC mini and NOT the one that was big in the 80s with Patrick "Johnny Castle" Swayze as a Confederate soldier. NOT that one. Nooo, nooo nooo!!) and it's a 4 part miniseries based on an Elizabeth Gaskell novel. Thing is, watching only one installment of a BBC miniseries is like eating just 1 chip...utterly unthinkable!! For me anyways. So I watched the whole damn miniseries. It was muy muy bueno. Excellent if you like that sort of 19th ce. Brit romance kind of thing (surely y'all have ascertained by now--I DO).
And I was a total shameless sap when I watched the thing, too. I shouldn't confess that, but there you have it. Like, I rewatched the final scene in the train station 3 or 4 times. And there's this other scene, where Margaret is leaving town, presumably FOREVER, and John goes out to the stoop and watches her carriage as it goes off and he's all emotional, but not all tears & snot about it, (ick!) rather , he's trying to stifle it but not concealing it all that well. You know the way-- all manly-like. And he's watching the carriage depart, and he says quietly-"Look back! Look back at me" And--JINKIES-- I was insta-goo. It reduced me to joining in with the movie's dialogue , which I know is terribly dumb but sometimes I just can't help it, like in this case when I hollered "LOOK BACK AT HIM DAMN IT!!"


Anyways, in summation: SUCH a good flick. (siiiiiigh )

you'll come for the sammiches, stay for the previewed DVDs

At lunch time I popped in to Foodstop to obtain some midday comestibles and they had this big tub of previewed DVDs for $5 a pop. So OF COURSE I had to buy some. I restrained myself and bought just 2 of 'em. Hey, that IS restraint for me. (I mean this weekend I went looking for one CD --The Lovin' Spoonful's Greatest Hits and wound up w/ that and 3 more -- Joe Cocker's Greatest Hits, Led Zeppelin II, & the soundtrack for "O Brother Where Art Thou?" so, y'know, as you can see there self-restraint doesn't come naturally to me). I ended up buying: Altoid Mango Sours, 1 Liter of Diet Coke, curly/spicy fries, Silent Hill, Stay , & a turkey-cucumber sammich on wheat.



While the verdict is still pending for the 2 movies, I can attest that Altoid Mango Sours are utterly stupendous. If you like mango, you will like Altoid Mango Sours. I know that sounds trite and somewhat idiotic, but that is the chief asset of these little candies--they taste exactly like the fruit they are supposed to (after a initial shock of sourness). I mean, I like cherry flavored candies, or strawberry flavored, but not much of it really tastes like the real thing does it? I would say that's true about most fruit flavored candy.... banana Runts for instance..I don't know what they taste like but it's not banana. But the Altoids folks (Callard & Bowser, if my Altoids tin is to be believed) have really nailed the mango flavor. Phenomenal.



I watched the premier of The Riches last night. I've always liked Minnie Driver so I kinda watched it in support of her getting work, FINALLY. Of course, she has had work, but she hasn't had a starring film role that I can think of since 2000 or thereabouts. This is not counting straight-to-video fare (which, in terms of career indicators, does not count for all that much). So a lead role on an FX (especially with FX putting out notably higher qual stuff for the past 5yrs) drama is a big score for her. The whole conning their way into the upper crust premise is the basis of the show, but I find myself more intrigued by the unexpected "refugees- from-a-bizarro-Irish-gypsy-cult" subplot. I guess they're Irish Travelers, I should say. I had used "gypsy" generally speaking, not to be confused with Gypsy gypsies, as in Esmerelda from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I guess "gypsy " is considered an offensive term....although when I hear the word it just immediately evokes thoughts of Stevie Nicks & that Fleetwood Mac song...and I cannot conceive of how being associated with Stevie Nicks would upset anybody. But anyhow... back to The Riches ....one of my first impressions (upon hearing the cast list...before viewing the pilot) was that Minnie Driver & Eddie Izzard would be a weird couple. I was wondering how that would play out, and was thinking it would be interesting to see Eddie play a straight guy. Well, y'know , come to find out (I did a spot of IMDB digging this a.m.) and according to all reports, he IS straight. No wondering he portrayed it with such surprising conviction. Hey, y'know, I'm a chick that casually tosses off uncouth terms like "gypsy" so I guess it logically follows that I would presume that ALL tranvestites are gay. Rather, narrow-minded of me in retrospect, I think. But you've got to cut me some slack...I didn't grow up in the most metropolitan / diverse region of the world...and I do aspire to be more open-minded than I naturally am...

I kind of dug The Riches -- thought Minnie & Eddie were individually compelling as well as poignant as a couple. I don't know if I liked it so much that will fully fill the Monday night void destined to be in my heart until April 23rd, but I did like it. I will tune in next Monday.

After subsequent uses of my Charles Worthington shampoo, I have concluded that it just smells limey. VERY limey. That I was smelling gin & tonics whilest in the shower is probably a sign that I'm a-hankerin' for one. I know I'm certainly overdue for a good drinking binge....

Tudor revival

During my daily perusal of IMDB, I spotted this upcoming show all about the Tudors, a drama seemingly based on a very randy and young and foxy Henry VIII. I do believe that Henry VIII was quite randy, and that's putting it mildly. But I also feel pretty sure that he was a gross old lech. I believe that he was every bit as corpulent and unappealing as he was domineering and randy. But luckily Showtime has dropped the "corpulent & unappealing" part of it, casting Jonathan Rhys Meyers...

Here's one of the promotional posters...it's not my cropping that cut the ladies' heads off, that's how the photo really is. Henry is saying here, "I am not concerned with your countenances, wenches. It is solely your bodice-smooshed bosoms I require...encircling me....as I ponder critical matters of state." Y'see he's doing the thinking steeple with his fingers...that means he's not just doing an idle sultry stare, he's really got something on his mind. Something about the bosom wench at far left's body language suggests that she may not be 100% keen on being exploited for her rack...looks like she may want a shawl or somethin'...

But don't despair wenches!! The fine king is not above flaunting his own wares...

Now I wonder if this one (below )was JRM's shot with which to say "This may be a drama, folks, but that sure as hell don't mean that I've slacked off in my gym regiment!!"

It's kind of a silly picture. I won't begrudge him those nice biceps, but still, it's silly. Who is he mad at??

Well I did not bring up "The Tudors" just as an excuse to post some kinda JRM collage (dude, I find his name waaay too cumbersome to bother to type out) Rather, I wanted to kvetch about this being totally the kind of show that I could get into but airing on SHOWTIME. Drat, damn , and dang it all!! Not sure when it premieres--just sometime in '07. I'd just as soon not know, because getting Showtime is not an option for me. Even if I did pay for cable and could add channels to my line-up, I suppose it wouldn't be prudent to add a new channel purely because of one show.

I'm actually reading a book about English kings & queens. It spans from Alfred the Great (871 A.D.--899 A.D.) through present day. I'm not really up to the Tudor dynasty yet... I'm still in the Middle Ages. I think that, more than any biographical info, I am most thrilled by these kooky Old English names. Alfred had older bros named Ethelbald and Ethelbert and he married a lady named Ealhswith.

TV talk...

I'm so vexed by this past Top Design that I will at last be able to write about Heroes. This new upset has allowed me to redirect my rage from NBC and aim it toward Bravo. Let us ignore the fact that they're both one in the same corporation, shall we??

Let me gripe chronologically, and begin with Heroes.

