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What'd you watch?
ACK! It can't be Tuesday can it? *checks calendar* Oops! Sure is! Since I took a week off let's find out what you were watching!
1. What's your favorite thing you've watched in the past week?
Star Trek: Enterprise "Awakening." I am enjoying the heck out of the Vulcan arc on Enterprise and this episode was exactly what this Trek fan wanted.
2. Have you found anything new you liked? (You can use disliked or any other adjective you want.)
I have not tried any new shows this week, though I did watch The Longest Yard on AMC over the weekend. Hadn't seen it before and I enjoyed it.
3. For those who had access to them, did you see any really cool parades on TV?
Nope...I'm more into football.
~Bonus~ Holiday dinner: TV on or off?
Off.
posted by Michael at 11/30/2004 01:32:00 PM |
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As we were warming up in spinnng class yesterday, one of the participants said that something was missing outside of Target stores this year--the Salvation Army ringers. She went on to say that Target had made the corporate decision to not allow the ringers outside the store this year due to their non-solitician policy. I was skeptical, wondering if this was one of those urban legends.
Apparently not.
Thanks to the power of the Internet, I found all kinds of confirmation about this policy and an interesting editorial piece.
All together now...
"You're a rotter, Target stores,
You really are a heel..."
(to the tune of the song from "How the Grinch Stole Christmas")
posted by Michael at 11/30/2004 10:07:00 AM |
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Enterprise: Awakening
Four years ago when the first details about Enterprise were leaked out to the Internet, there were rumors that the female Vulcan character would be named T'Pau. For those of you who remember, T'Pau was the powerful Vulcan woman who presided over Spock's "marriage" ceremony in the original series "Amok Time." She was "all of Vulcan in one package" to quote Dr. McCoy. So, the idea that she would be a central figure on Enterprise was intriguing and also scary. It was intriguing because it would give us the chance to see what happened to T'Pau that led her to be the only person who had ever refused a seat on the Federation council. But it was also a scary proposition because the producers could royally screw-up the continuity and back-story big-time. The producers changed the character's name to T'Pol and I wondered if Enterprise might have missed a ripe story-telling opportunity.
Looking back, I'm glad they missed that storytelling opportunity to give us this one. In the second leg of the Vulcan trilogy, we meet T'Pau (who was referenced last week but got little screen time). We see that she's incredibly xenophobic and we are beginning to understand why she might refuse her seat on the Vulcan council. Suddenly, her insult of Spock in "Amok Time" (which was GREAT to begin with!), "Art thou Vulcan or art thou human?" begins to make more and more sense. And it's this kind of storytelling that Enterprise has been screaming for since mid-season two. At last we're seeing how the universe that Kirk, Picard, Sisko and Janeway inhabit was created and it's utterly compelling. These last six episodes of Enterprise have consistently felt like Star Trek and that is a good thing.
Not that "Awakening" was a perfect episode mind you. It wasn't quite on par with last week's "The Forge" and there seemed to be a lot of treading water here--especially the scenes on Enterprise. But you have to love the little homage to classic Trek where captain and first officer are off ship, leaving the head of engineering running the ship. I also loved the feel of "A Taste of Armageddon" in the conversations between the Vulcan high command and Tripp. Seeing that Tripp refuses to leave without the captain was nicely done and brought to mind Scotty in a lot of ways. (About the only thing missing was a fussy ambassador who makes Tripp's life a living hell...Sloval doesn't count this time as he's helping). But the revelation that the Vulcans are planning for war with Andoria was shocking but it did make sense--given that the P'Jem incident is referred to yet again. And Archer's flashbacks with Surak were interesting though I'm wondering why Archer is the chosen one to lead Vulcan back to the path they've lost. In season two, I would have lost hope that we'd ever get any kind of explanation of this, but with way the storytelling is going this year, I am hopeful we'll have a satisfying and reasonable resolution to this storyline next week with this arc concludes.
Veronica Mars: The Purity Test
I finally got around to seeing Mean Girls a few weeks ago (great movie BTW) with the whole "slam book." Interesting how Veronica Mars takes the slam book concept and brings it firmly into the cyber-age. The web site with the purity test was intriguing. I liked what the show had to say about the different purity standards for guys and girls. Overall, that whole plotline was entertaining, though it was fairly easy to guess who was behind the web site from the start. But hey, if that's the only part of the mystery I guessed, that's a good thing. Meanwhile, Veronica continues to look into her past. I love how we're getting little dribs and drabs of it--and how we question if the answers are true or not. Is Veronica Keith's biological daughter or not? And does it matter since from where I sit, Keith is doing a damn fine job as her father. I just keep tuning in to this show and it just keeps getting more and more enjoyable. How can you not love that?
Two and A Half Men: The Salmon Under My Sweater
Week after week, this show just makes me laugh. Not just giggle, mind you, but out and out laugh. This week's duelling plotlines were an absolute riot--with the Jake trying to avoid reading Lord of the Flies just winning out in the hilarity department. (Jake, buddy, I feel your pain. I hated Lord of the Flies when I was forced to read it. It's overrated crap that too many English teachers have tried to make sound better than it is by introducing symbolism and all that other crap!) I also liked Alan and Rose's attempted dating, mainly because it gave Melanie Lynesky a chance to show off as more than just the funny girl who climbs over the deck. I think there's some potential there for those two as a couple, but only if it's done right. And this was a first good step towards doing it right and not making it just a gimmick.
posted by Michael at 11/30/2004 08:18:00 AM |
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You can always tell what time of year it is at the Y by how crowded it is. There is always a bit of a spike upward in people coming to work out right after Thanksgiving and right after New Years. For Thanksgiving, it's post-turkey guilt--the whole "holy cow I ate an entire large bird myself?!?" syndrome. After New Years, it's the "well, I made a resolution to be in better shape this year so I might as well go and work out some." Usually these spikes last about a week and a half, two weeks.
Tonight at the Y was one of those nights. Usually when I swim laps in the late afternoon/early evening, there is next to no competition for the lap lane. At most, I've had to share with one other person. I've found in most cases, everyone is very generous and will share the lane with you. But I always go out of my way to acknowledge the person swimming laps first and ask if I can share with them. It's just swimmer courtesy.
Not so much tonight. I got into the pool first and had the lap lane (the other two were taken by swim team) all to my lonesome little self. Then a guy shows up and asks if I'd mind sharing. I don't and we agree on the best way to split the lane. Swimming along and sharing the lane when suddenly two people who I've never seen before show up. Before we can get down to at least figure out the best way to share, they're in and swimming. Now, this is a huge problem since one of these is an older guy who swims SLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW and takes his half down the middle. as I find out. Also, the girl who jumped in has no clue how the whole circle swimming works and so she's creating havoc.
Finally after the old slow down the middle guy makes me run into the wall because he can't be bothered to a)wear goggles (sorry but if you share a lane you MUST wear goggles..no if's, an's or but's!) and b)observe there are others in the lane with him, I stopped and asked him to please make sure he stayed on his half so I wouldn't run into the wall again (which have I mentioned--kind of painful!). At this point, you'd've thought I'd asked him to turn over his first born child to be a Bama fan or something else truely horrific.
I tried to be polite...I really, really did.
I can only take consolation in the fact that we probably won't see these two in the lap lanes for long.
posted by Michael at 11/29/2004 07:27:00 PM |
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If you're like me and eagerly awaiting the new season of 24, this trailer is must-see. If you're not yet into the greatness that is 24, check out the trailer to see what you've been missing and join the rest of us obsessive fans on Jan. 9th when the new season kicks-off...
posted by Michael at 11/29/2004 03:05:00 PM |
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If you're looking to surprise that special someone with all the gifts from the popular song, "The 12 Days of Christmas" you'd better have a bit of extra cash saved up or be Donald Trump. According to PNC Financial Group in Pittsburgh, the total cost of all the gifts this year is $66,334.
posted by Michael at 11/29/2004 01:25:00 PM |
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Well, wasn't that an interesting episode this week? I loved the shock on Ami's face--especially when not two seconds earlier she'd nodded at Eliza like "Yep, you're going home tonight" only to see buddy LeAnn get the ouster. Sometimes you just gotta love reality television...
Sorry it took so long to get the results for this week posted. But here we go...
1. Who gets the first confessional of the week? Eliza.
2. Who tries to solidify their spot in the final four? Scout
Reading the info above, this looks like the episode where a friend and/or loved one shows is part of the Reward Challenge. So, for each Survivor left, who is the loved one who comes to the island? (1 point each)
3. Ami Her girlfriend/partner
4. Chris His girlfriend
5. Eliza Her mother
6. Julie Her best friend.
7. LeAnn Her friend
8. Scout Her partner
9. Twila. Her son
10. Who wins Reward? Eliza
11. Does the "quality time with a loved one" take place at camp or away from camp? At camp
12. At the Immunity Challenge, where does the "surprise help" come from? Family member/friend
13. Who wins immunity this week? Ami
14. Who approaches another tribemate with a plan for tribal council? Chris
15. Who is the tribemate approached? Twila
16. Who votes first at Tribal Council? Eliza
17. Who votes last at Tribal Counil? LeAnn
18. Who is voted out this week? LeAnn
And now to our leaderboard....
Vickie 71/169
Clayton 71/169
Michael 61/169
Dar 59/169
Amanda 57/169
Leslie 52/169
TW 53/169
Kurt 40/169
Bill 24/169
Danielle 23/169
Jessica 20/169
Tudy 15/169
There's a tie atop the leaderboard with only three episodes left. See y'all later this week!
posted by Michael at 11/29/2004 01:06:00 PM |
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"Oh the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful,
And since we've no place to go, why not blog, why not blog, why not blog?"
The Christmas season is upon us.
A couple of months ago, Dana over at Pretty Purple Princess issued a challenge for the month of August--post one thing each day that makes you happy. Last week, we had the Thanksgiving Challenge that I hinted was a warm-up for a bigger challenge I had coming. Well, here it is. After talking with Amy, we have decided to issue a Christmas Challenge to our fellow bloggers.
It's similiar to Dana's challenge back in August but it's related to the Christmas season. Starting on Wednesday, December 1, post something Christmas related in your blog/journal/xanga every day. It can be anything from family Christmas traditions, pictures of your house decked out for the holidays, favorite Christmas cookie recipe, memories of Christmas, that present you always wanted as a child, the present you want now, the joys of holiday shopping, favorite Christmas songs...anything related to Christmas. It's all good.
But since this is the holiday season and it's better to give than receive, we'll give out a set of meme questions each Wednesday until Christmas. You can answer them all on Wednesday or break them up and answer them during the week if you draw a blank.
