Who needs TiVo when you have 2 VCR's

BEST OF TV LIST 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO

"Reality"

Dirty Jobs-(Discovery) Mike Rowe (see pic) likes to get dirty. More importantly, I like to watch him get dirty. It's nice to see a show that celebrates the everyman as opposed to evil rich kids from the OC.

First 48-(A&E) Real cops, real cases and a definite pleasure for a crime tv junkie. I usually have a hard time watching when the families of the victims are notified and some shows end with cases being open, but it is interesting television.

Ghosthunters-(Sci-Fi Channel) As someone who read every book on the paranormal I could find in our small town library, I can't get enough of this show. I like the yin/yang relationship of the two founders/best friends Jason and Grant. Jason has a nice bit of snark to him and Grant is genuinely kind which makes the two of them together an ideal man. Some ep's there are no ghosts to be found, but the little conflicts between the crew members keep things interesting.

Amazing Race-(CBS) In my effort to dislike all things "reality competition" (ie. Survivor, American Idol, etc.), I didn't latch on to this show till last year. I missed some good stuff. The big draw for me is seeing all the cool places the show goes to during the course of the game. The competitors are usually interesting, plenty to both hate and love.

COMEDY:

The Office--Everyone is brilliant in this show. While not as dark as its British original, it still has plenty of moments of uncomfortable humor. The Pam and Jim saga is so well played by Jenna Fisher and John Krazinski (sp) that every glance or seemingly casual conversation is laced with meaning. Plus it's really frickin' funny. Steve Carrell rocks.

Ugly Betty and Studio 60--The two new shows that have kept me interested this season. Studio 60 may end up being too "insider" for its own good, but the mid-season ender that had Danny telling Jordan how he felt will probably lead to a stronger focus on the characters as opposed to slamming the inner workings of television. Hats off to the writers though. Not only do they have to write their own show, but they have to write the show within a show. I thought the parody of To Catch a Predator with that dude harassing Santa was fabulous. Betty has taken what could be stereotypical characters and given them some depth. I also love the relationship between Betty and Daniel (Eric Mabius who was great in Welcome To The Dollhouse and in my guilty fave, Resident Evil--woooo!!!).

Reno 911-Killer parody of all things law enforcement. I saw a trailer for the movie a couple of months ago and about laughed my ass off.

Psych-This was a summer show on USA network and it is hands down one of the smartest and funniest shows out there. Every freakin' episode was full of the funny (and you can't really say that about The Simpsons this year sadly...too busy on the movie I guess). The leads have perfect chemistry as life long best friends. It's about a guy who has always moved through life without purpose, but is still a good guy none the less. His father, a cop, taught him how to quickly assess people and places. This sort of hyper-awareness, through some smoke and mirrors on his part, has our hero opening his own PI business, the catch being he is claiming to be psychic. Really, he's just very, very, observant. Trust me, it's a great show. It's back on in Jan.

The Venture Brothers-(Cartoon Network) Sharp and witty with tons of pop culture references. This pseudo parody of Johnny Quest has done everything from sending up the Fantastic Four to The Manchurian Candidate. Each season the writing gets stronger and the characters get fuller and in some ways, more weird. Love this. Can't wait till it comes back with new ep's.

SCI-FI

Dr. Who-David Tennant has done a great job filling the shoes of last year's doctor, Christopher Eccelston (sp). Tennant's doctor is a bit more joyful and he's been fun to watch.

4400-(USA) Another summer show that stemmed from a mini-series, The 4400 has continued to evolve nicely. The "what's really going on here" arc has moved along with some good twists and turns. The two main characters, Tom and Diana, have a nice Mulder/Scully vibe going only its doubtful they will get together, which is probably a good thing.

Battlestar Galactica--THE BEST FREAKIN' SHOW OUT THERE

Yes, I said it. Best freakin' show. Yes, it beats out 24 (just barely though). It has everything--writing, acting, directing, special effects, set design. You name it and Galactica has probably kicked its ass twice already. Not so much a science fiction show as it is a war drama that takes place in space. The show has explored topics other programs won't even touch--suicide bombers, genocide, the war machine, religion, whether or not the ends justify the means...it's all in there. Plus, there's nudity and sex. WOO HOO! Watch this show. It moves to Sun. nites starting in late Jan.