My big gripe is that they're taking a month long break when I don't want them to even take a smallish break. That's not okay with me (not that anyone checked with me first). It might be excusable if they were planning to do an entire summer of new episodes, but that would never happen.
But anyways, about this past episode.... I suppose Malcolm McDowell made an alright Linderman. It's really not his fault that I was disappointed. It's just that when I was pondering who they could possibly cast as Linderman, and more specifically, who they could find who could possibly be as awesomely badass as Eric Roberts...Malcolm McDowell did not make that very short list. I tossed off Christopher Walken --half-jokingly-- as a contender. I knew there was no way, but how fucking AWESOME would that have been? I don't know that he'd ever do TV work, but I think that's more due to his schedule preferences than him being at all choosy. This is the man, after all, who will next be seen in theatres in a comedy called Balls of Fury. Oh, but let's not forget his turn as the nefarious nemesis of THE COUNTRY BEARS in their feature film debut. Oh, but I do wish the Heroes people had made a pitch to him. They could've given Linderman super powers...super tap dancing powers. That mighta snared Walken. Dude loves to dance.

Or imagine this equally awesome, equally implausible scenario: GARY BUSEY. Mix Roberts' supercool badass flava with Busey's bat guano loco brand of bad ass and ...KAPOW! What a cocktail that coulda been, eh? Not that I believe Busey could ever pull his shit together to do a weekly series...

Michael Madsen is a fantastic badass. He hasn't been in anything exceptional lately has he???

But WHATEV. They've done cast the durn role and Malcolm MacDowell, while not meeting my unrealistically lofty expectations, is still a good actor.

After Mr. "H.R.G." Bennett totally endeared himself to me in the "Company Man" episode, I am really worried about his fate now. Eric Roberts is on to him!! EEEk! Not to be all EricRobertscentric, but does Eric Roberts' character have a name?? It mentally takes me out of the narrative to have to refer to him as Eric Roberts. I suppose if no actual name is given for him, there's probably some code name (like HRG) issued for him. HRG Boss? I guess HRGB would be even more concise wouldn't it? But back to the plot (it seems I can't STOP myself from dwelling on Eri--um, I mean from dwelling on HRGB) I worry for poor HRG, even if rationally I doubt the company would actually kill him off.

As for others whose fate looks scarily precarious...
I am not all that put out by the apparent imminent demise of Mohinder. I was momentarily impressed with him--his surprising bit of slyness --how he didn't let on he'd figured out who Sylar was and then drugged his tea. I was all "Wooohoo! I guess this dude is not as dim as he seems" But shortly thereafter I changed my mind on that point. Maybe Mohinder was also thinking "Woohooo! Looks like I'm not as dim as I'd thought.." thereby rendering him vulnerable via his cockiness. Of course I don't like to see anybody telekinetically impaled to a ceiling, but Mohinder is a pretty ho-hum character, so if it had to happen to somebody...
Conversely I do NOT want to see sweet Pete roughed up by Sylar. Now even though I remember that he retained a bit of Claire's powers (as evidenced by his speedy recovery from plummeting umpteen stories onto a taxi) my visceral reaction to somebody getting their skull sliced into is that it is a highly disagreeable experience. My poor,poor Peter Petrelli...

And now for my Top Design rant…GRRRRR! I am just pissed about Ryan’s elimination. As you may have guessed, I like the artsy rebel. I did expect him to get the boot, but it shouldn’t have happened on this challenge. It was NO FAIR, I tells ya!!

A quick aside before I address that injustice…
I just want to say—Kelly Werstler is kind of endearing herself to me. Initially I had dismissed her as merely bringing “the pretty” to the judge’s panel (y’know as the Klum stand-in) but she distinguished herself in Ep 4. Mags & Adler are sooo indignant, and huffy and (most of all) wounded by Ryan’s uncensored (&tactless) opinions he tosses off that neither of them even bothered to try to get what he’s trying to say. But Werstler gets him. She likes him too, I think. When she spoke up & defended him in Ep 4, that’s when it first occurred to me that she might be half- worthwhile. And of course, in this last episode, that bitch Margaret Russell had to throw that back in her face. And while Kel did not verbally retaliate, she shot back this glance that just screamed “Kiss my skinny ass, you miserable hag!” The unspoken animosity was palpable. It was great.

But back to Ryan's wrongful elimination... I do agree that this kooky kid's ampitheater garage would've benefitted from some waaay out wall graphics. HOWEVER, that was not Ryan's only job!! HE WAS SUPERVISING ALL THE CARPENTRY!! He was working his artsyfartsy arse off, actually but NOBODY saw fit to mention that fact!!

I would've like to have seen Carissa eliminated, but she was the red herring again. OR, I definitely would've been fine with Michael getting booted too. I mean, putrid color choice was the entire basis for Elizabeth's dismissal, so it's certainly enough reason to axe Michael. But really, it should've been Carissa. I seriously don't get why the show is so resistant to booting her...probably it's on account of her being a real in-yer-face bitch and that always makes for good TV. This show's particular format--doing just one room and having one final product vs. the usual format of multiple rooms vying for the win--was kind of dullsville. Obviously, one of the main goals of doing it that way was to test the designer's teamwork skills. Now if your team pretty much unanimously brands you as a unhelpful & self-involved that's a fair indication that you're not a good team player....CARISSA. I swear, if that rotten shrew wins this competition, I want Bravo to GUARANTEE me a 2nd season (so that they can redeem themselves) It still feels early to say, but I think that Goil has a good shot. But Matt & Erick are my two faves (Matt a smidge more so) .

Speaking of Matt, I felt like he sort of got the shaft this episode too. Not only did he have to team with lousy Carissa, but he got the hugely foul task of having to sort through this family's accumulated CRAP and organize it all. (and by the way, how lucky is this Bell family to get some TV show to do that for them?? Who are these people that they snagged that sweet deal?? Might they be chummy with some network execs??) And Matt organized the HELL out of that garage!! But that bastard guest judge would not give poor Matt ONE SHRED of credit! Noooo...instead he was criticized for not "composing"! WTF?? This is a buttload of JUNK (& assorted paraphenalia) not the bloody London Philharmonic Orchestra!! I am very glad this judge was appearing in one episode only. Lousy bum.

I feel like I'm slighting poor Goil by not including him amongst my faves, because he's a decent chap and is certainly not without talent. But I just can't shake the irksome feeling that he's the "golden boy" the teacher's pet of this show. Very much in the tradition of Daniel Vosovic and Kara Saun before him. See, I simply cannot stop myself from looking at this show in a Project Runway context!! What is UP with that?? Anyways, I am quite intrigued by previews for next week's eppy, namely the bit where Goil has a hissy fit. "I thought you'd be so cool to work with" he snivels "but it's been A NIGHTMARE!" (or something to that effect...I can't get the Bravo site's clip to play so's I could quote verbatim) But of course, you can't see whom he's talking to. I wanna know!! I'd hate to think he's coming down on Matty. If there was a Goil-Matt tiff, I think y'all know whose side I would take up, but I really don't think either fellow is made to withstand a brawl very well. Actually, now that Ryan's out, the only fight-ready contender in this bunch is Carissa. (But who would dare challenge her?? Well, besides yours truly...)

PBS is getting to me!

...not in a bad way, exactly. Their pledge driving is just really affecting me these days. I will be flipping about the channels and happen upon something I really dig on PBS and just when I'm saying to meself "Gosh, this is terrific", they'll cut to a break and suddenly some schmoe at the PBS HQ will be on my telly saying, "Isn't this terrific programming?? " IT'S LIKE THEY'RE READING MY MIND! And they continue: "You can only find this kind of quality programming on public television and it's only possible throught the support of VIEWERS LIKE YOU" And they may as well just say my name, it so cuts me to the quick. I feel like a terrible freeloader. But I'm sorry PBS, I'm too much of a charity case myself to donate a red cent to anybody!!
So anyways, here's what PBS stuff has caught my fancy as of late...