Please feel free to use this idea and to "steal" this and put in your blog. Encourage friends, family, any of Santa's helpers to participate.
posted by Michael at 11/29/2004 08:15:00 AM |
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My niece loves the stars and the moon. She especially likes it when Uncle Michael takes her outside on clear nights for her to see the stars and the moon.
For Christmas or her birthday, I'm looking for a book that's good for a 3-year-old that has pictures of the moon and the stars. Can anyone with kids out there point me in the right direction?
Thanks!
posted by Michael at 11/28/2004 03:25:00 PM |
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...the officials turn a blind eye when it comes to enforcing the rules.
At first, it was limited to the Vols, but my beloved Titans just got screwed on an bad instant replay call...we should have a safety but apparently tackling David Carr in the end zone means--oh, he was on the half inch line.
UPDATE: (1:25 p.m. CST) Two more poor calls....one was a phantom unsportsman like penalty on us and then we just got a fumble but they ruled the guy down. Stop home cookin' officials and call it consistent!
posted by Michael at 11/28/2004 01:56:00 PM |
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You know, if you'd told me at the beginnng of the year that the Vols would go 9-2 in the regular season, win the SEC East outright and represent the Eastern Divsion in the Championship Game on Saturday, I'd've been a happy, happy man. Add in that we'd beat Florida, Georgia and Alabama and I'd be eccstatic.
It's this "small" fact that I have to keep reminding myself about as I consider the Vol's last couple of games. I think I've been spoiled by the Vol's previous November successes. We've had an awesome winning percentage in November under Fulmer and it's easy to forget that some of those games were closer than we care to remember. For every drubbing of Vandy, there were a couple that were close. I remember Peyton Manning going up to Lexington and the Vols falling behind early only to see Peyton will us to a win based on his sheer talent and leadership alone.
Let's face it--when you're as a down in football as Kentucky and Vanderbilt are and you've been losing to Tennessee for 20 years and you rarely, if ever, have hope of going to a bowl game, you're gonna bring your best game to Tennessee. Also, with the game being the last one of the season for each team, it's their bowl game. Look at Tennessee the past two years--two good seasons marred by the memory of a less than stellar bowl performance. You're remembered by your last game. So, it's easy to see why Vandy and Kentucky would come out and play like there was no tomorrow--because for them, there is no tomorrow. At least Kentucky can say, "Yeah, but wait til basketball season." Vandy's women used to be a dominant program, but it's fallen off in recent years. You almost gotta feel sorry for Vandy--they've really got nothing to look forward to anymore. They stink and it ain't gettin' any better. And the outloook don't look good for any time soon.
I'm happy that Tennessee won. Don't ever doubt that for a minute. But the way we won didn't necessarily thrill me. I know in the end what matters most is that we took care of business and certainly it was cruel of us to toy with Kentucky for so long--to let them hope they might win. But I'm concerned that the Vols are playing up to or down to the level of their competition. I don't think we've had a great game since Georgia. I haven't felt the same intensity from the team--the will to win. I hope they can find it for the Auburn Tigers next week, but it's not a switch you can flip on and off.
But as for the UT/Kentucky game yesterday, let me say a few things. Once again the officials need to be fired immediately. There were at least TWO pass interference calls on Bret Smith that were NOT called. Also, the same definition for personal foul hit out of bounds should apply to both sides. The officiating was absolutely terrible, which has been a major complaint of mine all year. Another thing that bugged me in this game--and in a couple of other games this weekend--was the coverage calls another coach, player, school official and starts talking to them on the phone and the announcers don't call the blessed game I'm watching. I did not tune in to hear about Spurrier going to South Carolina or to hear Tommy Tuberville talk about his sesaon. I tuned in to see the game I tuned in for. I want to know who is doing what and feel like you're paying attention to the game I'm watching and it's not an afterthought on your agenda. At least being in the great state of Tennessee, I could tune into the V0l Network coverage while JP blathered on about SC for five plus minutes.
Finally, I saw this quote in the paper this morning:
''Our guys played a heck of a game, and the wrong team won,'' said a visibly upset Kentucky Coach Rich Brooks, who slammed the table during his post-game interview No, coach, the right team won. Your team went into self-destruct mode in the last ten or so minutes of the game...and as a Vol's fan, I thank you. Also, I think you're crying because you are gonna get fired. And this lastest self-destruct doesn't help your cause.
posted by Michael at 11/28/2004 01:33:00 PM |
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Thanksgiving--one of my favorite holidays. You gotta love any holiday that combines family, good food and football (notice I didn't say good since neither NFL game was much to write home about).
For first time in ten years, my entire immediate family was able to gather around the table for Thanksgiving dinner yesterday. We had turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes with marshmellows, pineapple casserole (family favorite), sweet pea casserole (Mom trying something new...it was really good), broccoli and cheese casserole (notice the word casserole figures in here a lot!), cranberry orange relish, rolls and corn relish. It was all very good...and I was very hungry by the time we got to eating. We ate later than usual to allow Gracelyn and Davis to have their proper nap time. (I found out last week that Gracelyn not taking a nap....not so pretty). I was glad I'd eaten our traditional from scratch pancakes after I went and worked out (yes, the Y was open yesterday morning so I went and burned off some calories to make room for turkey) earlier in the day later than usual. But I was still pretty ravenous by the time we got to dinner. I always struggle when it comes to eating Thanksgiving meal. While dieting a few years ago, I learned that there's eating until your satisfied and eating until you are too stuffed too move. It's a delicate balance, especially when you're a stuffing addict like I am (I need some help recovering from my sage addiction...is there a 12 step program for me?!?). But I did pretty well--enjoying everything but not getting stuffed. After all, there was pumpkin pie to be had.
Gracelyn, by the way, loves pumpkin pie. She thought it was great. Davis thought that turkey was pretty good and he also thought sweet potatoes with marshmellows melted on top were fun to play in.
On Thanksgiving, we sit in the dining room and use the good china and the good silver. And we just enjoy being a family, which is wonderful. We also put up a Christmas tree. As some of you may know, I'm allergic to live trees--yes, my future children, should I ever be blessed with any, already hate me. We put up our patriotic tree--which is red, white and blue. Luckily, my father bought some of those tree bags last year so we didn't have to spend hours putting the lights on the tree again. We just assembled, fluffed the branches and decorated. Virtually instant Christmas decorations.
My parents made plans for which sales they're going to hit today. We did not get up at four a.m. to get out to save, save, save. I did that last year, but really only because I'd claimed that I would buy Brian (my brother-in-law) the Indiana Jones trilogy on DVD and it was on a really, really good sale. Also, I had to go to work anyway, so I got up, got the gift and then went to work. I was there a bit early so I got to leave early. I got a catalog a few weeks ago from Family Christian BookStores with stuff they were going to have on sale and I wanted a couple of CDs. And I actually went up to the mall, but the line was so long and the catalog misplaced that I couldn't remember which ones were on-sale. So, I gave up and came home after getting a new copy of the Sims (I lost the old one) cheap at BestBuy. The lines were moving and it wasn't quite the swarm I expected, but then again it was mid-morning and not the early rush.
posted by Michael at 11/26/2004 11:40:00 AM |
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Appetizer
How much money do you plan to spend this upcoming holiday season?
Honestly, not as much as I ususally do. I'm going to try and be conservative in my holiday spending this year. Which should last about 18 seconds after I get into Toys-R-Us and see all the cools toys for my niece and nephew that I can they can play with.
Soup
What was the last television show you watched, and was it good?
Without A Trace last evening. It was OK, but not as great as usual.
Salad
If you had to paint the walls of your living room tomorrow, what color would you choose?
Light blue.
Main Course
Name something clever or practical you have thought of that should be invented, but hasn't yet.
I was going to say something to help get lids off jars of pickles, spaghetti sauce, etc. but I saw that someone beat me to it.
Dessert
List 3 things you would like to receive as gifts this holiday season.
Spider-Man 2 (widescreen) on DVD, a devotional book for 2005, Seinfeld on DVD.
posted by Michael at 11/26/2004 08:57:00 AM |
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Wow to you, jolly one! You are the generous, kind
Santa Claus. You are unselfish, and care mostly
for the good of others, which could be a rare
trait amongst us people. You are definitely one
of a kind, and are happy when the ones you care
about are happy as well. People know about your
very good heart and cherish you for it. You are
loved and could be admired by many. Merry
Christmas =)
What Christmas Figure Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
Tip of the Santa hat to Stacy for this....
posted by Michael at 11/26/2004 08:54:00 AM |
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I hope that everyone out there has a blessed, happy and safe Thanksgiving. I'm headed off to watch the Lions/Colts game.
But before I do, I just wanted to say how thankful I am for all my new-found blogging buddies I've met this past year. Y'all are the best.
Have a great turkey day, everyone!
posted by Michael at 11/25/2004 11:36:00 AM |
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Uncle Vito is posting a Thanksgiving joke an hour until it's time to sit down and eat turkey tomorrow afternoon. Definitely worth a look.
Tip of the Native American headdress to Stacy for the link.
posted by Michael at 11/24/2004 08:44:00 PM |
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I had to run into Wal-Mart this evening to pick up some buttermilk for the "from scratch" pancakes in the morning.
Apparently I wasn't the only one with the brilliant idea to run into Wal-Mart. And apparently everyone else has left common courtesy at home. I can't tell you how many times I was almost run over with a cart or walked in front of. Then, in the parking lot, I'm trying to get out and this lady in a mini-van sits and blocks the aisle for five minutes waiting for somone to come out and pull out close to the store. Now, don't get me wrong--I can see if you saw someone get in a car in a prime parking space...I have no problem with that one. But when you sit and wait on the off chance someone might come out...that bugs me.
And the bad part is--it's only gonna get worse.
You know, I may seriously look into doing most of my shopping on-line this year.
posted by Michael at 11/24/2004 08:21:00 PM |
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A couple of things that I'm thankful for:
- My family and friends.
- Our service men and women who are out there putting their lives on the line so that we can enjoy this time of the year with family and friends.
I just realized last night that for the first time in a decade, I'll be together with all of my immediate family for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. That is cool and I'm definitely thankful for that.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!
posted by Michael at 11/24/2004 10:58:00 AM |
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Smallville: Bound
One of the things that's hardest about this show is that as a viewer, we know where all this going to end, so sometimes the discoveries along the way aren't as shocking to the audience members as the character in the show. Such as this week's dramatic revelation that--gasp!--Lex Luthor has a dark side. Yeah, no kidding. You don't grow up to be a meglomaniac bent on world domination and not have a tiny little dark side.
