HOLY SHIT!!!!

Tonight's Veronica Mars episode was SO FUCKING GOOD!!! But as I was wondering what will happen next and when, I remembered that The CW only ordered about half the episodes this year, a provisional season. So tonight was set up as a sort of series finale, but with one mystery at the end to develop if it got picked up for the rest of the season.

But I don't know if it got picked up!!!! I need to know!!!

Man, what a good episode!

Stop the Pity Party

So here I was, sitting at my desk bemoaning all the things going wrong. Things not working out the way I want them to, not being able to do things I want, and people not emailing me back. Then I thought about one of my best friends. She emailed me last February, and I still haven't emailed her back. What an ass I am! What's my problem? Is it THAT hard to send a note back saying that it was great to hear from her, things in my life are going well, and that I'll talk to her soon? What's so difficult about that? So I need to snap out of feeling sorry for myself. Life is good. Not ideal, but good. I should also email that friend. Maybe I will.

That was how I was feeling a half hour ago, before I heard about what could be an amazing real estate opportunity for me and my family (no we're not going to a time-share seminar). That has me all jacked up now and excited. Of course, it won't actually happen. Then we'll be slightly depressed having got over-excited about it. But we'll soldier on until we really can afford to move to a better home in a better neighborhood.

So the overall point to this post is supposed to be positive. About remaining positive in the face of minor setbacks and trivial disappointments. That's what I'm going to do. And TV will help me, as long as not EVERY show I watch goes on hiatus until January/February. What's with that? I don't remember every show having a "Fall Finale" before. Maybe I can get some reading done during the next two months, instead.

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

We all know the drill. We eat WAY too much and regret it. Until it's time for pie, then we have one slice of each of the three kinds there. But in an effort to help curb your appetite, I'm sending you to this incredible video of a foot-long centipede catching and eating a flying bat! No shit, that's what it is. Check it out.

Now, about Veronica Mars. Did they just solve the season long mystery last night, or what? I'm sure there's still a rapist to find, but they kind of implied that they were all faked by the feminists. But next week's looks intense, so we'll see (someone dies!). And poor Logan. I kind of feel for him.

Happy Turkey Day. Get some relaxing in.

This Week's TV Post, About Last Week's Shows

Life is so busy that we don't get around to watching most shows until several days after they air. This makes up-to-date commenting hard, but I know you all like my analysis so much you're willing to wait. So here goes:

Desperate Housewives - Good. I like the mystery this season, but not much else is blowing me away. Although the scene in the new neighbor's house was pretty creepy.

Heroes - Awesome. I guess Horn Rimmed Glasses guy is good, but maybe not with the same agenda as the rest of the heroes. Can't wait to see what happens with Hiro and the waitress. And does the Indian professor dude have powers, too? Is that what the dreams are about, or were they being sent to him by that kid?

Studio 60 - I'm hanging on, tenuously. I like Matt Perry and Brad Whitford a lot. Mark McKinney of Kids in the Hall and SNL fame is writing now, hopefully to make the sketch show parts funnier. The news read through last week was awful, and not just because Simon's replacement was flubbing the lines. And the commercials for next week are trying to trick us that Matt and his Fundie ex kiss, but it's obviously the British writer chick that kisses him. Isn't she from the original The Office?

Veronica Mars - Awesome! But why is Veronica sweating Logan so much? Lay off, honey. You're not so perfect yourself.

Medium's back! Too bad I haven't watched it yet, so don't say anything about it.

My Name is Earl - Awesome. Good to see Christian Slater working and being funny. That's what he's good at. His Jack Nicholson-esque star turn in "Heathers" was funny. It didn't mean that he could do drama, so he shouldn't. He needs some Paul Rudd type roles in comedies, supporting (and stealing scenes from) comic stars.

The Office - Really good first half. Ed Helms was great, and Creed ogling the breast-feeding woman was hilarious. But by the time Michael and Dwight were trying to push the big guy onto the table, the show started going too far again, like it's been doing a lot this season (beginning with Michael and Oscar's kiss). And not too far in terms of offensiveness, but too far in terms of plausibility. I hope they reign in the urge to be outrageous. You can have funny, awkward situations without going overboard. The Jim and Pam story line was good, but I think they put Jim and the other Stamford girl together too soon. Since when are they dating? They should have let the tension build a bit more with Pam seeing things develop between them.