Best of Masterpiece Theatre-- watched this while at my folks' house on Sunday night. Of all the nutty, unconventional stuff to tease for... during this program I kept trying to get my mom to front me some $$ to donate to PBS. She didn't. Not that it woulda mattered. If she had given me the money, I would've given it back immediately, as my mom-manipulation guilt would WAY trump my compulsion to donate to PBS.
Anyways the Masterpiece Theatre crew took a break last Sunday, presumably to scour the massive stacks of the Masterpiece Theatre Library and ferret out the next literary classic to adapt to film. ( If I could make a recommendation, Days with Frog & Toad would be a good pick, as would Are You there God? It's me Margaret) So last Sunday they did a "best of"show. PBS viewers voted on the 12 best Masterpiece Theatre productions and Sir Derek Jacobi hosted the retrospective. Maaan, it's like part of the tenure benefits when you take on the acting gig over in the U.K....hit your late 50s and they knight you. Or dame you..whatever that verb is .
Anyways, about the best of MPT... the ones they counted down that I must now see :
*Jeeves & Wooster- I don't know really know what the plotline here is other than "the comic misadventures of a British gent & his butler" and that's real vague. But Brit comedy + Hugh Laurie is all I need to know. Sounds like my cup o' tea.
*Wives & Daughters-- This is actually at the top of my Netflix queue, though I'm still not sure that I won't just cancel it offa there and buy it. I'm about 3/4 through the Elizabeth Gaskell novel.
*Upstairs, Downstairs
*I, Claudius-- This was like , #3 on the countdown, and very highly acclaimed, but I don't know if I'd be able to get past what looks like some severely cheap-arse production values. Still, this title is also in my infamous "Books-to-Read" queue. If I ever do get to it, I suppose I'll be curious to see the PBS adaptation afterwards.

Documentary on the Lovin' Spoonful-- this was on Tuesday night when I got home from work. Basically it was John Sebastian chatting about his time in the Lovin' Spoonful with clips from the 60s of them performing live.
I must confess, I inherited an appreciation of The Lovin' Spoonful from my Dad. I think that fact speaks volumes about just how much I like them. My natural inclination, I do believe, is to have my tastes run contrary to my father's whenever possible. But it was not possible in this case, as the Spoonful are so unavoidably likeable.

I sort of fell in love with the song "Darling Be Home Soon" after watching Sebastian perform it in this doc. Of course I'd heard it before, but I think it had kinda struck me as excessively needy in tone. And it is still a needy sort of song, but maybe I was in a more romantical frame of mind the other night because I wasn't so dismissive of the neediness. After all, isn't that a common ingredient in your basic love song? The lyrics are all very sweet but it's the chorus that resonates--

"So Darlin' be home soon,

I couldn't bear to wait an extra minute if you dawdled.

My Darling be home soon,

It's not just these few hours but I've been waiting since I toddled

for the great relief of having you to talk to."

Now all typed out like that, the use of "toddled " in the 4th line, kind of irks me. It seems a bit contrived just for rhyming's sake, 'cause really-- there ain't a whole hell of a lotta options for words that rhyme with "dawdled". But in the song it doesn't really stick out so noticeably. (Particularly in Joe Cocker's cover of the tune. It's not at all conspicuous because it's not that clear what Cocker's singing in the first place. I like Joe Cocker alright, but John Belushi doing Joe Cocker is the best) But it's that last line that is the real cockle-warmer, the clincher.

John Sebastian spoke a bit about the band's "musicianship" how he took pride in how their band actually played their instruments when a lot of their contemporaries where just singing along with studio bands. It sounds a smidge braggy, but after watching the performance clips, I think he was actually understating the case! Sebastian's doing some amazing musical multi-tasking in all that footage-- he's playing the guitar and the harmonica when he sings the "Welcome Back Kotter " theme, he plays the HARP while he sings "Rain on the Roof" (one of my faves) The f-ing HARP! Then, during some song I'd never heard called "She Is Still a Mystery" Sebastion sings and plays keyboards and a marxophone. I didn't even know there was such a thing! It is a fretless zither (more details here , if you care to know...) This not only impresses me immensely, but it makes me want to kvetch about the state of modern culture like someone twice my age. Would the damned Pussycat Dolls have a marxophone riff in one of their insipid songs?? I'd wager that not a one of the Pussycats even knows what a marxophone is, and if they had one on stage they couldn't come up with anything to do with it...except maybe dry hump it. (Ah, whole world's going to hell in a handbasket! What time's Matlock on?)

I'm going on a shopping expedition w/ my sis this weekend and I may have to get the Spoonful's Greatest Hits CD. Oh, maybe Joe Cocker's too. Then I could do a comparison listen and determine conclusively which "Darlin' Be Home Soon" is my favorite. I've always dug

Cocker's "Feelin' Alright" , so I figure that gives me sufficient reason to pick up that Greatest Hits.

I just blatantly misused the term "per se"

It bothers me that I would work myself up into such a state of twitterpation that it would render me rhetorically sloppy. So...please forgive me, chums.

Although, speaking of Gerard Butler...
I just bought "Beowulf & Grendel" at Walmart for the INSANELY LOW PRICE of like, 9 bucks (well to be totally accurate, it was one of those oddball Walmart prices..$8.84 I think it was. I don't know why they have such weird prices, but probably it's something to do with that disembodied floating smiley face that haunts the stores and fiddles around w/ their signage) I watched it last Friday night. It was pretty decent... they definitely used the ol' "artistic license" on the original epic, but I'm cool with that. Basically it was Gerard Butler (hot) being a 5th century Geat warrior ROCK STAR (super hot) . There was a troll in there too. Also it seemed to me they said the word "fuck" a bit more than I suspect anyone did in the 5th century. I mean, I haven't done extensive etymological research on "fuck" but I sense that it probably didn't come into use until...ohhh, I would guess the Elizabethan era at the very earliest.

I think Beowulf would be a good name for a dog. You would have to have the right kind of dog of course, it's not a name I would saddle a Yorkshire terrier (for instance) with. And maybe if I had a pair of dogs I'd use "Beowulf" & "Breca" (name of Beowulf's good friend). I like the idea of naming a pet something really experimental. These days, a lot of truly asinine people (and many asinine celebrities) will get too experimental with their kid's names. And of course, the classic argument against that unfortunate trend is "Imagine how they'll get teased in school.." But see if you name a pet "Beowulf" or "Breca" or "Hrothgar" or "Lazlo" you can get your experimental naming kicks, with absolutely no tragic ramifications. 'Cause hey...the gang down at the dog park ain't gonna care if you've got a whackjob name, they judge you purely by your stank. This way you'd also avoid the offense of naming your dog a too human-ish name, which isn't atrocious, necessarily, I think it's just trite and overdone.

Spartan spirit

I am dying to see 300. It's sort of an action flick, and I am generally not a fan of that genre but... I am interested in seeing the special effects on this one. And by special effects, I mean Gerard Butler's abs. JUST KIDDING (well I'm only half kidding, that IS one the film's enticements)

I suppose I am a bit of a comic book nerd poser, because although I don't buy or read comic books/ graphic novels I think that I would like to. So, consequently this new graphic-novel-turned-movie genre intrigues me. I saw "Sin City " in the theater and really dug that. Of course, I didn't go to that one in a comic book nerd capacity, I went to see Clive Owen. But then I was really dazzled by whole style /look of the movie, I just loved it. And the Clive Owen was good too. Very.