As much as I liked this episode, I came away wholly unsatisfied by it. Why? Becuase nothing in the history of the show remotely suggests Lex picks up women, beds them and then tosses them aside. If anything, he's looked for serious relationships only to have the women betray him in some way or another. It might have been nice if the producers had thought ahead about this and sewn some seeds of this if not in previous seasons, then at least in this one. But, nope. Instead it's the "someone is pissed at Lex and let's get some backstory to go with it." It worked in season one because that was season one and you could get away with tricks like this. By season four, you'd hope they'd have a better grip on the characters. Apparently not so much. And it's this little trick that mars an otherwise enjoyable episode--espeically Lex's idea that the world might be better off without him.
I think I've said this before, but I love the dual standard Clark has. He constantly judges Lex for lying and keeping things from him, but Clark has pretty much done the exact same thing or worse to Lex since day one. Remember that last year, Lex went to the looney bin because (indirectly) of Clark. No wonder Lex hates Superman so much when Supes finally arrives on the scene.
Meanwhile, the Lana plotline. Lana meets Jason's mother, who she saw the night before in a dream. Why Jason is still around I'm not sure--he was fired and Lana is, well, a certifable looney. How many guys do you know that would stay around after all the crazy crap that happens to Lana and not think--maybe something ain't right here. And then the scene in the back of Dr. Quinn'....excuse me, Jason's mom's limo...the only thing it didn't have was neon lights going off saying "Foreshadowing! Foreshadowing!" Yeah, you gotta love the subtlety.
The Amazing Race
If you want a hilarious and snark-filled recap of this week's episode, you can't go wrong with Stacy's recap over at Outwit, Outblog, Outsnark.
You know, I hate to say it, but I am having difficulty coming up with a team that I am rooting for to win this thing. Yes, I know it's only two weeks into the season, but last year we had all kinds of intereting teams and people to root for. This time around, all I can do is bring myself to pull against people--such as Jonathan and Victoria, the professional wrestlers Lori and Bolo and the fomerly-dating-but-might-be-back-together couple of Adam and Rebecca. Boy, watching this year, Jonathan sure makes Colin look tame and sedate. He yells at everyone. It makes you wonder if he's like this all the time not just during the stress of the race. This week, his style of leadership (I wills shout until everyone does what I want!) helps his boat come in a distant second. You can tell during the challenge that his fellow racers are looking around wondering what reality TV god they pissed off to get stuck with him. Meanwhile, Adam and Rebecca fight over his taking off his glasses and leaving them in the boat. And did anyone else think Phil looked scared that Bolo was going to pile drive him in joy when Phil told them they were fifth? I bet Phil will be glad to see these two go...and will the rest of America, I think. I have to admit, part of me was kind of pulling for the roommates to pull it out--especially when Freddy and Kendra were given the penalty (did they think the cameras wouldn't catch that?!?). But, alas, it wasn't to be. Also, I love how Lena and Kristy are popping out of their tops in the cars, but when they run up to the mat to check in, suddenly they get all modest, holding their coats closed across their chests.
Scrubs: My Unicorn
In case you missed the umpteen commericals, Matthew Perry guest starred last night on Scrubs. Certainly if half the people who tuned in to see the Friends finale tuned in to Scrubs, they might discover the best comedy that not enough people are watching. Once again, Scrubs mines gold out of a guest star. I admit I was worried that Perry would do nothing more than give us Chandler reheated, but instead he shows a bit of range here. The role of a son who can give his father a kidney was well done--especially based on the big revelation halfway through he's not dad's biological son. I loved seeing how Perry's character and J.D. are both looking to guy who aren't their biological fathers for guidance in the story. Also, I loved the subplot about Elliot trying to use her femine wiles to achieve the results she wants and how that affects her chances for a fellowship next year. The Janitor running out to buy her a ring and then showing up with the orange soda were hysterical.
How has this show not won an Emmy yet?!?
posted by Michael at 11/24/2004 10:06:00 AM |
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The rainy, stormy weather across the southeastern United States has led to Rick and Bubba postponing Turkey Toss 2004.
For those of you unfamiliar with the hilarity that is Rick and Bubba, Turkey Toss is when people gather to hurl frozen turkeys for distance. The one who tosses the turkey farthest wins fabulous prizes.
They are looking to reschedule, thankfully.
posted by Michael at 11/24/2004 08:08:00 AM |
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I got a 92% (aka I only missed one question) on this quiz about Realty Television. I really need to get a life....
posted by Michael at 11/23/2004 07:10:00 PM |
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One of the cups used in the Ron Artest brawl Friday night is for sale over on E-Bay. The seller even says they will include a ticket from the game as a certificate of authenticity. I guess now you can find something unique for the sports fan who has everything...
If you were going to buy a copy of his rap CD to give as a Christmas present (you may recall, he was taking some heat last week for asking for a month off to promote the CD), looks like you won't be able to do that. This article tells us that Artest has a record label and needed time off to run it, not to promote a rap CD.
Well, there goes my gift to all my fellow bloggers this Christmas. Sorry, guys!
posted by Michael at 11/23/2004 06:41:00 PM |
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41 years ago today it began....
Forty one years ago, the first episode of the greatest television series ever produced Doctor Who aired. The show ran for 26 season before it was put on "hiatus" back in 1989. In 1996, FOX aired a 2-hour movie that was intended as a new pilot for the series, but it never took off. Now, eight years later, as we celebrate the series history, we can look forward to new episodes staring next year. I can't wait! Until then, I will have to watch a couple of old episodes on DVD and VHS to celebrate my favorite show's big day...
From the set of the new Dr Who series 
Long banned Family Guy finally airs on FOX.
IT'S A GUY THING: Fox is doing an about-face regarding a controversial Family Guy episode that it once feared might seem anti-Semitic. On Monday, the network announced that "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein" — an episode it previously banned from its airwaves — will make its broadcast debut Dec. 10 at 9:30 pm/ET. However, the episode, which pokes fun at Jewish stereotypes, will air with one minor alteration, per The Hollywood Reporter. When Peter breaks into a song called "I Need a Jew," a lyric that originally read "Even though they killed our Lord" is cut in favor of "I don't think they killed our Lord."
Yeah, that'd be exciting FOX if the episode hadn't already aired on Cartoon Network about umpteen zillion times and was also part of the season three DVD set.
Desperate Housewives gets highest ratings yet.
Free publicity in the wake of last week's Monday Night Football opening propelled a new episode of Desperate Housewives to its highest ratings to date . Yep, there's no such thing as bad PR. But you know someone at ABC has to secretly be happy that the NBA brawl Friday night pushed this topic off the front burner....
posted by Michael at 11/23/2004 10:39:00 AM |
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I'm worth $2,609,000.95! How much are you worth?
So, I'm off to the bank to see if I can use myself as collatoral for a huge loan.
Tip of the hat to My So Called Blog for this little quiz.
posted by Michael at 11/23/2004 08:58:00 AM |
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Welcome to week 12 of the Big Orange Survivor Magnolia challenge. This week's episode falls on Thanksgiving, so I'm posting the questions early to give everyone who wants to a chance to participate. Let's just hope that with the episode airing on Thanksgiving we don't get any "unique" food challenges this week.
Also, I have to ask--how the heck does Eliza keep surviving? I'd make it a question, but I'm not sure there'd be enough room in the comments field to try and explain this essay style...
Here's who's left in the game....
Here's what CBS's web site hints about this week's episode:
One Survivor tries to solidify a Final Four position, but is crushed to learn that things aren't always what they seem.
The Survivors are surprised by an emotional reunion with their loved ones. But only one castaway gets quality time with their loved one.
At the Immunity Challenge, castaways are surprised to get special help for the competition.
One Survivor approaches a tribemate with a plan for the upcoming Tribal Council vote. Caught off-guard, the tribemate tries to deflect the vote. How will the voting go down? With that in mind, here is this week's contest.
1. Who gets the first confessional of the week? (1 point)
2. Who tries to solidify their spot in the final four? (1 point)
Reading the info above, this looks like the episode where a friend and/or loved one shows is part of the Reward Challenge. So, for each Survivor left, who is the loved one who comes to the island? (1 point each)
3. Ami
4. Chris
5. Eliza
6. Julie
7. LeAnn
8. Scout
9. Twila.
10. Who wins Reward? (1 point)
11. Does the "quality time with a loved one" take place at camp or away from camp? (1 point)
12. At the Immunity Challenge, where does the "surprise help" come from? (1 point)
13. Who wins immunity this week? (1 point)
14. Who approaches another tribemate with a plan for tribal council? (1 point)
15. Who is the tribemate approached? (1 point)
16. Who votes first at Tribal Council? (1 point)
17. Who votes last at Tribal Counil? (1 point)
18. Who is voted out this week? (1 point)
Please cast your votes by Thursday at 8 p.m. EST. Good luck to everyone and have a happy and safe Thanksgiving
posted by Michael at 11/23/2004 08:24:00 AM |
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Driving home tonight, I heard about the passing of Knoxville News-Sentinel sports writer, Gary Lundy. (Registration required to read) I was stunned by the news and offer my condolences and prayers to his family.
I never met Gary in person, but I feel respected his work in the News-Sentinel and I enjoyed his segments when he'd be part of SportsTalk on WNOX. He will be greatly missed by the UT faithful.
If you want to offer condolences and read more about Gary, you can visit No Silence Here.
posted by Michael at 11/22/2004 07:08:00 PM |
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Here are my results from taking the quiz. You can take it here and discover the way to a better relationship.
eXpressive: 7/10
Practical: 3/10
Physical: 2/10
Giver: 8/10
You are a XSIG--Expressive Sentimental Intellectual Giver. This makes you a Teddy Bear.
Hee! I just want to give you a big squeeze. You are tender, honest, generous and fair. You are an excellent kisser and a sensitive, communicative lover, and you know it. You would never intentionally hurt someone's feelings or overstep his/her boundaries. You have beautiful eyes.
Most people take your laid-back attitude, blazing wit and subtle sexiness and stick you in "friend." But some see your extreme hotness for what it is and latch on. This means you have a few members of your target sex in the bank at all times -- I call this "money in the sex bank" -- but you're too sensitive and thoughtful to exploit them. More than once.
You are so rational and deliberate in an argument that it can frustrate and exhaust your partner. Your fights can take forever, but your press on with them until they are completely resolved and both you and your partner are satisfied. If your partner is weak of will, s/he may just give in -- be wary of this! An emotional or passive-aggressive outburst later will hurt and horrify you.