Damn, I am long winded. If you made it all the way through, good job. If you skimmed, don't worry, there isn't going to be a quiz. But, I may mock you at some point.

Happy New Year!

A CRAP LOAD OF NIN FAN'S CAN'T BE WRONG

Question not the combined power of a Trent Reznor fan, a computer, and a poll that let's you vote as often as you like. VH1 Classic took a poll from a provided list of the best videos ever for an end of the year special. On that list was "Closer." (Not to mention other great vid's like "Sabotage", "It's Oh So Quiet" and that Fatboy Slim one with a dancing Christopher Walken, oh yeah, "Weapon Of Choice" knew I'd remember it eventually. Atleast one NIN fan site mentioned the poll and tah-dah!!!!, "Closer" came in at number one. It is a seriously cool video, even in it's edited version. The best part was it kicked the asses of many a lame band/artist. Frickin' "Cradle of Love" from Billy Idol was #2...da hell?

I have a request of my friends who have high speed internet and are way smarter than me when it comes to this computer thing. As a Christmas gift, the aforementioned Mr. Reznor has provided a download of his impossible to find Closure release. Originally on VHS, disagreements between Trent and "the man" have kept it from being released on DVD. But now, over at thepiratebay.org you can get a download of it. Or rather, you can get disc one right now. Disc two should be available soon.

One of the few times I actually need a faster ISP (oh the irony, eh Jinn?) and I'm sorta screwed here. If someone could download it and burn it (which is do-able according to the site) and send it to me I would be most appreciative. I would even send you some sort of thank you, at the very least I'd pay you for the DVD's you copied onto. If one of you thinks it is possible, let me know. MERCI BEAUCOUP!

Quick note, the picture is from the concert I saw in Feb. in Champaign-Urbana. Not sure which song this is though.

Also, here's something interesting to check out, especially if you are getting a passport after the new year. More anarchy from Wired. www.wired.com/wired/archive/15.01/start.html?pg=9.

Best of TV list 2 probably tomorrow.

Best Of/Faves List #2

When I started listing my fave shows, I was a bit shocked to see just how much I watch. Although, in my defense, some of these shows have short runs (around 6 for the Brit stuff and 13 for the summer shows) so it ends up being about 1 or 2 a night I watch. That's my story anyway.


BEST OF TELEVISION PART ONE:
aka: I have no life....

DRAMA/CRIME DRAMA:

Life On Mars (see picture)--British import about a cop who gets hit by a car in the year 2006 and wakes up and he's back in the 70's. Not really a sci-fi show in that so far we've been lead to believe Sam Tyler is actually in a coma and this is all in his head...or is it? John Simm is pitch perfect as Sam as he struggles to figure out what is really going on. The second season is supposed to start in the UK around April so hopefully it will get to us before the end of next year. Try and catch this on BBC America if it's available.

Waking The Dead--once again it's BBC America to the rescue...long before there was Cold Case on CBS, WTD has been solving the icy cases for a few years now. They are not afraid to kill off major characters and they aren't afraid of making the head of the unit, the amazing Trevor Eve, be a bit of an ass (but more often than not it's in a good way).

Without A Trace--one of the more solid shows out there, it's center is definitely Anthony LaPagilla's (sp?) performance. He brings it every week. The writers do an amazing job of working the agents' personal lives into the cases without it being too overwrought (hint, hint CSI). The show also sports a great supporting cast.

The Closer--Kyra Sedgewick (sp) continues to spark this always well written and acted show. There is plenty of humor thanks to her character's relationship with her fellow squad members and her personality quirks. She kicks ass in interrogation (think Pembleton in Homicide as a Southern chick).

Bones--I love this show. It's full of great characters and the chemistry between the leads is fun to watch. It's not trying to be hard core drama, but there is still plenty of tension and crime ickiness to be found.

SERIAL :

Prison Break--woo hoo William Fitchner (sp...I must look this stuff up before I start to write) and Robert K. The full characters keep this show from going completely over the top plot wise. Very much a rollercoaster ride type of program

24--Ahhh...Kiefer. Kiefer with a hack saw. Kiefer gets shocked, alot. Kiefer runs, alot. Kiefer mentions they are running out of time, alot. The plot runs amuck and sometimes makes no sense. Stuff blows up. You can get across L.A. in 15 minutes! Go Chloe!!!