So because I am a would-be, wanna-be comic book nerd, and also because Gerard Butler is high up there with Clive Owen (and Christian Bale) in the pantheon of primo celeb eye-candy, I really, really, really wanna see 300. Only I can't think of who would go see this with me.

Jinkies...just imagine...if there was a movie starring Clive Owen, Christian Bale , and Gerard Butler... I would be BEYOND euphoric. I would do the Star Wars rabid fan-dork thing and camp in line for a ticket when it premiered. Except there probably wouldn't be that huge mob that necessitates the camping out to buy a movie ticket. But I would camp out just the same...if only as a gesture of my fanatical devotion.

Now, I don't know the hypothetical plot line per se but that there has the makings of a DAMN GOOD movie. I'm going to start pitching it to studio execs...

I need a Hero!

Of course, I did watch Heroes last night, but I am SO DISTRAUGHT over their taking a MONTH LONG BREAK that I can't even bring myself to recap, let alone critique. I just cannot deal. Gone until Apr 23??? WHAT THE HELL AILS YOU PEOPLE?? I've no clue what I'll do from 9-10 on Monday nights in the coming weeks. Perhaps I'll sign up for a class. I may have to look in to getting a life.... we shall see....

My kind of countdown

MSN's take on The Top 10 TV Puppets of all Time



I disagree with the inclusion of Crank Yankers (uggggh) but otherwise..good list.



Y'all know what a dork I am about Sesame Street/ the Muppet Show. I actually own Greg the Bunny on DVD and Peewee's Playhouse and MST3K (oh and those are ROBOTS, on MST3K not puppets..you fool!) . So yeah, the dorkiness runs deeper than you'd realized.




I particularly like Count Blah. BLAAH.

Gin-soaked hair

I bought this new shampoo & conditioner on sale at Brooks. Charles Worthington is the brand and it's bodifying or volumizing or something of that ilk. I have baby fine hair, so I ALWAYS buy something of that ilk. I just tried it for the first time last night and...WOW. Very noticeable results, instantly. I suspect that, after a couple more showers, my hair will build up an immunity to it, but for now I'm quite smitten. It's like a MAGIC POTION. Me mucho gusto.
The other thing about it....
...has a very interesting smell. Not a bad smell but this very strong pleasant smell that is tricky to define. It has florally fruity top notes and then this underlying base scent that I could not quite identify. I kept sniffing handfuls of lather, trying to figure it out.. I think it might've smelled like gin. I can't decide if it was gin or just a very pungent lime smell that, I Pavlovianly interpret as the scent of gin. I mean, I don't encounter limes outside of a gin & tonic context, so it could just be a conditioned response in me: lime smell = GIN. That could be the case. But I rather fancy the notion of my hair smelling like gin. Like maybe I've been making gin in my bathtub...except I don't have a bathtub, but you don't know that.
The conditioner has the same smell, but sort of muted. Like someone poured milk in my gin & tonic. Ewwww. Well, I should not scoff. After all, wiser women than I drink Pepsi & milk (namely, Laverne DeFazio). So although it sounds severely unpleasant, I would probably try at last a sip of a gin & milk & tonic, because I generally subscribe to a don't-knock-it-'til-you-try-it philosophy. Now, was it Kant or Schopenhauer that authored that " don't-knock-it-'til-you-try-it" treatise?? Damned, if I can't remember....ugh..

Everybody's talkin' all this stuff about me. Why don't they just let me live (tell me why)??

Why don't they just let you live , Bobby B? Oh...maybe 'cause you don't pay your child support payments. Anyways...the whole Bobby Brown getting arrested at his daughter's cheerleading competition is old news (although the choice of venue for that arrest continues to amuse me. He comes to the event to show his support and gets picked up by the po-po for NOT giving support....HAA. I would say that was ironic if that Alanis Morrisette song hadn't totally skewed my perception of "ironic" and made me question for the past decade whether or not I actually know what that word means)

Anyways I was just reading the latest today... basically an update on how Bobby is reneging on his agreement with the radio station that paid his bail. The radio station is being very diplomatic about what went down, and of course Bobby's reps are putting a pretty spin on it, but bottom line is- he's reneging.


But whatever...I had not held Mr Brown up as any paragon of trustworthiness, so this news item neither shocks nor disillusions me. I am, however, disappointed with THIS bit of shoddy reporting---





"Don't Be Cruel"?? "Don't Be Cruel"?? What the hell ails you people? Are you even from this country? Presley's "Don't Be Cruel" is CLASSIC and I also recognize the greatness of the Cheap Trick cover of "Don't Be Cruel" but Bobby Brown's? PUH! Bobby Brown is BEST known for that watershed homage to self-centered amoralism "My Prerogative" (which I do love). I would have also accepted the equally terrific "Humping Around". But "Don't Be Cruel"?? Don't be RIDICULOUS!

Do you know what's DAMNED DIFFICULT?? Buying a coloring book! Sounds deceptively simple does it not? But trust me (as I have done the searching) 98.79999% of your offerings are Coloring/Activity Books. Damn it all to Hades, keep your remedial mazes and your infernal dot-to-dots, I just want to COLOR!! Or er, rather, my nieces just wanna color. No seriously, when I do buy them , it IS for my nieceys & nephew, but every now & then I will end up using one of 'em. And I think, by & large, these activity pages are a worthless waste of tree flesh. But just you try and find a coloring book without that unwanted side helping of "activity"...it ain't easy. One surefire way to go... go to somewhere like Michael's where you can buy the Dover Coloring Books. But if you're just checking the coloring book section of your local KMart....don't expect any purebred coloring books, amigo. You will be SADLY DISAPPOINTED.

Dance 'til Dawn

My quickie mention yesterday of that "Unnamed-Kevin-Arnold-smacks-around-DJ-Tanner-movie" from the Lifetime network got me thinking about Dance 'til Dawn. Y'know how I thought Kevin Arnold going to the same high school as DJ Tanner was a surreal bit of casting... well just imagine Vanessa Huxtable, Carol Seaver, Samantha Micelli, and Kelly Bundy all going to the same school with Matthew Perry and this guy and this dude (both "guy" and "dude" worked LOTS in the 80s but I can't come up with any one role either played..) also I could have referred to Perry as "Chandler Bing" but deliberately did not because: a) I don't want to be implicated as a Friends fan (that show was all smug and overrated and irksome to me) and also b) it would be an anachronism, as there was no Chandler Bing in 1988 when Dance 'til Dawn was released. ANYWAYS, I'm straying away from my central point here... which is Dance 'til Dawn is a total MAGNUM OPUS of surreal casting. Did I mention Kelsey Grammer shows up as a nerdy father, as well as Alan Thicke playing this cool swinger type dad(which reminds me..happy belated 60th Big Al!!) I remember my friend Dawn rented this for her birthday sleepover in the 5th grade. Selected it especially...either because it was ALL her fave Tiger Beat idols in one show..or because the title had her name in it...I don't recall which reason it was, actually, let's just pretend it was the latter one. I wonder what the hell became of Dawn? Hmmm. Anyways Fast Rewind has a grrrreat Dance 'Til Dawn page, lots better than the IMDB entry. Have I mentioned yet that I'm not all that crazy about the IMDB makeover?? I suppose the changes are not all that drastic and I'll adjust soon enough...
TV last night was all icky reruns (I hate reruns. BLAH) and so I chose instead to finally watch "The Prestige" I will not give anything away (as I sense that generally pisses people off) but I must say that I thought Alfred's BIG SECRET was pretty damned obvious right from the start. But I did have the unfair advantage of having read the book. So I suppose my perception on that point is not to be trusted. But still, it wasn't just in my head"Oh yeah, well I know this because I read the book" but I saw instantly that something--well someone -- was glaringly obvious. I can't put it any less vaguely than that or else... the spoiler gestappo will put out a hit on me!!
Still, I really enjoyed the movie. A dark period piece is right up my alley. But I suppose, ultimately, the #1 top reason I bought this movie because of Christian Bale. I mean, I would probably sit through 3hrs of Christian Bale reading the phone book, but Christian Bale+ dark period piece = CAN'T MISS.