It is *critically important* that you are able to respect your partner. The moment you lose respect for him/her, you lose everything.
When you make friends, you make them for life -- you can go without speaking to a friend for years and pick up right where you left off. You are completely faithful, both physically and emotionally. You are the second best (to XPIG) parent of any type.
If you are male, you have a huge shlong. Just saying.
Of the 157824 people who have taken this quiz, 8 % are this type.
posted by Michael at 11/22/2004 06:09:00 PM |
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You Are the Stuffing |
You're complicated and complex, yet all your pieces fit together.
People miss you if you're gone - but they're not sure why.
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Pretty cool, since homemade stuffing is my favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal.
Tip of the hat to Busy Mom for the quiz.
posted by Michael at 11/22/2004 01:59:00 PM |
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Enterprise: The Forge
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! Now this is what I want from Enterprise. Holy cow, an episode that gets just about everthing right and does it an interesting, compelling and intelligent fashion. At long last, we're delivering on the promise of the show--to show us the first steps toward creating the Federation as we know it from TOS on-ward. Once again, Enterprise delivers an episode steeped in continuity from the original series and it gets it all right. Also, the show slowly begins to answer the question of why the Vulcans seem a bit different from the ones we know and love in the other Star Trek shows. And did I mention that it does it in an intelligent, coherent fashion?
Of course, having tons of great continuity shouldn't come as a huge shock based on who the writers are--Jan and Gar Reeves-Stevens, who have ghost-written all of Shatner's continuity heavy Trek novels and wrote the superlative novels "Prime Directive" and the book that should've been the movie Generations "Federation." You've got fans writing for fans and doing a great job, which is why I loved this episode so much.
I really feel as though the backstory is starting to move foward. I like how they took a minor and beloved character such as Admiral Forrest and made him a pivotal part of the story. His death was nicely handled--not over the top and exactly in keeping with character. And then Soval's reaction to it and the apparent corruption of the Vulcan High Command. Soval's use of a mind meld to discover who delivered the bomb was great--right down to the musical score that had echoes of Spock's theme used in "Amok Time' and onward.
As good as Spiner's appearance as Soong was, this was better. It was Enterprise finally delivering on its promise and leaving me fully satisfied for the first time in a long way. I am cautious though as this was only the first of three parts...so let's just hope it continues to be this good.
Stargate SG1: Endgame
The mid-season cliffhanger for SG1 comes with a culmination of several of the building plot threads from early this sesaon. The Trust returns, steals the Stargate and starts using it to deliver a virus that wipes out the Goa'uld symbiotes. The team must now race against time to stop them, which, of course, they do. But O'Neal makes a choice of getting his people back and thus leaving the Trust with enough of the virus to wipe out a few more worlds should they choose to do so. Honestly, as compelling as all of this should have been, the storyline lacked a good deal of dramatic intensity. Think about it--holy crap, they've taken the Stargate...that should be huge. And it does get some play in the storyline, but not as much as it should. There is no dramatic ratcheting up of the tension like we see over on Stargate: Atlantis with their mid-season cliffhanger. I just wonder if this mid-season stopping point was more forced upon the story telling than naturally occuring. SciFi's scheduling splits seasons into two halves and so the producers must come up with a way to keep interest up during the long delay between new episodes. And sure, I'm sort of interested but I'm not really hanging by the edge of my seat wondering how all this will turn out.
Stargate: Atlantis: The Storm
Meanwhile over on Atlantis, we at least get a cliffhanger. And it's one that feels a bit more natural, though I do still think it was a bit forced into the storytelling by the needs of SciFi's scheduling. During a trip in a puddle jumper, our heroes discover a huge storm is coming--apparently these things happen every couple of dozen years due to Atlantis having such huge oceans. Two huge storms are colliding to make one super storm that is gonna wreak havoc. So, our heroes try to find safe refuge off world while trying to figure out how to keep Atlantis from being destroyed. McKay finally remembers he's seen Back to the Future and figures they can harnass the power of the storm's lightning to save the city. But that's not before the people who said our heroes could use their world as a camp out spot betray our heroes to the Ganai, who ain't too happy with us. Before you know it, Sheppard is left to go Die Hard on the Ganai as he tries to free McKay and Weir before said storm wipes out the city. There was a lot of backstory to this one and if you just wandered in, you might not get all of it. That said, the storm at least gives some dramatic punch to a storyline and some type of race against time. Adding in the Ganai seizing an opportunity and you've got some good stuff--though it does seem a bit quick for the Ganai to be training to take over Atlantis this way. But give them credit--the cliffhanger works pretty well and while we're fairly certain that both Weir and McKay will survive, it's enough to keep my interested until new episodes come in January.
posted by Michael at 11/22/2004 10:39:00 AM |
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Somehow, we've made it close to 24 hours without a fight at a sporting event. It started Friday night with the brawl between the Pistons and the Pacers and their fans. Then, yesterday, South Carolina and Clemson got into it a brawl.
What ever happened to good sportsmanship?
I guess it's gone. I hope that the players on both sides of the SC/Clemson fight are suspended for their respective bowl games and, if they have an eligibility next year, for a couple of games next year.
As for the NBA--that was an ugly scene all around. I've only seen the footage 1800 times on SportsCenter and the news. First of all, I have to say the players had no right to go up into the stands like that. But, on the other side of things, the fans do not have the right to throw things at the players on the court. In this case, both the players and fans are in the wrong.
posted by Michael at 11/21/2004 03:32:00 PM |
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Continuing the Thanksgiving Challenge I started a couple of days ago....
We tend to eat our big Thanksgiving dinner mid-afternoon. We tend to sleep in a bit, get up and have a big breakfast--usually from scratch buttermilk pancakes--and then get cooking on the dinner. Then, we eat aroudn mid-afternoon, watch the games and have pie in the evening.
posted by Michael at 11/21/2004 01:27:00 PM |
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So, my two most hated NFL teams of all-time are playing each other right now--Dallas is visiting Baltimore. I honestly get a great deal of pleasure out of seeing both teams lose. Which presents me with a dilemma--who do I most want to lose?!?
UPDATE: (3:40 p.m. CST) Well, the Cowboys lost. And ya know, any day the Cowboys lose, it ain't necessarily a bad day.
posted by Michael at 11/21/2004 01:02:00 PM |
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Not a huge shock here, but I'm thankful the Vols beat Vandy today and I'm also thankful that they're having a good season. It certainly has exceeded my expectations. Not that it's alwasy been fun to watch--I swear these guys are the new Cardiac Kids...but hey, it's still been great to beat Bama, Georgia and Florida.
posted by Michael at 11/20/2004 05:14:00 PM |
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It was certainly not the prettiest win the Vols have ever had, but it's still a win. It's a win that secured a trip to Atlanta in two weeks for the SEC Championship game. It's a win that secures at least a tie for the Eastern Divison crown of the SEC this year--something that very few thought was possible when the season started. It's a win that the Vols got with the third-string quarterback who was benched to start the season. It's a win that extended the winning streak over Vandy to 22 years--one of the longest current, active win streaks in college football.
As I said before, it wasn't a pretty win. In the fourth quarter--this season when Vandy has struggled--they looked like world-beaters. Tennessee kept giving Vandy hope that this might finally be the year. Thankfully, it wasn't.
Not that Vandy wasn't helped by the refs. I guess I know where all the revenue from the ticket hike went--to pay off the officials. The calls were horrible against the Vols and they clearly missed many calls against Vandy. Horrible officiating. I hope Fulmer files a protest with the league office. The calls were terrible.
Of course, the whole Vandy stadium is sub-par. This was my first time going to Vandy's stadium and what a joke. First of all, it's embarassing that you can't even get enough fans at a game to keep it from being Neyland Stadium West. Second of all, your band is puny. Worst in the SEC. The band the Vols have for basketball games is better and larger. Give it up, Vandy. You need to stop taking the hand outs from the SEC and move out of the conference--get a real team in here that might win a game occasionally and not be as huge a doormat as you are.
Now I'll admit...I was there and totally biased toward Tennessee. And that was OK until the middle of the second when a guy and his kid showed up, who were for Vandy. Apparently my cheering for Tennessee and mocking their kicker who can't make an extra point, mind you--bothered them. Now, I wasn't using profanity, I wasn't cheering for injuries, I didn't make any threats. I did clap when Vandy's player got up after an injury--because that's just good sportsmanship. I did jump up and down and cheer when we got the final interception to seal the game. I booed the refs for bad calls. But I was pretty civil and didn't say anything directly to them...but yet, they took the time to me I was rude. Look, buddy..there are huge chunks of open seats in the stadium...if you cant' take it that I paid my money to come and cheer for my team, there is plenty of room eleswhere.
When Vandy does something--such as not losing to Kentucky--then we can talk.
But in the end, the Vols silenced him. He and his son left as soon as the interception took place. Which is a shame because I was honestly going to shake his hand and tell him they had a good game and mean it. But I didn't get that chance....
posted by Michael at 11/20/2004 04:40:00 PM |
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Well, I'm off to watch the Vols take on Vanderbilt. (Thankfully, we found some tickets for less than face value so we weren't ripped off by the money-grubbing administration at Vandy). If everything goes as it should, the Vols will be headed to Atlanta in two weeks to take on Auburn for the SEC Championship.
Score prediction: Tennessee 48, Vandy 0
Other predictions:
Clemson 24, South Carolina 17
Auburn 38, Alabama 10
Florida State 35, Florida 31
Arkansas 20, Miss State 14
LSU 30, Ole Miss 20
GO BIG ORANGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
posted by Michael at 11/20/2004 09:40:00 AM |
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You were destined to have a Red Lightsaber.
Red is the color of fire and blood, so it is
associated with energy, war, danger, strength,
power, and determination as well as passion and
desire. You have seen the Strength and Power of
the Dark Side of the Force and have you thirst
for more of it.
What Colored Lightsaber Would You Have?
brought to you by Quizilla
Tip of the hat to Danielle over at Missives Anonymous for this quiz...
posted by Michael at 11/19/2004 02:24:00 PM |
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Here are the answers to this week's questions:
1. Which Survivor gets the first confessional of the week? Chris
2. Yes or no: Will a Survivor complain about the storm? Of course.
3. Does this storm occur before or after the Reward Challenge? After
4. Is the Reward Challenge the one that involved tying someone up? Yes
5. Which two Survivors get tied up? Eliza and Julie
6. Who wins Reward? Eliza, Ami, Chad, Chris
7. Who do they take with them to share the reward? It's a team reward so no one else gets to share. This question will not count toward totals this week.