Kidnapped--unfairly canned after just 4 episodes, this series boasted a great cast, an interesting plot and solid writing. People are too damned impaitent these days. You can catch the remaining ep's online.

JUMPING THE SHARK--OR ATLEAST REVING UP THE BIKE:

CSI--this started to go downhill last year. I pretty much watched it to check out the status of Nick's hair (I preferred it longer than it is now). This year has not faired much better. I can usually fast forward through an episode in about 15 minutes. Also, could there be less chemistry between Grissom and Sara?

Gilmore Girls--I loved this show for its witty banter, pop culture references, and the characters. Now that the series creators have gone the spark seems to have left as well. The remaining folk are trying, but it just isn't as funny or touching as it used to be. I'll still watch just to find out how it all ends.

Lost--about 1/2 of the season so far left me really annoyed, but the mid-season cliffhanger ep reminded me what it was I loved about this show. I was excited to find out one of my favorite writers, Brian K. Vaughan (Y the Last Man, Ex Machina, Runaways, Pride of Baghdad) has joined the writing staff. I think he's brilliant so I can't wait to see what his ep's are like.

Next time it'll be Sci-Fi, Comedy, Animated and Reality shows.

Woo hoo.

Merry Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Just a couple of quick things to cover...

First, my friend's dad is doing better! Easily the best gift of the holiday is knowing he is off the ventilator (and has been for two days) and is responding to questions, etc. He is talking slowly, but he seems to be understanding what is being said and done. He is going in for an MRI tomorrow. Pray or think happy thoughts for him if you can.

Second, I went to church last night. This may not sound like a big deal, but other than attending for a wedding, a funeral, or via a weekend visit to a friend's house, I have not really been to church in 10 years. There are many reasons for my absence, which I won't go into here.

I knew my Mom really wanted me to go as she is very active in our church. Normally, I've had the "out" of having to work on Christmas Eve. With it winding up on a Sunday this year, work couldn't be used as an excuse. So I figured, what the hey, I can haul my butt the block and a half, make Mom happy, and bond a bit with the Lord.

Not to overuse a metaphor, but it was like riding a bike. I remembered the different bits of singing and speaking usually done during a service. I left my issues at the door and just tried to enjoy the experience. And, I can happily report, I did enjoy my evening. I don't know that I'll be rushing back next Sun., but things went better than I expected. Plus, it pleased my Mom which was a good thing.

Although, I didn't realize that honoring the Lord included playing video games during the service. Apparently, this is something new. Nothing says Christ like a round of violence and bloodshed on the Nintendo DS...with headphones so as to not disturb the worshippers (or hear the sermon). I seriously wanted to reach forward and slap this kid...and then slap his parents. Especially the dad who was leaning over and offering his son tips throughout the game. Also a highlight were the annoying teenagers in front of me taking pictures of themselves with their phones. Atleast they did this before the service started. Damn kids...

I hope everyone had a great holiday and that you were able to spend time with family and friends.

Peace.

The First of the Best Of's...

So, I didn't plan ahead in order to have a picture that is relevant to my topic. But, I like the pictures so I snagged this one which I took from my trip last year. This was taken while I was on a boat sailing from Italy to Greece. As you can see, the water and sky were a perfect, almost identical shade of blue so it's hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. It was easily one of the most beautiful sights I have been privilaged enough to see.

I was going to comment about work, but I am still so mad and frustrated I think I will leave that for another time. I will also warn you that my postings may be not so fab this coming week. The father of one of my best friends is in the hospital not doing very well. Since my own father died at this time of the year 11 years ago, seeing her dad (who I consider to be my own bonus father) in a weakened state is bringing up plenty of icky memories and leaving me a little raw so I'll probably keep the entries to a minimum and I won't promise that they will be funny. To that end, I figured I'd start the "lists" which are pretty easy to do and not too emotionally straining.

FAVORITE MUSIC OF 2006:

I say fave rather than best since I didn't hear everything this year so I'm sure there are plenty of great artists I missed.

1) Muse--Black Holes And Revelations I've been in love with this band for awhile. They are epic in a good way. Matt Bellamy has an amazing voice and is one of the best guitar players out there. Brits Rule!