stream of consciousness chatter

I decided my inner "Where-to-grab-lunch?" debate based entirely on vanity reasons. I stopped in the bathroom before heading out, and checked my countenance in the mirror and was mighty displeased. My entire head is chafey & chapped, my hair is dungtastic, and I have this blemish constellation just west of my chin. I had to go fetch lunch, but was suddenly very reluctant to disembark from my vehicle and actually go in to a public place. Yeah, yeah, I know that my office is probably classed a public place, but the folks therein are my coworkers, and not the general public. I don't want to go out amongst the general public looking a fright....whereas I don't give a rat's fanny how I look to my fathead coworkers (so you mighta guessed). But vanity motivated though it may be, I chose well. I hit the Burger King drive thru and am quite enjoying my Italian Chicken Sandwich meal. I haven't had a BK Italian Chicken sammi in a loooong time (I believe it's a special-- not a permanent fixture on their menu anymore) and I'd forgotten how good they were. Well good so far anyhow. I am still consuming said sandwich. If I hit a gizzard or some ground up beak fragments and need to revise my judgement I will update y'all immediately.

I got onion rings instead of fries...an absolutely inspired pick. I always forget that you can do that. BK's rings are soooo vastly superior to their fries. They are very unique onion rings...I don't think anyone has similar ones. (I fancy that they're a secret court recipe passed on for centuries since the reign of the very first Burger King c. 1326 AD ) I had eaten 1/3 of the rings in traffic before I noticed that they had thrown in zesty dipping sauce without my even asking for it. I hadn't even realized that zesty dipping sauce was an option! Oh frabjous day! CALLOOO! CALLAY! I chortled in my joy!

I was also inordinately delighted by the fact that instead of giving me the standard-issue stripey fast food drinking straw, I got a fat red straw. I wasn't, like, ZESTY DIPPING SAUCE ECSTATIC about it, but I was pleasantly surprised.


The modern drinking straw was patented by Marvin Stone in 1888. Now, granted they didn't start awarding people Nobel Prizes until 1901.. but I still think it a sad oversight that a posthumous Nobel hasn't been awarded to poor Marv. A drinking straw is a terrific thing, don't you think? I sure like them!

It truly is the little things in life that make it worth all the hassle...

Am listening right now to a mix of my own makeing--all 1966 tuneage. I made it (and a couple other mixes) for my parent's 40th wedding anniversary party last May. I scoured the '66 Billboard charts and picked out the creme de la creme.
on the 1966 mix--
1. When a Man Loves a Woman (Percy Sledge)
2. Sweet Pea (Tommy Roe) -I sort of included this one on there for Sadie (though it IS from 1966) I call her "Sweet Pea" all the time
3. Winchester Cathedral (New Vaudeville Band) -good song, but about 9/10 of it is whistling, makes me think the NVB lyricist was being damned lazy
4. Mellow Yellow (Donovan)
5. You Didn't Have to Be So Nice (the Lovin' Spoonful)
6. Along Comes Mary (the Association)
7. Little Red Riding Hood (Sam the Sham& the Pharoahs) -Sam the Sham's Texas drawl makes me think of Matthew McConaughey everytime I hear it--especially the spoken part at the very start of the song. Pay attention next time you hear this...
8. Last Train to Clarksville (the Monkees)
9. You Don't Have to Say you Love Me (Dusty Springfield)
10. Groovy Kind of Love (the Mindbenders)
11. Sunny (Bobby Hebb)
12. Georgy Girl (the Seekers)
13. Flowers on the Wall (Statler Bros)
14. Hanky Panky (Tommy James & the Shondells)
15. Cool Jerk (the Capitols)

Where the HELL was Top Design last night? I had my li'l heart set on a new episode and the Bravo gang let me down!! So I was left to channel surf aimlessly and the pickin's were damned SLIM!! I watched...
Medium- I used to be a loyal viewer of this one, but I'd inadvertantly weened myself of it. And I was sorta relieved about that, not because I don't like the show (to be completely honest, I have a weird thang for Jake Weber, who plays the hubby ) but simply 'cause it was just one less thing to hafta cram in my weekly TV itinerary. This eppy I could NOT pass up...Eric Stoltz as an imprisoned serial killer with a real ugly & greeeeeazy coiffure. I mean, I've not been jailed for multiple murders, personally , but I imagine you are permitted to shampoo your hair. Perhaps he has very valid reasons for avoiding the shower...
some Lifetime movie-- I watched a brief snippet of a Lifetime TV movie... this one looked to be circa 1994 or 1995 (lots of extras in flannel & Doc Martens) where Fred Savage was this bastard of a high school jock who roughs up his girlfriend, played by Candace Cameron (at the time of this flick, she had yet to acquire the Bure) I generally avoid watching movies when I've missed the start of them, (actually I'm a bit fanatical about it...even if I've seen the movie in question, I have to see it right from the opening creds or I won't bother) but I was transfixed by the surreal casting in this one and tuned in for about 10 or 15 min. Now generally, I'd not be all that upset by watching a character played by Candace Cameron get roughed up (sorry..I know that's callous and wicked. But it's true) but it did bother me to see Fred Savage be an abusive bastard. That's not the Freddy Savage I know & adore. The real Fred Savage has cheezy Sound of Music lyrics inscribed on the inside of his wedding band. Did you know that? Yeah, he said so on Ellen one time. Anyways, how can he play such a MONSTER?? In retrospect, I'm surprised I could make it through 10 minutes of this...
Growing Pains-- I watched what is probably now considered a great classic in the Growing Pains canon. This is when Brad Pitt played a new kid in town who got Carol so twitterpated that she told Bobby they should see other people just so she could go to the movies with Brad Pitt. And of course, once Brad Pitt gets Carol in the dark theater, he sheds his beguiling and erudite facade and gets gropey-grabby with Ms Seaver. She, in turn, gets all indignant and huffy and ditches him (wha??). Anyways it was pretty standard sitcom fare, but I was just riveted by how alarmingly BAD Brad Pitt was early on in his career. Yeah, it was only Growing Pains, but Leo never phoned it in when he was doing that gig. Brad was just terrible, very shitty acting. He made the lummox that played Bobby look like Olivier.
Laws of Attraction-- Yep, I caught it right at the very beginning. If you're ever in the mood for a formulaic little rom-com this is a good fix for such a jones. Y'know usually I'm rather indifferent to Julianne Moore (although I could never totally blacklist an honored alumnus of The Big Lebowski ) as she often comes off kind of stiff and /or frosty. But not so in this movie. She is charmingly quirky and kind of poignant in Laws of Attraction. And she looks just LOVELY.. . .as does Pierce Brosnan .

Hump Day banter

Just more IMing that I saved because it amused me exceedingly. I think it is almost all self-explanatory except..let's see...
*Julie is the plant's Safety Coordinator (hence that joke I cracked myself up with)
*Among other props that clutter my cubicle I have a small plastic glow-in-the-dark man in a business suit that is named Senor Mysterioso (1st name Ronaldo) also there is a smallish stuffed goat...which Laurel did not know about until I threw it at her during this chat...

Loooove, exciting and new...