8. Who does Jeff Probst single out first with a comment at the Reward Challenge? Julie
9. What is the reward that someone "overindulges in"? Kava
10. Who does the tribe decide is the most useless tribemate? Eliza
11. Who holds the camp together during the storm? Scout
12. Who is torn about joining a new alliance? Twila
13. Which tribemate exploits that? Chris tries to
14. Who wins the Immunity Challenge? Twila
15. Who does snark boy Jeff Probst single out first for comment at the IC? Ami
16. Who tries to sway a tribemate in a "last ditch" effort before TC? Scout
17. Who votes first at TC? Scout
18. Who votes last at TC? Twila
19. Who does Jeff Probst talk to first at TC? LeeAnn
20. Who gets voted out this week? Chad
And now, the results...
Vickie 71/151
Clayton 65/151
Michael 56/151
Dar 52/151
Amanda 50/151
Leslie 46/151
TW 45/151
Kurt 40/151
Bill 24/151
Danielle 23/151
Jessica 20/151
Tudy 15/151
Thanks to everyone for playing! I'll have the contest posted early next week so hopefully everyone can vote before the holiday.
posted by Michael at 11/19/2004 01:40:00 PM |
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Day One of the Thanksgiving Challenge:
Of course, being the football fan that I am, I love watching the games on Thanksgiviving with my belly full of food. It's usually better if the Cowboys find a way to lose since I despise the Cowboys.
When I went off to college at UT, my mom started making the pumpkin pies early because I'd come home on Wednesday evening and be ready for a slice of pie. That has continued and I have to admit I like it. I love pumpkin pie. But on Thanksgiving, we have so much great food that sometimes you get too stuffed on stuffing, turkey, etc. to really enjoy the pie. Now this way, I can enjoy the pumpkin pie and also all the great food on Thanksigiving.
posted by Michael at 11/19/2004 08:18:00 AM |
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More fun! More craziness! More comments!
(A) First, recommend to me:
1. a movie
2. a book
3. a musical artist, song, or album
(B) I want everyone who reads this to ask me three questions, no more, no less. Ask me anything you want.
(C) Then I want you to go to your journal, copy and paste this allowing your friends to ask you anything & say that you stole it from me.
I "stole" this from KP over at The Latest Obsession. So, a Big Orange tip of the hat to KP.
posted by Michael at 11/19/2004 08:15:00 AM |
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No, I'm not referring to finding a way to stuff in that extra piece of pumpkin pie or trying to stay awake as the Cowboys play next Thursday afternoon.
Some of you may remember that a while back, Pretty Purple Princess issused a challenge to all the bloggers to take a month and post at least one thing a day that made you happy. (This was back in August if you're looking for it in the archives). It was a pretty neat idea and one that I enjoyed taking part in, though I started to run out of song titles with the word "Happy" in them by the third week (that'll show me for getting all cutsy!)
Well, last week, Amy over at Prochein Amy sent me a note wondering if I'd be doing it again because she liked hearing stories about my niece and nephew. (And I swear, there is a huge post of cute stories about them coming, Amy!) But that got me thinking about a new type of challenge for the blogging community.
So, here we go...
The Thanksgiving holiday is almost upon us--one week away. I am challenging my fellow bloggers to post at least one item a day related to Thanksgiving. It could be...
- Something you're thankful for.
- A Thanksgiving memory.
- A family tradition.
- Your favorite Thanksgiving food and why.
Just try and get into the spirit of the season and share a bit with your fellow bloggers. Also, it'll be a good warm-up for...well, that would be telling now then wouldn't it?
posted by Michael at 11/18/2004 03:55:00 PM |
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Take the quiz: "What does your birth month reveal about you?"
Here's my results....
January
Stubborn and hard-hearted. Ambitious and serious. Loves to teach and be taught. Always looking at people's flaws and weaknesses. Likes to criticize. Hardworking andproductive. Smart, neat and organized. Sensitive and has deep thoughts. Knows how to make others happy. Quiet unless excited or tensed. Rather reserved. Highly attentive. Resistant to illnesses but prone to colds. Romantic but has difficulties expressing love. Loves children. Loyal. Has great social abilities yet easily jealous. Very Stubborn and money cautious. A lot of that is true--heck, the "likes to criticize" pretty much sums up my ever TV Round-Up in this blog. And I'm not exactly "neat', though I do like to have certain things in their proper place (Star Trek DVDs for example). And I am not sure if "money cautious" describes me 100%...yeah, I'm pretty responsible with it, but I do have my tendencies to buy stuff that I don't really need just cause I want it--again, let's go back to the Star Trek DVDs...
Tip of the hat to Ashley over at MaeveKerry for making me aware of this little quiz....
posted by Michael at 11/18/2004 03:49:00 PM |
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Lost: Solitary
A couple of weeks ago, I was proclaiming my fandom for former Buffy and Angel scribe David Fury after his brilliant effort in "Walkabout." Now, six weeks later, he returns with "Solitary" another solid, entertaining episode that had me on the edge of my seat, eyes glued to the TV and not wanting the show to end. How does this man do it? (I think some of the genius that is Joss Whedon rubbed off on him).
Part of what made this hour so great is the contrast between the two main storylines. Sayid's capture by Danielle (more on her in a minute) and his backstory were pretty heavy, so in the other plotline, we see the rest of the castaways struggle with the need to have some downtime and fun in order to relieve the unrelented stress of being trapped on an island with something that may or may not want to kill everyone. So, Hurley finds some golf clubs and sets up a course, which helps to relieve some of the tension on the island and may help draw everyone back into a community instead of two groups--one living in the caves and the other living on the beach. Interesting plotline and it we did have a nice moment or two with Sawyer trying to become part of the overall community by betting whether or not Jack would sink the putt. (Did we see if Jack sank the putt...I'm not 100% sure we did).
Meanwhile, Sayid is out exploring the island when he's capture by Danielle, who just happens to be the French woman on the repeating message that blankets the island. Danielle, played by Babylon Five's Mira Furlan, reveals a lot of information...or does she. She's been there for 14 years and has apparently found a way to have electricity on the island. She's kept the transmission running all these years, but the broadcast point is at a different location. She was part of a group that became stranded on the island and she's the only one left. There may or may not be other people or something on the island. And apparently we shouldn't go near the black rock because after her group went near it, things weren't quite the same. Now, how much of all this is actually true and how much of it is Danielle's been hearing voices for too many years while being alone on the island, I'm not too sure about. But that's part of the fun of the show really--we're not too sure if we have any more answers than we did at the start. Of course, that also made the X-Files fun for the first couple of years until you realized that Chris Carter and company had no clue where this thing was going and it collapsed under its own weight. But I'm cautiously optimistic to see how this all plays out.
During all this, we learn a bit about Sayid and his past. Nothing terribly mind-shattering, except that he helped the young woman in the picture escape and she may or may not be alive at this point. His flashback also brings into focus why he felt the need to separate himself from the tribe last week after his torture of Sawyer. And then, after he escapes from Danielle, Sayid hears voices in the woods--one of them that sounds a lot like Danielle, thus making us question if it was real or not. I am leaning toward it wasn't because she had too many things Sayid wanted--such as finding her, knowing that the transmission has a source on the island that can be stopped and she had the maps and information he went out looking for without him having to put in the time and effort. We've seen the island's effect on two people (well, at least so far): Locke and the pilot. So, maybe this is Sayid's chance to come face to face with the force at work on the island and we just got to see it this time around.
Time will tell, I guess.
It was great to see Mira Furlan getting a good role, though it was interesting that her character's name was Danielle with sounds a bit like Deleen, who she played for five years on Babylon Five.
The Amazing Race
And they're off...and a lot of them are really, really annoying.
I'm hard pressed to find a team that I'm really pulling for to win the Race in the first episode--unlike last year when I really liked Jim and Marsha right out of the game. And there's not really a team with instant reality TV break-out star status written all over them Charla and Mirna.
Instead, what we have is a lot of people to root against. We've got Lori and Bolo, who apparently think that yelling at each other and him calling her "bitch" all the time is effective communication and the signs of a good marriage. I guess if it works for you, but it is alarming to those of us outside...and it makes the scenes where they are cuddled up and saying, "Oh that's just how we are" seem very, very questionable. Then, we Adam and Rebecca, who were formerly dating but have hooked back up for the show. Now, I may be just slow here, but I don't think the Amazing Race is going to be the best way to get back together--because if you fought all the time when deciding whether or not to have McDonald's or Wendy's for fast food, imagine what's going to happen when you pull a move like not bothering to read the gas cap and find out what kind of fuel your car takes. Yeah, I see wedding bells in their future--maybe with Lori as maid-of-honor and Bolo as best-man. But the most annoying are Jonathan and Victoria. Apparently "married entrepreneurs" is a code word for "we like to scream a lot." Because every little thing causes them to erupt like Ray Lewis after making a big play.
"We are starting the race! Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
"We found a car! Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
"We are fighting like cats and dogs! Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Of course, what do you expect from a team that invovles an entrepreneur and a former Playboy Playmate. (I'm sure Hugh is lining up a follow-up pictoral even now...maybe it'll be a special Girls of Reality issue with Julie from this year's Survivor). And you can see just see Phil, who faced down the idiocy that was Colin and Christie last year with grace and dignity visibly flinch at the pit stop. All of these teams need to face elimination soon.
posted by Michael at 11/18/2004 08:26:00 AM |
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This may come as a shock to some of you, but apparently after a promo for ABC's new hit series Desparate Housewives the other night, the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles played a football game. (In a related story, the Eagles demolished the Cowboys on national TV, thus making me happy, though not as happy as if a giant sink hole had opened up swallowing both teams)
I'm as shocked as the next person by this unsettling turn of events.
Of course, we all know who the real winner is from this hullabalo surrounding the intro--Bill Parcells. In all of the debate over whether or not it decent, indecent or somewhere in between, everyone is forgetting how horrible, pathetic and weak the Cowboys looked on national television. I hear Jeff Fisher is begging Teri Hatcher to do a simliar promo piece in a couple of weeks with Priest Holmes when the Titans play Kansas City.
The other winner: Desparate Housewives which has had two days of free publicity out of this. I will be intrigued to see if ratings spike Sunday night.
The losers: All of us who are sick of hearing about this non-story.
posted by Michael at 11/17/2004 08:42:00 PM |
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Which only means one thing--new episode of Lost tonight! Woo-hoo!
USA Today has a nice article about the show and some speculation on just where the survivors are and what's really happening on the island. Hopefully that'll help tide us over until tonight...