2) Thom Yorke--The Eraser His first solo effort to help tide us over till the next Radiohead album. In my mind one of the best singers and songwriters ever. His voice on Atoms For Peace gives me chills.

The rest are in no particular order:

Arctic Monkeys--Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not I instantly fell in love with this group of snotty young Brits. I love their energy and youthful recklessness. Plus, their songwriting is spot on.

The Dears--Gang Of Losers Hailing from Canada, this band is rather eclectic. Their songs are full and beautiful, well written and a bit melancholy.

Snow Patrol--Another album about the break up the last album was about. None the less great singing and songwriting (obviously this is a recurring preference).

The Thermals--The Body The Blood The Machine Punk from the Northwest giving an honest look at religion.

We Are Scientists--With Love And Squalor These guys are fun and write great little power pop rock tunes.

My Chemical Romance--The Black Parade Third album shows their evolving sound and songwriting abilities. Dark topic, great tunes...they need to loose the Goth Sgt. Peppers jackets though.

The Editors--The Black Room A bit like Interpol, but not as pretentious.

Tapes 'N Tapes--The Loon Did you love Pavement? Did you love Violent Femmes? Then you'll love these guys.

There you go. Feel free to discuss or recommend your own faves.

Have a great Christmas!

YOU can't be serious...

Good job. You and I and that loser who cut you off in traffic today are Time's person of the year. Really. I am not kidding. Does this mean we each get a free copy of the magazine? I'm guessing as long as the Person of The Year isn't some crazed nuke happy leader of a foreign land the "winner" gets a complimentary copy of the magazine. Doesn't that mean we should each get one? There's even a crappy pseudo mirror on the front so we can see our reflections in the magazine cover. Like staring into a fun-house version of myself is going to make me want to purchase this thing.

While Time argues on its website (where I got the pic by the way...don't sue) that each of us controls the information age via YouTube, MySpace and blogging, in its blurb to start the page it seems to brush past just how narcissistic this behavior is. Sure there is a venue for discussion and the expansion of ideas out there. But there is also a whole hell of a lot of crap that no one needs to see, yet someone feels compelled to toss it out there.

I know I'm bordering on being hypocritical here, but I doubt anyone but my friends reads my blog. I didn't create it for much of anyone else to read. I don't push it via other sites. I have left maybe one comment on a web site in my life. The only reason I have a MySpace page is to be able to comment on a friend's page if I ever get around to actually visiting the site.

It seems to me (and it's entirely possible I am completely off the mark here) that besides the narcissism vibe there is also a desperate need to bolster one's self esteem. Why the hell else would someone get to see how many "friends" you have? It makes me feel sad.

So, congrats person who shot a video of their dog sleeping, congrats to the hand farting the Star Spangled Banner filmmaker, and let's hear it for the Spit Art person. What a wonderful world.

Speaking of wonderfulness, work completely sucked today. 300+ boxes and the uber handed down the mandate that our priority was not really putting out books this week. After covering a couple of catagories, we were supposed to just leave the rest of it for later and move on to pulling clearance books from the freakishly large amount of shit, er, bargain we have in back. This masterful plan overlooks the fact that we have no where to store boxes of books for any length of time and we will in fact be getting more boxes in every day this week. Oh yeah, and we are here to sell books NOW in addition to the day after Christmas (when the clearance sale starts). Once again, I felt like my input was in no way desired.

On an up note Little Miss Sunshine comes out on DVD tomorrow!

Sick Days

I HATE BEING SICK!!!! I came down with a cold on Thursday. Actually, I was smacked on my butt by a cold on Thursday. It was bad enough that I did something I very rarely do. I USED SOME OF MY SICK DAYS! The world is coming to an end. I worked half a day on Friday, took Mon. off and worked half a day on Tues. Finally though, the snot seems to have vacated my head and most of my lungs so I felt like myself today and went into work. At the very least I had to get in sometime this week just to get the extra 10% off of my purchases. When I checked my emails today, I had 83 of them. Only about 5 were of any true interest. The rest all wanted me to buy something or enlarge a penis (not having one, it would be difficult to enlarge my own obviously). I don't know how the "penis people" got my email address. I wouldn't think Amazon would sell to those sorts of folks, but I suppose you never know.