30 Rock - REALLY good! Funnier than The Office. That's right! It was! You could tell they've added some things to spice it up: putting racier elements in it, using self-aware advertising humor (the Snapple bits). And yes, those things were derivative. They stole the clueless sexuality stuff from "Arrested Development" and the ad stuff from "Wayne's World". But it worked, and it was funny. Alec Baldwin rules that show.

Grey's Anatomy - Good stuff. I'm hooked, I'll admit. It's sentimental, but it gets to me. I'm sure that its story lines will go too far soon, like "ER", but I like the focus on the characters and their humanity.

Maybe this week I'll have more contemporaneous posts. But there's still last week's "Medium" and about 3 weeks of "Numbers" to watch. And some Food Network shows my wife recorded.

Probably a foolish cross-post, but It's ON, Bitch!!

I finally got a response email from the producers of VH1's World Series of Pop Culture. I may have mentioned this before, but I'd love to make a blogger-based team to get on the show and clean up! I know some of you are pop-culture fiends like me (even more so, I'm sure) and would make great teammates.

There's a slight problem with getting on the show, though. The team needs to go to a casting call in one of 5 cities. After the casting interview (where they presumably pick people based on personality and not sheer knowledge), you get called back to qualify. If you make it to the final 16, then you go to New York for the taping in March. So you see, there will be a significant travel/time commitment to it. But the prize is $250,000 and ultimate bragging rights. Casting calls will be in the following cities on the dates specified:

New York City: January 19th - 21st
Los Angeles: January 26th - 28th
Chicago: February 2nd - 4th
Austin: February 9th - 11th
Orlando: February 16th - 18th

You can only go with an appointment, so the team has to be signed up and invited first. Taping of the actual World Series is from March 22-24.

Since I've just made this information available to all of you, there's nothing stopping you from stealing my idea and running away with it without me. But you wouldn't do that, right? Here's what I propose:

• I'll be the team captain,
• I've got a great name already, but it's negotiable if someone can come up with a better one,
• Express interest only if you really want to do it, and can actually make it to a casting and taping,
• If more than two other people want in, then we come up with some kind of quiz to see who gets in (from which I will be exempt, hehe)
• If we have 6 or more total people interested, we make 2 teams that sign up for two different castings.

Well, what do you say? I'd like to sign up before the end of November to make sure we get a spot in a casting. Once we have a team we'll have to pick the casting that's most convenient for schedules and travel. Leave a comment or email me if you want in.

It's all a Blur to me

Thanks for the guesses on my last post title. The inspiration for the title was Blur's "Coffee and TV". I was never much of a Blur fan, but this is a good song with a great video. Check it out.



And speaking of music (kind of) I'm soliciting recommendations for good unheralded music. What are you listening to that other people probably haven't heard of, but should?

Happy Friday and Good Weekend to you all!

Give me Politics and TV

Politics
I wasn't much of a campaigner this year, but I'm pretty pleased and impressed with the shift that happened in both houses of Congress. Even if Webb ends up losing to Allen in Virginia, it's a significant change in the Senate. But the Democrats need to be careful. Keep your noses clean. Work hard for change, but recognize that you could cause gridlock with overzealous legislation that will get vetoed again and again. Don't forget, some of the new Dem members are relatively conservative or former Republicans. And then there's the mystery that is Joe Lieberman.

Be constructive. Don't continue harping on Republicans and how bad they are. Just do the job and forget about the soundbite. You've got to face the criticism that you only complain and reject things, but don't have any ideas or plans of your own. Prove that stuff wrong.

One more thing, did you see what Nevada did on their ballots? They took a page out of Montgomery Brewster's playbook and had a "None of the Above" slot for the Senate and Governor races. That's awesome.

TV
I'm a bit behind on show watching this week, but I caught Veronica Mars last night, and it was awesome! I've read some hating going on about the new season, that it's not good like the first season. I haven't seen the first season, so I don't really know, but I hope last night's ep set some of those critics to rest. Neat weekly mystery with good twist, cool new development in the season-long mystery, and great side character story lines with Keith and Wallace. Mya and Elliott back together again!!!