In related news, TV Guide On-Line reports that the new season of Alias will air after Lost on Wednesday nights starting in January.
posted by Michael at 11/17/2004 01:10:00 PM |
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Last week, Sarge and company tried to split the female alliance only to see Godmother Ami win immunity and pull strings to get Sarge voted out. Of course, Sarge didn't know that one of his alliance-mates would turn on him. Meanwhile, Jeff Probst made snarky comments.
Here's a look at the new Alinta tribe....
The previews on CBS have promised a huge island storm, shattering alliances and challenges that will knock your socks off, including people getting tied up. Here's what the CBS web site has to say about this week's episode...
Two Survivors become "sacrificial lambs" and are tied up by their tribe.
A surreal Reward drives one Survivor to overindulge and pay for it later.
After a tumultuous night in which one castaway struggles to keep the camp together, it is decided that the most useless tribemate should go.
One Survivor is torn between joining a new alliance or thwarting an existing one. A tribemate exploits this indecision to work a plan.
Before Tribal Council, one Survivor makes a last-ditch effort to sway a tribemate. Will it work? With all that in mind, here are this week's questions:
1. Which Survivor gets the first confessional of the week? (1 point)
2. Yes or no: Will a Survivor complain about the storm? (1 point)
3. Does this storm occur before or after the Reward Challenge? (1 point)
4. Is the Reward Challenge the one that involved tying someone up? (1 point)
5. Which two Survivors get tied up? (2 points)
6. Who wins Reward? (1 point)
7. Who do they take with them to share the reward? (1 point)
8. Who does Jeff Probst single out first with a comment at the Reward Challenge? (1 point)
9. What is the reward that someone "overindulges in"? (1 point)
10. Who does the tribe decide is the most useless tribemate? (1 point)
11. Who holds the camp together during the storm? (1 point)
12. Who is torn about joining a new alliance? (1 point)
13. Which tribemate exploits that? (1 point)
14. Who wins the Immunity Challenge? (1 point)
15. Who does snark boy Jeff Probst single out first for comment at the IC? (1 point)
16. Who tries to sway a tribemate in a "last ditch" effort before TC? (1 point)
17. Who votes first at TC? (1 point)
18. Who votes last at TC? (1 point)
19. Who does Jeff Probst talk to first at TC? (1 point)
20. Who gets voted out this week? (1 point)
So, there are the questions. Good luck to everyone! Don't forget to vote before 8 p.m EST Thursday by leaving your votes in the comments or a link to your answers!
posted by Michael at 11/17/2004 11:18:00 AM |
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In my seemingly never-ending quest to find employment, I was pursuing the want ads Sunday when I came across an ad that caught my eye--do customer service during the holidays to earn some extra money. I've done customer service and so I called the number around 9 a.m. Monday morning. I was told that applications were accepted on Tuesday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. at their 0ffice on West End Avenue. I asked for directions from Smyrna (just in case there's some tricky turn in there) and thanked the woman on the phone for the information.
Fast forward to Tuesday. I am up at their office around 9:30 or so (if I have to drive into Nashville, I try to let traffic clear out a bit). I go inside and find out--oh yeah, by the way, we filled that job yesterday. And there are other things that can consider me for--it's a temp agency--but I need to fill out an application. If I didn't want to stay and do it there, I could go on-line and do it. At this point, I lose it. I politely but firmly tell the woman speaking to me that I was told yesterday that applications were accepted on Tuesday through Thursday. I called early enough that I could have made it in before the deadline on Monday for new applications or if I'd been told they had a web site, I could have done it at home, on-line and been considered for the position I came in for. I then went on to say, I would be happy to fill out the application, leave my resume and contact information with them and when they saw it, they were going to be upset that I hadn't been in the running for this job since I know I'm better qualfied for this job than 90% of the people who probably were finalists for it. At this point, I figure, what can it hurt? They don't have to hire me for anything and if they say--well, glad you think so, see ya, I've only wasted my time and gas getting up there...which I'd already wasted to begin with!
Well, this sparked something. Because when I left, I was given the number of every agency they had in town and the woman who was helping me said while they might not help me, she could see how qualified I was and determined and that she would try to network me. Now, I don't know if they were saying this because they meant it or to get me out of the office but I'm going to take the positive approach and figure they might actually help me out.
Then, I come home and stopped in for a haircut. I was by the discount bread outlet in Smyrna, so I stopped in for some bread. I saw some chips that I wanted so I figured I'd get both. So, I walk up to the register to pay for my goods. The nice woman (who I think lives at the bread store because she's always there!) rang up my purchases and said, "OK, your bread is free today." At first, I'm thinking--man, that's nice. And then, it hits me. It's Tuesday. It's "Senior Citizen Day." If you're a "Senior Citizen" you get free bread with any purchase. Well, apparently being 31 qualified as a "senior citizen."
Now, some of you who have read my blog for a while now know that if anything I'm usually accused of looking younger than I am. I've got some posts about it here and here. Needless to say I will NEVER (or for at least two weeks) complain about that EVE R again...
My family thought my free bread was a riot, though.
posted by Michael at 11/17/2004 08:12:00 AM |
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Last week, I got a bit snarky (OK, a lot snarky) with some of these Vandy fans who suddenly had these visions of beating Tennessee for the first time in 20 plus years because we'd lost our two freshman phenom QBs for a couple of games. Needless to say, I am still gloating that Kentucky managed to beat Vanderbilt Saturday afternoon, thus deflating a lot of hopes. I loved how yesterday all the fans who last week were trumpeting Vandy's chances to be the Vols Saturday have turned this week and are calling this the worst team ever and talking about how the team is going no where and there are no signs of improvement.
Which brings us to this week's game...
Now, if you're a UT fan, you know that pretty much the Vandy game is a Vol's home game in Nashville. Has been for years. Well, this year Vandy decided they'd stick it to the fans in an attempt to keep the Vols' fans out--by hiking up tickets to $55 each! Now, the average Vandy ticket for any other game is $32. I think part of the idea is to discourage UT fans from coming to the game.
The funniest part--it ain't working. There are 5000 plus tickets left for this weekend's game according to this column by Joe Biddle. We know Vandy fans aint coming...why pay $55 to watch the train wreck that is Vandy? And the thing is--come Saturday, UT fans will get those tickets, come in and turn your stadium orange. So stop trying to stick it to the UT fans the only way you can--off the field. You ain't' scored a point on the Vols in three years.
Oh and in case you were wondering--yes, I am planning to go the game Saturday. My sister found tickets for less than the price Vandy is asking and so I'm heading up to the game. And yes, I will be wearing orange and white.
posted by Michael at 11/16/2004 01:44:00 PM |
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Holiday Habits
The Holidays are quickly coming upon us, what will be on your TV?
1. Any holiday favorites you can't live without?
A Charlie Brown Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. On the movie front, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and A Christmas Story.
2. Holiday viewing: Parades or Football?
Football!
3. What's your favorite holiday TV memory?
That Three's Company where we had a Christmas mis-understanding, that was classic....Seriously, though, I like the holiday themed episodes of shows that don't go over the top with the syrup and holiday cheer. Also, when I was young, we lived in Hawaii--this was in the days when satellite TV wasn't used as readily as it is today. So, we'd be a week behind on all the shows because they'd ship them over to us, so we sometimes saw all the Christmas specials AFTER the holidays.
~Bonus~ Holiday remakes, are you a faithful fan of the old classics or do you prefer the newer versions?
It depends. I really liked seeing Patrick Stewart take on the role of Scrooge, but I honestly am a bit tired of everyone and his uncle having a chance at the role. It just feels as if ever year we have a new version that "will warm your heart." I love the story, but there are umpteen million versions of it. Also, I far prefer the Chuck Jones cartoon of the Grinch to the Jim Carey movie.
posted by Michael at 11/16/2004 08:07:00 AM |
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Thanks to the Chicago Bears for putting a dagger into the heart of our playoff hopes yesterday. I'm going to be positive and say it's better to know we're out of it now and start building for next year instead of hoping against hope each week and then having our spirits crushed in mid to late December. So, we're playing out the string now...maybe that will help the Titans, oh I don't know, show up as a team for the game.
Sorry to be so down on my team, but when your defense plays out of their minds allowing only three points by the opposing offense and you lose because of poor offense and special teams that aren't special, it's disheartening.
posted by Michael at 11/15/2004 09:04:00 AM |
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What a wild, wacky day in college football. And it's not over yet....
- No matter how much I hate to admit it, I think Auburn deserves national championship consideration. They throttled Georgia today and if they make it through the SEC season undefeated, they deserve the chance to play for it all over USC who plays in a weak conference and has no championship game.
- Vanderbilt--did you overlook the Wildcats dreaming of a possible win against Tennessee? I fell on the floor laughing when I head they lost by one point--all because they missed an extra point. It's official--Vandy is the crappiest team in the SEC.
- Texas gave Utah some hope to sneak into the top six of the BCS standings with the Longhorn's last second win over Kansas.
- But then, Wisconsin gave hope back to Texas as they got beat down by Michigan State, thus having one more undefeated go down in flames.
- So, Boise State moved their game up to 9 a.m. local time to be on ESPN at noon EST and impress the voters. Yeah, barely beating San Jose State by seven in double OT ain't gonna make your case for a BCS bid of any kind.
posted by Michael at 11/13/2004 08:13:00 PM |
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Enterprise: The Augments
In references about this week on Enterprise and it's not necessarily a bad thing. If you're a huge Trek geek like I am, then you kind of smile getting all these little in-jokes but they're not such that a casual fan will feel left out or like they're missing some huge part of the storyline if you don't get them. Here are a couple of them I caught:
- A reference to the area of space known as the Briar Patch, last seen in Star Trek: Insurrection.
- Malik's idea to go find the Botany Bay, aka the ship with Khan on it. (Though this brings up an interesting nitpick--how did they know about Botany Bay? In "Space Seed" we get the impression that no one could confirm or deny if the Botany Bay had left Earth with Khan and his followers and it was pretty well covered up that their bodies were unaccounted for. So how did any of the Augments get this information if it was so hush-hush? )
- Archer's bluffing scene was classic Kirk, stopping just short of threatening to use his "Corbomite device."
- During that time, Archer throws in the insult of a "garbage scow" which you may remember is the insult that drives Scotty over the line in "The Trouble With Tribbles."
- After his ship is disabled, Malik crawls across the bridge to set the self-destruct, ala Khan from Wrath of Khan.
- Soong says he's gonna give up on genetic engineering and turn to cybernetics. And it might "take a generation or two." (OK, that was the most blatantly obvious and the one I liked the least).