Because I've been down and out, I don't have much to write about. Of course, this entry will still end up running on and on as usual. Here's a couple of quick things.

Please enjoy the pic of Josh McRoberts I've added today. Duke FINALLY played well this past Sat. They apparently had a team meeting on Thurs. and things have obviously turned around. McRoberts had a beautiful behind the back pass during the game. I wish he'd be more aggressive offensively, but one step at a time I suppose.

Found out the NIN dvd "Beside You In Time" is coming out Feb. 27, just missing my birthday but still close enough for me to feel that special bond with Trent. The website has a track list and while I'm disappointed "Getting Smaller" isn't going to be featured, I thought the list looked great. Somehow I doubt the Champaign performance ended up being used, but I'll just have to wait and see. Lots of cool extras are listed as well.

Tonight's quote from the leader of the free world from my Mis-Speak calendar:

From May 5, 2004

"Iraqis are sick of foreign people coming in their country and trying to destabilize their country."

And from The Simpsons, via Milhouse (he's talking to Bart who walked in on his parents having sex)

"Trust me Bart, it's better to walk in on both your parents than just one of them."

The Good Ones Never Seem To Stay

Yet again, we are losing a really good employee to a life less mucked up. The lovely Jackie, I just found out today, will be spending her last day at the store tomorrow. ARRGHHH!!!! Bad enough someone who actually did stuff while at work is going, but she was a source of much humor and entertaining chat. I'm not sure who I will discuss Lost with now. Who will I discuss Middle East events with while using one of the globes we are currently selling effectively wasting about 15-20 min. of work time? (Okay, I discuss this stuff elsewhere, but dammit, we had a globe to spin! It was fun.) Who will I desperately try to convince to see some movie by referencing how good the director is only to have that person shoot me a look that says "you are the only person in this building who knows who that director is" yet let's me ramble on? Well, Jinn let's me ramble, but since she's often facing her desk or putting a book on a cart I don't often see "the look."

How she can leave before employee appreciation days (ie. who needs a christmas bonus when we can entice you to spend even MORE of your paycheck here under the guise of savings) I do not know. Perhaps she has discovered zen and will be ridding herself of material things? Not likely. She's just doing the smart thing and getting the heck out of this place. Farewell dearest Jackie. You will be missed by many...especially by those of us in receiving land.

Now to switch gears:
I picked up the season 5 boxset of 24 tonight and watched the 10 min-ish "episode" that takes us from season 5 to 6. Here's a quick run down. It's 7 months later and Jack is in full Soundgarden/Jesus Christ Pose look. He's strung up in some sort of warehouse getting shocked with home made devices. According to the baddies, he hasn't spoken the entire time he's been with them. The baddies want him to ID a US agent for them from a choice of two possible people. He tells them jack pooh and after the requisite "we're going to kill him if we don't stop" line from one of the henchmen, Jack is taken back to his cell.

Suddenly, two masked men appear outside the cell and take out a couple of the baddies. They take off their masks to reveal they are Americans. One of them has Jack's picture in some sort of arm band thingie in order to correctly ID him. They tell him they are there to break him out. Out they go into, well, it sort of looks like a lot in Santa Monica actually. Anyway, off they go amongst the shrubbery to unveil the waiting Toyota SUV! Tah-dah!!! Who needs a government issued vehicle when the new Toyota's are out!

The Soccer Mom vehicle heads out with Jack ducked down in the back. A chase ensues and they get away. Before Molly needs to get to piano practice and Dave has to head out on his black ops mission, they pull over to tell Jack he's okay and they have transport waiting for him. Everyone gets out of the vehicle and a dude steps out from behind this big ass rock thing. Surprise (not so much) it's one of the possible agents the baddies wanted him to ID.

One of the Americans says something like "Gosh, here's our contact in China, Mr. Hong. You remember him from the agency right Jack?" Turn to look at Jack who does a quick nod and before you can say "I'm gonna need a hack saw," lights go on everywhere and Jack realises it's all been a ruse. Main baddie comes out, says thanks very much for confirming what we thought, pulls out a gun, shoots Mr. Hong then tells the Americans the money has been wired into their Swiss accounts. Maniacal laughter was perhaps considered, but instead they just loaded up a very upset Jack and sent him back to the warehouse.