Still need to watch this week's Heroes, so no spoilers, please. And Lost is going to be good, but they're doing the damn Fall Finale thing and going on hiatus until February?!?! That's hella lame! Prisonbreak caught a lot of flack, and lost a lot of viewers, doing that last year.

Miscellany
And anyone know from where I adapted my post title?

Hilarious Internet-Age Creativity

Game 6 of the 1986 World Series is as black an event for me as any Boston Red Sox fan. But that doesn't mean I can't find this video awesomely funny. It's over 8 minutes long, so it might take a while to load.



Sure, they got Buckner's big E wrong, but still, it's pretty damn impressive.

I'm regressing in my blogging

My general malaise in life is going to manifest itself on this blog as TV talk nearly all the time. For some reason, that's all I really care about or think about these days, except for some political stuff which I'll address at the end of the post.

1. The Office - I'll try to satisfy my one fan's desires for recaps while not spoiling anything for another reader. Michael and Dwight are getting stupider, apparently, and their antics are getting a bit over the top this season. Jim, Pam and the supporting cast are where it's at for me. Creed's bits are awesome. Last week's Jim-Pam content at the end (is that vague enough for you, ACW?) was really nice. Looks like it's still there, despite Jim's new coworker.

2. Veronica Mars - I'm liking this very much. I look forward to it more every week. Last week's Elliot-Mya reunion (Enrico Colantoni and Laura San Giacomo from "Just Shoot Me") was cool.

3. Heroes - It's definitely the new Lost, giving creepy twists and turns each week, but only enough to make you angry that they didn't show more. So what's the deal with Ali Larter's character now? Is she dead, or only her bad half? Was she evil all along and not supposed to be among the protagonists? Is the boy's father the good guy? Interesting stuff.

4. Lost - The show may have lost (hehehehe) it's leading status of hip, trippy thriller, but it's still totally awesome. Though the opening of the season premiere ruled, the first two eps were kind of slow. But they've brought it over the past few weeks, and it looks to be getting even better. My only problem (big spoiler alert for those who haven't seen it) is this:

Why did you kill off Mr. Eko?!?!? His past and redemption made him a very sympathetic character, and a strong presence among the Losties, both spiritually and physically. That makes only one Tailie left: Rose's husband. But we already know all of his backstory (presumably). We know nothing of how Mr. Eko got to Australia, and why he was on the plane to the U.S. (or did I miss that part?). Is it any coincidence that he got arrested in Hawaii for a driving violation, and now his character's dead? Just like Cynthia Watros and Michelle Rodriguez last season? Sure, there have been some important plot points brought about because of the Tailies, but if you were just going to kill them off anyway, then why tell such a long story about who they were and how they got to the rest of the group? That just supports the critics of Season 2 who say that the show lost (hehehe) its focus and got mired in slow storytelling and tangents. Oh well, at least we got to see the smoke monster in action. I just wish it had been someone else getting thrown around.

5. Politics - I usually vote Democrat, but don't really identify myself as one. I'm a left-leaning, moderate independent. Democrats can disappoint (John Kerry), annoy (Nancy Pelosi), and frustrate (Hillary Clinton) me like any politician. And I can understand a lot of truly conservative (not mass-media Bush cheerleaders) viewpoints. Even pro-war viewpoints. But how can anyone in their right mind not see today's "Republicans" as just awful, horrible, cynical, opportunistic Super Douche Bags? I just read this editorial from Slate, and even though I already knew this stuff, I got really angry. Not only have these people been virtually controlling the government for 10 years, they've been making their evil method of politicking standard practice for longer than that. Can there ever be a turn around to how it's done now? Can the Grand Old Party ever return to its storied history when it actually did promote equality, responsibility, and fiscal conservatism? What scares me even more is the prospect of entering that bloody arena. I've been interested in entering politics, both state and federal, since high school. Now I don't dare unless I can hire a P.I. to investigate and clear me. But how much can Republicans find? Credit card transactions over 10 years old from accounts that have been closed? Websites visited on computers owned 7 years ago and sold to an anonymous family in another state? The fan letter I wrote in high school to the author of the Rush biography, in which I called the members of the band "divinely inspired"? I shudder to think what I and my family would be subjected to, even though I am secure in the conviction that I am 500 times more virtuous than a lot of people on Capitol Hill.