But fan-boy references aside, was the episode any good? Surprisingly so. I say surprisingly becuase Trek multi-part epics have this bad habit of a solid opening episode or episodes and then completely falling apart in the final segment. This time around, they did a solid job, though I'm not quite sure it's as solid as the previous two weeks. Honestly, I think Enterprise caught lightning in a bottle with "Borderland" and while the past two episodes were good, they didn't live up to the promise we saw there. I think a lot of it was that Malik quickly turned into a cardboard cutout of a villain and beyond Persis, we didn't really get much of an insight into the other Augments. And Persis brings up an interesting question--why was she the lynchpin for loyalty to a leader? I didn't quite get what her role was other than female who kicks some butt. But why she was involved in so many power plays is a bit beyond me.
Also, Malik's plan is interesting--let's use the pathogens we took last week to go and destroy a Klingon colony, thus giving Earth something to worry about while we slip away. Yes, it was a bit Snidley Whiplash, but it had some merit to it, especially in light of his determination to go find Khan.
And we even got a scene that talked about T'Pol's marriage a few weeks ago and how that is affecting her working relationship with Trip.
But, again, the real highlight of this one was Soong. Brent Spiner acts his socks off in the episode, yet again. You can tell he really feels as if he is the father of these children and their betrayal really registers with him. Also, his obvious pain at his children being killed was nicely done. It's interesting to see Spiner and Scott Bakula share scenes, especially in the light of an interview a few years ago that Spiner felt Data was the best role on TV with the exception of Bakula's Dr. Sam Beckett on Quantum Leap.
But what I really loved about this episode was the incidental music. I am a big fan of the incidental scores for television episodes and I think a good musical score can only enhance an episode. Early on TNG did a good job as did DS9, but somewhere in Voyager, they scores got less and less memorable. There was music there, but it didn't really stand out like a "Best of Both Worlds" in my mind. With Enterprise, we've moved back to having some more memorable scores--and the one here really worked. It added the right amount of tension, it helped set the mood and it was memorable without being instrusive.
posted by Michael at 11/13/2004 09:23:00 AM |
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I think it's pretty well known by now that I love Scrubs. Doctor Cox, he just makes me laugh. He's good for at least one great line a week. (I tried having a Dr. Cox line of the week earlier this year, but failed miserably in keeping up with it!)
But now, they just get cooler. If you saw this week's episode with speical guest star Julianne Marguiles (BTW have I said lately how brilliantly Scrubs does guest spots?!?), you probably heard about Turk's cell phone number. Well, some people called it and according to TV Guide On-Line's Michael Ausiello, this happened...
COULD THEY BE ANY COOLER?: Talk about a sweeps stunt. Some lucky Scrubs fans got the shock of their lives Thursday when, after reading my news item, they dialed 916-CALL-TUR and found themselves having a live conversation with the show's cast! "I just called Turk's digits and got a live person on the set," one TVGO reader told me via e-mail. "It was a writer, who then put me on with the woman who plays Dr. Cox's wife (Christa Miller)." Even TV Guide employees got in on the act. "We all just talked to Sarah Chalke, [series creator] Bill Lawrence and the guy who plays the janitor [Neil Flynn]," said Tess Forte, who works in TV Guide's ad-sales department. "It was so much fun — they told us to vote for Scrubs in the People's Choice Awards. I guess that's the point of the initiative." Have I mentioned lately how much I love this show? All I can say is--cool!
posted by Michael at 11/12/2004 05:36:00 PM |
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OK, so did anyone else get a weird kind of double entendre by Jeff "Snark Boy" Probst this week during the Reward Challenge? As we found out a couple of weeks ago, Scout plays for the other team and by reading Ami's bio, we also know which team she plays for. Suddenly, after all three men are eliminated, Jeff chimes in with a comment about all the women left "eating each other." Did anyone else get this or am I the only one with an evil mind here? (If so, I blame Julie and her nude sunbathing!)
Thanks to everyone for being patient in getting the results this week. Here they are...
1. Who gets the first confessional of the week? Chad
2. Which Survivor is surprised to get more than just treemail? Eliza
3. Who wins the Reward Challenge? LeAnn
4. Are they allowed to share the reward with another Survivor? If so, with whom do they share the reward? Yes, with Julie
5. Who does Jeff Probst single out with a comment at the Reward Challenge? Chad
6. What is the Reward this week? Trip to volcano, chicken wings
7. Which group of Survivors will hatch a plan to screw over their tribemates? Chad, Chris, Sarge
8. Who are the two Survivors who "hatred drives...to seriously lobby to get each other voted out"? Eliza and Scout
9. Who feels guilt about aligning with another faction? Twila
10. Which Survivor's words make the person in question eight feel guilty? Sarge
11. Who wins the Immunity Challenge? Ami
12. Who does Jeff Probst single out first for comment at the Immunity Challenge? Sarge
13. Will the winner of immunity pass it on to another Survivor? That'd be no.
14. Who does Jeff Probst talk to first at Tribal Council? Sarge
15. Who votes first at Tribal Council? Eliza
16. Who votes last at Tribal Council? Chad
17. Who gets voted out this week? Sarge
Bonus Questions:
18. The promos say there is a 5-3 female advantage this week. But looking at the tribe, it's clearly 6-3. So, here are your options. Is the promo wrong or does a female tribe member leave the game unexpectedly this week? Error by the promo department.
19. Two or less, three or more: Number of exotic animal cutaway shots we'll see. Two or less. (Julie doesn't count, guys!)
20. Which Survivor gets the first on-screen confessional at Tribal Council? Chad (only one who does)
21. Will someone's name get spelled wrong at Tribal Council this week? Nope.
And now to the leaderboard!
Vickie 64/131
Clayton 56/131
Michael 48/131
Amanda 44/131
Leslie 41/131
Dar 40/131
TW 37/131
Kurt 28/121
Bill 24/131
Jessica 20/131
Danielle 16/131
Tudy 15/131
Barry 12/131
Thanks everyone for playing. See y'all next week!
posted by Michael at 11/12/2004 05:03:00 PM |
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Here's something I've kind of wondered about.
So, before the election, there were a lot of people who had Kerry or Bush stickers on their cars. Now, here we are a week plus out of the election and I just wonder--are the people who put those stickers on their cars still happy they did so? And what is the time limit for keeping such a bumper sticker on your car? If you supported Kerry do you leave it on there as a show of solidarity? If you supported Bush does it look like you're rubbing it in that your candidate won?
And here's the most important part--does having the sticker on there for either candidate affect the re-sale value of the vehicle?
I know when I was little and thought bumper stickers were the coolest thing I'd ever seen, my father refused to put any on our cars becuase they were hard to come off and would make a big mess when the time came to sell the car. (This was in the days before the popular window clings). So maybe that's part of where I'm coming from here--that sort of long-term thinking process.
Anyone else want to weigh in here?
posted by Michael at 11/12/2004 01:54:00 PM |
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Appetizer
Name 3 cosmetics/toiletries that you use on a daily basis.
Crest tootpaste, Shaving cream, Shampoo
Soup
Approximately how much exercise do you get per week, and what type of exercise is it (walking, running, swimming, etc.)?
Quite a bit, actually. I try to work out at least five days a week. I swim every time I work out--in fact, if I only have time to do one form of exercise, I'll swim laps. I try to spin twice a week. And I'll do other stuff the other three days. But swimming...always swimming.
Salad
Write a sentence including your favorite color and your favorite food.
I spilled lasagna on my new orange and white Tennessee shirt.
Main Course
What famous person/celebrity do you think you look like?
People tell me I look like Jarrod from the Subway commericals.
Dessert
Name 2 simple things that never fail to make you happy
Getting time to spend with my niece and nephew. A creame pie shake from Sonic.
OK, after posting my 100 things about me, Amy had some questions that I figured I'd answer here and not in the comments section.
The first was--what is spinning?
Spinning is a form of exercise invented by this guy named Johnny G, who is some kind of super bicycling enthusiast. (I only know this because in Augusta, instructions used to refer to him and give us tidbits of info about him). He designed a stationary bike with a heavy fly (front) wheel and the ability to increase or decrease resistance as you worked on the bike. I think his first goal was to help bicycle riders train, but they soon found it was a great workout. By increasing or decreating the resistance on the wheel, you can get a variety of workouts. You can get your heart rate into a couple of different zones, so you can get a fat burning workout, a cardio workout, an endurance workout. The classes are facillitated by someone who has endless CDs of music and it helps make it a bit more fun. You work both in the seat and standing up, doing things like climbing hills, sprinting, building up strength, etc. It's really actaully kind of fun, though I will warn you that your behind will be sore the first few times as the seats aren't exactly designed to maximize comfort.
How did I get plagerized while in college?
During my time working for the UT Institute of Agriculture, I researched and wrote a couple of articles--one was on the chicken industry coming to Tennessee. I think it was my first article for them and it was published in the Institute's magazine. Well, a few weeks later, they got in piece from one of the local counties that lifted my article word for word but eliminated my byline and sent it out to people. No credit was given to where the article was orginally published. So, I was prety irritated about that. But hey, I guess more people got to read it, so that's not too bad, right?
posted by Michael at 11/12/2004 08:13:00 AM |
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Pole dancing classes for British children cancelled after uproar
So they were going to teach the 12 and up girls how to pole dance. It really does bring up the question--what were they going to teach the boys--how to drink beer, stuff dollar bills and look but don't touch?
posted by Michael at 11/11/2004 05:16:00 PM |
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In honor of reaching a blogging milestone (my 500th post), I am following in the footsteps of many of my fellow bloggers and posting a list of 100 things about me.
Enjoy!
- I'm 31 years old.
- My b'day is in January.
- I am the oldest child in my family.
- I got my degree in communications with an emphasis in journalism from the University of Tennesee.
- I am a huge fan of all things University of Tennessee. In fact, if the Vols are playing Florida, Alabama or Georgia in anything, including pick-up sticks I will watch and root for the Vols to win.
- My father was career military so I grew up all over our great land. I have lived in Hawaii, Virginia, Tenenssee, Alabama, California to name a few.
- With moving, change schools, etc, I went to 12 schools before going to college.
- I am an uncle to a great niece and nephew, who I spoil at every opportunity.
- I am a huge fan of Star Trek, esp. the original series with Captain Kirk. I have the entire original series on DVD. In fact, I got a DVD player specifically so I could collect the entire series commercially released. (Do not get me started about how edited the shows are in syndication!)
- I am such a Star Trek fan that I didn't miss a new epiosde of any Trek show for 12 years. My streak was only broken when the local station stopped showing Voyager and a friend's Dish got broken. I started a new streak when a local affiliate picked up Voyager that January and I caught up.