Today is Gavin MacLeod's birthday. He is 77 today!! Hard to believe..he really doesn't look any older than he did in his Capt. Stubing days. I suspect that he and Florence Henderson have made pacts with Satan to prevent them from aesthetically aging. Or maybe it's a sort of "Picture of Dorian Gray" kind of scenario, where, in some secret sector of the MacLeod manse, there's a framed 8X10 publicity glossy of an inexplicably hoary & decrepit Capt Stubing. Anyways, whatever the reason,the guy looks good for 77, does he not? The only noticeable change is that he's grown a smidge puffier. But y'know he probably packed on those LBs right after Love Boat was cancelled-- he'd made his fortune and was SOOO damn relieved that he no longer had to wear head to toe white all tucked in & belted. And who can blame him for that? That is a tricky look to pull off, and he managed it for nearly 10 years!!

And oh yes-- I shall make with the celeb b-day trivia goodness...

Gavin MacLeod is a pseudonym...the gentleman was born "Allan See" (in Mount Kisco NY, 2/28/1930) Allan/Gavin's father was a Chippewa Indian who owned a gas station.

All this Love Boat chatter has got me thinking.....

It's established: at this point in history we seem to be in the process of running out of ideas ---evidenced by the abundance TV shows remade into movies this past decade (Starsky & Hutch, Dukes of Hazzard, Charlie's Angels, Bewitched, etc etc etc) .

WHY hasn't there been a Love Boat movie or WHY is there not one in the works?? Seems to me to have a lot of potential...you'd have the interweaving of multiple romantic subplots--a la Love Actually -- with a shot of cheesy 70s camp thrown in the mix. Sell me a ticket RIGHT NOW, per favor!!

Hmmm...let's see...some perfunctory/ preliminary casting....

I see Jimmy Fallon as Gopher...

Amanda Bynes plays Vicki?

Ewan MacGregor as Doc --he's not quite old enough I don't think but I'm thinking of him in Down With Love where he charmed me as this goofy ladies man type, while also rocking a faux nerd look.

The good Captain would be tough to cast...the bewildered straight man is very crucial to the overall formula. I'm kinda stuck on this one...maybe David Morse, although I can't see him taking a role like that.

No one particular is springing to mind for the Julie role, but I do have my mind made up for who should be Isaac--Deon Richmond. Yeah, name doesn't ring a bell for me either (had to dig it up on IMDB). But he's is Kenny from the Cosby Show--'cept all grown up. Yep, Rudy's Kenny! I'd like to see that dude get more work, because it makes me grin every time I see him onscreen. He doesn't even have to act, or do anything... it's just innately amusing, that flash of recognition I get. I chuckle and I think "Hey! It's Buuuuud!" Heh heh heh..I love that guy.

The Ugly Princess

This is the new pic on my PC desktop. It is by Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale (1871-1945) and called "The Ugly Princess" She doesn't seem to be exceptionally ugly (although her face is mostly obscured) maybe the backstory here is that this princess is painfully self-conscious with no good reason. I wonder if maybe there's some sort of novel or epic poem about an ugly princess, as a lot of Pre-Raphealite paintings have some sort of basis in literature. Or folklore...maybe there is an "ugly princess " legend.

I will have to investigate further (gawd...ANYTHING to divert me from actual work!!)

Heroes...

Let us first establish what a dork I am about Heroes. Last night I had to pick up some essentials and got detained at Kmart and got home just in time for the start of Heroes. By "detained" I don't mean to say forcibly detained, or arrested for shoplifting or anything so major, I simply got carried away browsing. At 8:45pm I realized (with mucho horror) that I would miss the start of Heroes if I didn't check out immediately, and simultaneously realized I had to pee. Well, I couldn't let trifling bladder demands force me to break my TV-imposed curfew, so I hastened to the checkouts. I was just walking into the apartment at 8:58pm and switched on Heroes poste haste. I actually stood in front of the telly, doing a little urine restraint jig (surely, you too are familiar with this dance..) until the show's 1st commercial break because I didn't want to miss anything. Hey, I did cop to being a dork...it's not like I'm oblivious to how whack that is...
Anyways, I was stoked for a new episode of Heroes, elated to have made it home on time, and then-- then!-- when I saw ERIC ROBERTS I was absolutely over the f-ing moon!!! Sweeet! Eric Roberts is the cat's jammies!!! Seems he will be playing an evil bastard but I wouldn't have it any other way. I just love that guy. It just makes me wonder ... who could they possibly cast as Linderman?? I mean, as the TOP dog, it follows that Linderman will have to be more awesomely badass than Eric Roberts. Who is more awesomely badass than Eric Roberts?? It boggles the mind!! Well, there's got to be somebody, but the only possibilities that presently spring to mind are God or Christopher Walken.

And speaking of the "Primatech Paper" crew...what the hell is Hiro's dad doing working for them?? I thought he ran a totally unrelated corporation in Japan?? He must head up the Japanese division of the bureau and his company must be an elaborate front (a' la Primatech Paper) He seemed to be absolutely in the dark about Hiro's special talents, but now I've gotta wonder...

The ending of the episode got me weepy. I simply don't care if HRG has done tons & tons of shady stuff, the dude has TOTALLY redeemed himself. I hope the Haitian shot him exactly where instructed & he's not a goner... and what is with that bridge?? It seems to be a main road, so I wonder why the hell there's absolutely NO traffic on it...

I worry about Parkman...it looks like they will recruit him and possibly they might wipe out all his memory of his pregnant wife. His wife is kind of annoying (but I don't dislike her nearly as much as I do Simone, whom I was distressed to see in previews for next week looking NOT dead--AAaargh!!) so I don't feel bad for her but it is kind of a sucky turn of events for Parkman.

And the Oscar goes to...