Not quite as much fun as last year's transitional "episode" which involved a guy getting his head lopped off as part of a car chase, but it's always sorta fun to see a half naked Kiefer getting shocked. I'm not sure, but I think we are close to about 3 times now he's been zapped. Let's all hope Audrey buys it this year and buys it ASAP.

Let's also hope my Duke team starts playing in the first half of the game instead of saving it all for the second. Holy Cross had them by the nads at the beginning of the game. Now, I will admit I have all the competitive sport expertise of a tortoise, but when you have more turnovers than assists in a half you know your offense is not running smoothly. Hopefully Greg and Josh and the gang will get into sync before long. Kudos to Lance Thomas though for hauling ass to get back on defense...he ran past almost all the players on both teams!

COMING SOON:
You have to expect it and you probably dread it...
BEST OF 2006 LISTS
run...run away...

Lifting 6000 lbs.

Ow. Thanks to UPS not running on Friday (and the store being closed) we got in a crap load of boxes from both UPS and our usual delivery folk. I'm estimating about 6,000 lbs worth of books. Jinn and I lifted these boxes, some of them multiple times. And, I don't know about her, but frak I am feeling it tonight. I'm becoming concerned that I will be needing one of those Hover-round things by the time I'm 50. Granted, it would be pretty sweet to go zooming around the back room. Jinn and I could both get them and then it would be like bumper cars!!!

I found it amusing that I had several packages to send out to customers in town. Like UPS or the Post Office will have better luck working their way thru the craptastic streets of town than the customer would.

I am sensing the wrath of our delivery folk. Our landlord didn't bother to get the delivery "road" that runs behind our building cleared off. He also didn't bother to get the area near our delivery door cleared out either. We certainly don't have the equipment to do it ourselves. Though it has been fun to watch the customers get pissy when they pull back to the new rear exit only to find it is completely blocked with snow thanks to the guys who shoved it there while clearing the parking lot. Some innovative folk have already decided to just drive over a somewhat small pile and create their own exit. I'm waiting for the car crash daily.

While reading about a bill that is trying to work its way through Congress (the Senate specifically I think) regarding using pretexting to get phone records, I found an interesting article on How To Foil A Wiretap. It's pretty cool. Check it out at www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.12/start.html?pg+4. It's these little moments of anarchy that I love the most.

Okay, this has been a bit dull, but damn people. All I've done for the last few days is shovel snow, lift boxes, and watch basketball. GO DUKE!!! PLEASE PLAY BETTER OFFENSE. SOON!!! Oh, and I've also watched Clerks 2 about 5 times now. You must do the same.

Love the Randal.

"Not the Rings Randal. Say what you will about Jesus, but leave the Rings out of this..."

--Elias, Clerks 2

SNOW DAY!!!!

I got a call at 6:23 AM today. Normally, a call at that time of the day usually means something bad has happened. But today was a good day. Today was a SNOW DAY! I think the store has closed maybe 4 times in my 10+ years that I've been there. I went outside to enjoy the crisp air and eventually sunny skies. I brushed off my car. Actually, I grabbed as much snow as I could in my arms and forced it off the car. Hard to scrape the car when the scraper is in the car. I walked around my vehicle and discovered that there was about 2 feet of snow at the back and 1 1/2 feet at the front. Whee!!!


Feeling moderately festive, I embarked on the lengthy task of addressing Christmas cards. (Oooo, I said Christmas, perhaps this will put me on O'Reilly's mailing list) While working on this project, I discovered about 5 cards that I never got sent out last year that were already addressed. Worse, one of them had a photo in it I had been planning to send. The strange thing is I swear I sent the photo out last year. Having not incurred any blows to the head recently, I am unsure as to what I did. So, Jay, you may be getting a double of a picture you already have.


If you are a Star Wars fan, check out www.splu.net/chadvader.htm. There you can find out about Chad Vader, Day Shift Manager. Chad, the younger brother of Darth, works at a grocery store. There are 4 episodes to watch. I've only seen 2 thanks to dial up speed, but I have enjoyed them.


Well, the Bulls are playing right now and I want to watch the bonus stuff on The Office website so I'm gonna run.

Crap, I just previewed this and the picture got screwed up. Nothing too exciting. Just some guy pushing on his Jeep covered with snow.