I tried to faithfully attend to the Oscars last night, but you have to be a really DIEHARD Oscar viewer to sit through stuff like the "Achievement in Sound Editing" award without flipping channels. Basically, with banal awards like that, I just see who presents it, check what they're wearing, see if they have good banter, and then flip as soon as they announce the winner. I mean, I am ever so happy for whomever the hell it was that won the "Best Makeup " Oscar but I don't really care to hear them gush their thank-yous. Oh, but I did enjoy what they did when presenting the award for Best Costume Design-- the whole live mannequin thing. That was neat. And I actually listened to the winner's (that would be Milena Canonero) speech...I stopped myself, a milisecond before flipping, when I saw Canonero heading toward the stage. I was intrigued--who is this woman who dreams up such GORGEOUS costumes (in fact, after they showed all the nominee "mannequins" I was rooting for her Marie Antoinette costumes to win it) and yet dresses herself like Johnny Depp?? WTF?
Overall I did a lot of flipping during the telecast, and although I think I caught all of the key stuff, I still feel like I did a really half-arse job of watching, and am therefore ill-equipped to do a big synopsis. In fact I wouldn't have brought up the Oscars at all if I weren't strongly compelled to say this one thing. . .
I LOVE FOREST WHITAKER!!! I wanted him to win, but didn't expect that he would. First off, lemme say I have not seen ANY of the Oscar nominated movies (how sad is that? I NEVER go out to the movies anymore...) so I was just rooting for the acting awards based on whom I like as an actor /actress. And I've always liked Forest Whitaker... although I can't quite articulate why I like him. My regard for him increased immensely after his recent SNL hosting stint. Although the SNL writers didn't produce anything exceptional for him (speaking of which, they also sadly misused the great Rainn Wilson this past weekend) he did very well with what they did give him and proved himself quite willing to belt out a tune and unafraid to look like a jackass (both characteristics are HUGE assets in my book). But I did like him previously, before I knew the singing jackass side of him.
It was a pleasant surprise that he won-it was my #1 favorite thing about the Oscars. I thought my rooting for him was apt to jinx him (and I didn't try to aid him by deliberately NOT rooting for him, as such a cheap ruse would never fool the Jinx Gods) Also I'd heard some Oscar prognosticator on the telly saying how the Academy was very unlikely to grant the Best Actor nod to someone nominated for a villainous role. Cripes, I can't remember who said that, on what show or even on what network, but the dude must've said it very authoritatively because I had it ingrained in my head that the odds were totally stacked against Forest winning.
I think his acceptance speech was just great... got me a smidgeon verklempt actually. I guess in that speech he illustrated why I like him-- he just exuded sincerity, honor, sweetness. I suppose the sentimental favorite shoulda been Peter O'Toole , what with his 900 (approx)
nominations and never a win..but Forest seems like SUCH a great guy that I was even glad he beat out poor sad, Methuseluh.
My #2 favorite thing at this year's Oscars was Jerry Seinfeld. I know that was the briefest, most fleeting little bit of the Oscars but he really made me chortle. I think they should have cut out some (if not all) of those stupid shadow gymnastics performances and given Jer some more air time.
I was glad to see Jennifer Hudson win too. Not because I liked her performance (I might...I just haven't seen Dreamgirls...but I do want to) but simply 'cause it's fun to see a total novice win. What can I say? I'm a chronic champion of the underdog, I guess. Oh, but speaking of that underdog ...sweet girl that she is...I thought she was going to have one of "the twins" pop out during her musical performance! Holy guacamole! There was some very precarious jiggle action going on in the neighborhood of her decolletage... I was having panicky Superbowl XXXVIII flashbacks. As for her other get up...her brown dress was OK (nothing spectacular) and I was mucho-relieved that she'd ditched her bizarro sci-fi bolero before she accepted her Oscar.
Speaking of Oscar fashions, y'know who I thought was uncontestedly the most gorgeous chick at the whole fete? Helen Mirren. I'll bet she really suspected a win and made sure she looked her absolute BEST. Mission accomplished (on the Oscar & the look!) Dame!
Some other standouts --
Jennifer Lopez : Now, I'm not much of a J-Lo fan but I must concede she looked beautiful. My only quibble is that with all that neckline glitz on her terrific gown, she mighta been better off going totally sans jewelry
Reese Witherspoon: I dug her dress when I watched last night, but at that time, it looked black. In pics I've seen today, it's obviously purple, and I love it so much more. She also had a lot of pressure to nail her Oscar look...not only was she presenting one of the most crucial awards, but this would be her first single Oscars too. Oh, I don't suppose she's legally single just yet, but why not start advertising the goods in advance, eh?
Emily Blunt: I haven't seen this chick in anything, but hey kudos for rockin' that dress. It's sort of an unconventional color choice and I think that's why it caught my eye.

And there were a few notable flops...Naomi Watts also picked an eye-catching color...when the color is great--and this one is-- I am wanting to like the dress but this one I could not like as it felt like another waldrobe malfunction in the offing. Another precarious decolletage but this time without the fun Jello-esque kinetics.
I actually liked Gwyneth Paltrow's unique dress...and you cannot possibly fathom how it pains me to confess that. My disdain for Gwynnie runs deep. Fortunately, I can, in all honesty , give a thumbs-down to her overall look because her severely bland Pocohantas hair ruined the whole thing. How long has she had that blah 'do? Seems like ages. But it was particularly vexing me last night, I think because I did like her gown (does that make sense?).

Some things (non fashion related things)that puzzled me--
Clint Eastwood: He did say he left his glasses at home. But he came off really addled and foggy-brained -- that can't just be missing specs.
Why is Jack Nicholson totally bald? Is this for a role? I don't think Jack has any trouble with the ladies, so I can't imagine this is just a ploy to snag bald fetishists (oh, and yes there are such chicks...I KNOW ONE OF 'EM) Well my official guess is this-- instead of introducing yet another hue of lapel ribbon (y'know the ol' stand by ribbon loop pins long -used in H'wood to signify your fervent social activism-- pink for breast cancer, yellow for troop support, peuce for genital herpes and all that) Jack is using his radical new 'do (or lack thereof) to silently express his Britney solidarity.

The presentation of the Best Pic award puzzled me too. Y'see I had thought, for the Best Picture win, that a big chunk of the cast joined the producers & director on stage, but there were very few people, just producers (maybe just one, now that I think back actually) accepting last night for The Departed. Maybe that's not the usual case, (a big crowd on stage for Best Pic) but I remember it that way when Crash won, and also back when Shakespeare in Love got Best Picture honors. It's weird, I realize, that I'm reaching back a whole decade for that particular Oscar memory, but that one has always stuck out in my mind..as a freakish anomaly...that shoulda NEVER have won Best Picture. And -honestly- I am NOT just saying that due to the Paltrow factor. It was a good movie...but certainly not GREAT or Oscar-worthy.

The other night on my way home I was at the lights @ the end of Benning St and noticed that the car ahead of me had a vanity plate on it that read "AIKEN"

It's possible, of course, that these people relocated to VT from Aiken SC...I'm hoping to God that's the case. I shudder to think that there are Clay Aiken fans out there so devoted that they're willing to shill out the extra moolah for vanity plates just so they can wear their devotion to that uber-DWEEB on their bumpers...
As if the mere existence of Clay Aiken fans isn't shudder-inducing enough in the 1st place...

I Love Ewe York

I cannot bring myself to watch a whole episode of VH1's morass of sleaze "I Love New York" but it's hard to be totally oblivious to it, as VH1 likes to run it at least thrice daily. So occasionally, I'll be channel surfing and catch sight of this show and I'm always struck by Tiffany Pollard's (aka New York) unique looks. And I'm not being critical... not trying to say she's ugly...but the chick is ALL EYELIDS. And lashes. In fact, I believe her visage is --quite literally-- what they call "heavy-lidded" as the weight of her eyelashes physically prohibits her from opening her eyes all the way.
Also, she tends to highlight her big bulbous lids (well she highlights everything bulbous on her, doesn't she?) by painting them like Electric Scarab Teal or some insanely loud hue...see below--


and really she reminds me of no one so much as...

LAMBCHOP!!! (shown here with Kermit)

Now obviously, New York is darker complexioned, more buxom. Aside from that, they could be twins I tell ya...

TV blatherings....

I'm dying to rant about last night's Top Design-

First off, I LOOOVED the premise of this episode. Have the designers go yard saling? BRILLIANT! I like the whole salvage-chic school of design, giving new life to old stuff (making doors into table tops & all that). Although if they wanted to make this truly challenging, they woulda flied them out to New England for some of our yard sales. But I suppose, with some of these guys being total yard sale rookies, it’s best to start them out in a remedial environment.
Yup, you read right- total yard sale rookies. This Andrea chick is nearly 40 years old and NEVER been to a yard sale! That just astounds me.

Well it seems that Top Design is going to borrowing Project Runways “red herring convention”—this is where the show will really zero in on the troubles of one particular designer, seemingly saying this is OBVIOUSLY the designer that’ll be cut. But it’s just their means of manufacturing a “shocking twist” ending when it’s always a different designer that’s ousted. Such a clever ploy, the only problem being that if you’re even moderately astute you’ll be expecting it.

Anyways, this episode’s red herring was Carisa. They might’ve touched on the other designer’s rough spots briefly, but they really put the spotlight on Carisa’s carpenter-drama/ desk-debacle. But I sensed she was the red herring and wouldn’t really get the axe, and then I saw her room, saw it was OK, definitely passable, and knew for sure she was safe. Yep that’s right, my highest praise for her room was that it was “definitely passable” and she WON. That win was absolute BULLSHIT!! I didn’t hate her room by any means, it was pleasant enough, but it didn’t display any exceptional talent or "vision" I don't think. Judge for yourself though...

It makes me think "Ehhh, I could do that my damn self!!" I mean her whole win is based on nice throw pillows and having the good yard sale luck to snag that chair...that's it. Not very innovative. I'll allow that I could be a smidge biased because I think Carisa is a horrid bitch and they cannot axe her soon enough but, no, no ,no, I'm making myself evaluate objectively and CLEARLY the winner shoulda been...
MATT!!! MATT!! MATT!!


He made this space--full of yard sale finds-- look chic and high-end. How neat-o is the half drafting table/half desk unit on the wall? And let's not forget his client was 100% satisfied (the same could not be said for Carisa's client who actually sounded a bit annoyed that her insistence on storage was ignored) I think they were just penalizing him for using the color green which is BULLSHIT! Ok, I hate to be redundant, with my all caps "BULLSHIT"s, but I'm a little indignant on Matt's behalf. He's shaping up to be one of my faves..(though I've not yet settled on a #1 fave) I thought his wall lights in the little girl's room were so neat, and I feel certain that when he teamed with Felicia in episode 1 that all the really cool architectural elements of that room were his doing. And ok--YES--I'm still charmed about what he said about pumpkin-picking with his family.

Goil-- I liked his room pretty well. If they had let them shop at the Design Center, he probably would've included one trademark peppers. I didn't think that his weird sawed up chairs were as totally BRILLIANT like Margaret Russell did...perhaps I'm just too "provincial" to get the underlying message there. I also disagreed with the judges about that recessed bed-- I don't think that would be that difficult to get onto. These judges don't give people credit for being at all coordinated whatsoever. Overall I like Goil, I think he's talented, but I think he's shaping up to be the "teacher's pet" designer, and it's hard for me to root for that. I'm much more drawn to rooting for the dark horse and/or underdog figure.

Andrea-- For a total yard sale rookie she did great. Her room was a little sparse but I think that suited her client.

Felicia-- I won't miss her. It was her kid's room (Ep#2) that prejudiced me against her. I just cannot shake how horribly drab that room was. Again she presented a drab, drab, dreary-ass room. I didn't really zero in on the afghan as singularly offensive, rather I was repelled by that makeshift wallpaper of ties that everybody else seemed to love.

Micheal-- I thought he did a decent job, although I would really like to see a big decline in his work so that he'll get the boot. Simply because he ANNOYS THE PISS OUTTA ME.


Erik-- Not wild about the ART and not sure I get the mini chair on a pedestal thing, but otherwise, I think his room is terrific. I like his industrialish metal accents and how he partitioned the bed off from the study area. I think he's shaping up to be another favorite of mine.

Ryan-- Here we have Top Design's answer to Jeffrey Sebelia/Santino. And I like him (As I did with Santino...but NOT Jeffrey) I like his total disregard for interior design convention, the way he approaches every room like a big art project. Unfortunately, unless he reigns in his overt kiss-my-ass attitude he is GOING to get the axe. Crikey, I thought Margaret Russell was going to launch herself 'cross The White Room & sink her claws into him!! (speaking of Mags...is being a raging uber-bitch a prerequisite for working for Elle ? I wonder--if she and Nina Garcia had a bitch showdown, who would win? I cannot decide, but I am certain the clash would be utterly terrifying) As for this challenge..that baffling partition detracted from his really cool walls.

I saw that they've got a Top Designer "marathon" coming up. I don't think you can call running all 4 episodes a marathon. To me, a marathon consists of a minimum of 5 episodes.

In other TV news...word is that a Grey's Anatomy spin-off is in the works...centered around Addison. Now Addison IS probably my favorite Grey's character but still this strikes me as a bad idea. Will Ads be pulled from Grey's Anatomy? Will the spin-off's supporting cast be culled from Grey's or be all new characters? And --most importantly--where will that stud Sloane wind up???
Aw, who knows, maybe it would be great...maybe it is only my innate aversion to change that makes me hate this idea....

someone will fly, someone will die (your dog will call the FBI)

I was quite satisfied with the outcome of Mon night's "Heroes" episode. The flying was just AWESOME, the deaths-nothing too tragic. Well of course, it's unfortunate that the mechanic chick w/ super hearing was beheaded but, I had yet to grow too terribly attached to her. And Simone getting shot...well I was kind of rooting for that. I never did figure out exactly what about her was so offputting to me (not that it matters now) but I'm presuming someone with pull on the writing staff was in agreement with on me on her being an unnecessary drain on the show.
Now next episode looks like a real "corker" (to borrow a phrase my Dad would employ) the only downside being that if it IS so explosive and there are so many big questions answered than that surely indicates that this'll be the last new episode before a lengthy break. Oh shitake...is that why NBC has been hyping this new "Black Donnellys" show 50 times an hour, 24 hrs a day? Is THAT their mid-season replacement offering?? BLAH. I am SO not enticed.

So I know my "Heroes " reactions come a day late but, I still consider it relevant to today because when browsing Feb 21 celeb b-days today (as is my daily custom) I noticed that Jack "Papa Bennett" Coleman turns 49 yrs old today. Of course I remembered him being on Dynasty back in the day (he played Steven--Blake Carrington's gay son) but I was astounded by how much, much more TV work he's done besides.

I opted for the photo of Jack in his Dynasty days as that is when he was at peak foxiness, and he gets so much attention for "Heroes" these days anyways...

So yeah, it is, I confess, terribly LAZY to build a post around a celebrity birthday. I try not to fall back on that gimmick too often, but sometimes I can't resist. Usually the case is that when reading up on said b-day celeb I will discover a surprising trivia nugget that I just cannot keep to myself. LeVar Burton being in that music video, for instance. If I hadn't been celebrating LeVar's birthday last Fri then tell me, WHEN would I have had the opportunity to link to Cameo's "Word Up" video?? Maybe when I did my "Salute to Nasty Codpieces" post...but that's a massive undertaking that I'm not yet prepared to tackle...

Well you might've surmised that I've dug up an intriguing factoid about Mr Bennett...and you'd be correct. ... Jack Coleman is a 6th generation grandchild of Benjamin Franklin!! How wild is that?? Personally, I find it uncannily coincidental that TV's Steven Carrington would in real life be a decendant of Ben Franklin because who is BLAKE CARRINGTON if not a latter day fictional Ben Franklin?? Well I can't quite picture him out in the rain flying a kite (getting his luxurius Nolan Miller threads all soggy) but they're both larger-than-life, white-haired philandering entrepeneurs. Y'see the parallels?? I find it SO illuminating to consider American History as if it were an Aaron Spelling cheese-stravaganza from the 80s. Makes it more REAL, more relatable. Imagine, for instance, the Civil War transpiring on the Love Boat... interfering Yankee tourists are encamped on the lido deck and they've decided to liberate Isaac from his humble drink lackey duties...will Captain Stubing tolerate such insolent mutiny? Will the Pacific Princess secede from the fleet of more progressive cruise ships??

This pic on my MSN homepage surprised me:


Why is this dude splashed all over the internet when I have yet to hear one of his little ditties on the radio?? Why is spawn of Thicke such big news? What is UP with that?? What the hell, no fresh Anna Nicole news today?
I did see a Robin Thicke video this summer that moved me to post , not because I was like "Awww-YEAH! That's my jam right there!" But because I was astonished by what a young Jason Seaver this guy was. Looks JUST like dear ol' Dad, don'tcha think? His song, if I remember correctly, was pretty crappy, though not memorably so.