- My father introduced me to Star Trek and some of the episodes that are my favorites to this day are ones that we watched together and he recommended to me. I'm not sure if he doesnt' regret sending me down the path to obsession.
- As much as I love all things Star Trek, I a bigger fan of the BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who. It was on the air for 26 seasons and is coming back in 2005. (You will see my post about it a lot in my blog).
- In the mid-70s, the BBC decided that the repeat value of Doctor Who had run out and so they scrapped a lot of the early years. Hence, some stories only have one or two episodes avaiable and some only have clips. I have seen every avaliable clip and/or episode of Doctor Who that is out there today. I have every complete episode and snippet of footage available on DVD or VHS.
- My dad also introduced me to Doctor Who, simply because he was tired of seeing the same 79 episodes of Star Trek over and over again...somehow that didn't quite work out like he'd thought it would.
- Other shows I am big fans of: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Farscape, Babylon Five, The Simpsons, Futurama, Monty Python's Flying Circus, 24.
- Shows that I'm currently obsessing...er, I mean watching: Smalville, Stargate SG1, Monk, The Dead Zone, Lost, Vernoica Mars, Scrubs, 24, Alias.
- Shows that I have been way too into in the past: Party of Five, The X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Quantum Leap.
- I love to read. I cannot remember a time in my life when I didn't know how to read.
- Some of my favorite authors are: Stephen King, Elizabeth George, Peter David, Robert Whitlow.
- I love reading sci-fi books and murder mysteries.
- I will read just about anything that catches my interest. Hence why bookstores are dangerous for me.
- I read fairly quickly.
- This is because when I lived in California, one of the classes I took in middle school taught us how to pick up ou reading speed.
- I love exploring used book stores.
- I love exploring used CD and DVD stores.
- I always have a list in my head of books, CDs or DVDs/VHS movies that I am looking for at used prices.
- I had heart surgery when I was three. This is why I am not a big fan of going to the doctor to this day. (Ironic since my favorite TV show is Doctor Who and the hero is called The Doctor).
- I have "needle phobia" which means I tend to pass out when I get a shot or give blood, unless I'm very careful after said shot.
- I am a big fan of the Washington Redskins. Again, my father was career military so we lived near D.C. when they first won the SuperBowl and I got the fever. I've seen the Redskins play in person three times.
- I love the Tennesee Titans. I've been to three games to see them play. Only time I pull against them is when they play the Redskins.
- I hate the following teams: Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens, Jacksonville Jaguars, San Francisco 49ers, Alabama Crimson Tide, Florida Gators, Georgia Bulldogs.
- I love football and can sit down and enjoy just about any game that's on TV.
- If I flip past a football game and it's snowing/raining/sleeting/foggy/muddy, I will watch the rest of the game.
- I cannot flip past Back to the Future and not start watching that movie from whatever point I've started watching.
- My mother was a teacher before she and my dad had me. I was named Michael because they liked the name.
- I was the first grandchild on either side of my parent's family (they were both only children) so my grandparents thought I could do no wrong. (And they were mostly right).
- I am a professionally published writer.
- I am always reading a book. Sometimes I will be in the middle of reading two or three. I have a huge pile of books I want to read and then an even longer list of books I would like to read. So, I'm not going to run out any time soon, I hope.
- I'm a Christian who goes to a Methodist church.
- I've read the entire Bible all the way through.
- I work with the youth at the church I attend now.
- I play handbells. I play in high school in a group that played at the Kennedy Center. We were on national TV. We've still got it on videotape. (Must transfer that to DVD).
- I am a big user of the library system. I think I always have a book or DVD on reserve. (Hey, they're free from the library!)
- The first movie I saw in a movie theater was The Shaggy D.A. for my third birthday.
- I bite my fingernails. I have no idea why.
- I like to swim laps for excericse. I generally try to swim at least a mile every time I swim, which is about five times a week.
- I am into the spinning, which I do twice a week if possible.
- Through diet and excercise I lost 50 pounds in 2002. I've managed to keep it off, which is a good thing.
- I'm a pretty good cook.
- My favorite fast food restaurant is Sonic. I could eat Sonic three meals a day for the rest of my life and never get tired of it. Of course, I'd be as big as a house, but I'd be happy...
- Some of my favorite foods are lasagna, homemade fried chicken, chicken and dumplings, taco soup, banana pudding, dump cake. Pretty much if it's bad for you, I like it.
- I love peanut butter. Seriously--you could put peanut butter on rocks and I'd eat it.
- Chocolate plus peanut butter is enough proof for me of a higher power. In close second, peanut butter and jelly.
- I love Stauffer's Animal Crackers. I could eat an entire one pound bag sitting around watching TV if I'm not careful.
- The chocolate animal crackers are even better...thankfully for my waist line, these are hard to come by.
- I'm allergic to evergreens. Hence, I've never had a live Christmas tree.
- My family always puts up the Christmas tree on Thanksgiving weekend. We started this when I went away to college so we could do it as a family, but now we've continued it as we like having the tree up. Also, we have an artifical tree, so it doesn't matter when we put it up.
- I had a dog named McTavish growing up. He was a Carrin Terrier (think Toto in The Wizard of Oz).
- In college, a story I wrote was plagerized. Unfortunately, I was too poor to sue or really do anything much about it, though it was lifted word for word. My writing credit was dropped from it.
- I lived at the Wesley Foundation at UTK for three years during my college stint.
- Growing up, I always wanted to go to UT. Once I got accepted there, I could have cared less that I got into James Madison University and Virginia Tech.
- I'm glad I went to UT. (Gee, does the name of the blog give that away?)
- I have never lived outside of the United States.
- I'd love to tour England and see the old castles. Also, I want to go on a tour of the rock quarries of Doctor Who. (A lot of times, rock quarries are used for alien planets on Doctor Who).
- My family is very important to me and we're all very close.
- I remember a time before e-mail..it was a sad, empty time.
- I have a very sarcastic sense of humor.
- I think Seinfeld is the greatest comedy of all time.
- My grandfather was one of seven children and I have a lot of cousins on my mom's side. We get together once a year for a family reunion.
- I love old time radio shows, especially the comedies. Some of my favorites are Burns and Allen, Jack Benny and the Great Gildersleeve.
- My favorite superhero is Spider-Man.
- I discovered him on the old Electric Company shows. I used to go around and embarass the stuffing out of family and friends by shooting webs at people when I was younger.
- Before I discovered Spider-Man, my favorite superhero was Batman.
- I had an usually large collection of comic books growing up. A lot of them featuring Spider-Man.
- My first gaming system was the Atari 2600. It's probably still one of my favorites to this day.
- My favorite videogame for the Atari was PacMan. I remember buying a copy of it at Sears and wasting way too much free time playing it. Ms. PacMan was good, but never quite the same as PacMan.
- My favorite PC videogame is probably Duke Nukem 3-D. I wasted way too much time playing it and the multiplayer gaming was the best.
- I had braces in high school. I was also "lucky" enough to wear a headgear for a time. Ugh!
- To me, there's no such thing as a bad free t-shirt.
- I shop at Wal-Mart way too much. My motto: If they don't have it at Wal-Mart, you probably don't need it.
- I enjoy old John Wayne movies. My favorite is The Searchers.
- I don't particularily like coffee.
- I used to be a soda drinker, but I gave it up for my diet. The only time I've had liquid caffeine in the past three years was when I passed out at the doctor's office and they made me drink some Coke.
- I broke my arm when I was six years old.
- I broke the middle finger on my left hand over the summer of 2004.
- When I in the fifth grade, I'd been out sick of school for a couple of days and was catching up on homework. I feel asleep at the desk and poked by eye with a pencil. Don't ask me how this happened.
- I drive a blue Chevy Cavalier.
- I keep my hair cut short. (Growing up with military barbers will do that to you).
- Also, I have way too many cowlicks so most days my hair seems to have a mind of its own.
- I used to listen to Mancow on the radio. We don't have a station that plays him where I live now, so I listen to Rick and Bubba, who I admit I like a lot more.
- My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. How can you go wrong with a holiday that combines family, food and football games?
- The first girl I "went" with was named Alicia. We "went" together for three weeks in middle school. Later we became better friends and I developed a crush on her twin sister.
- The first girl I ever felt like I was "in love" with was named Elizabeth. She was a year older than I was.
- All my HTML knowledge is self taught.
- I used to not like wearing blue jeans. Now I love wearing them.
- I listen to a lot of talk radio while driving around.
- When Reagan was shot, I sent him a get well note. He sent back a card to me. I kept it for a long time in a scrap book.
- I've driven cross country with my parents as part of moving about with the Air Force.
- I've been to both DisneyWorld and DisneyLand.
- One of my earliest memories is hiking up the base exchange in the snow with my dad. I think we lived in Kansas City, Missouri at the time.
posted by Michael at 11/11/2004 11:21:00 AM |
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Smallville: Spell
Stephen DeKnight, what happened?!? How could your pen possibly turn out such a sub-part, unspectacular and on the whole lackluster episode of Smallville, especially in light of the fact that you used to turn out some pretty solid segments over at Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Could it be that without the genius that is Joss Whedon to edit your writing that it just turned out crap? Or maybe it was that this whole concept was half-baked and lame to begin with? I think the answer lies somewhere in the middle. Lana buys a witchcraft book off E-Bay (seriously, do they have an occult section?) and before you can say "Faster than a speeding bullet..." she's possessed by the witch, who eariler this season when she touched her tomb, gave Lana her amazing new tatoo. Witchy Lana goes out and turns Chloe and Lois into her fellow coven sisters and all hell breaks loose. Apparently Lana's coven wants to find the three stones--you know, the ones Lex and Clark have been all obsessed with this year. Which brings me to my first--what the hell?!? moment. I thought that the stones came with Clark from Krypton when he crashed to earth 18 or so years ago. Now, we're being told they might have been around since the late 1600's. Ummmm, sorry but I don't accept this bit of retro-continuity here. So, the witches take on Clark and can steal his powers. Luckily he get them back by touching the first of the three stones of power in the caves and defeats the witches by destroying the spell book and freeing Lana, Lois and Chloe. Oh yeah and did I mention that yet again people witness Clark being super and forget about it later?
After last week's great episode, this one was a huge step backward. I guess Smallville does want to be the new (late seasons) X-Files. Certainly they have they whole "dangle out some possible cool moments and then cruelly not address them in the next episode" thing down. I was waiting to get some explanation of why Lex did what he did in the last episode, but we got none. In fact, once again, continuity goes out the damn window. Last week, Clark says to Lex "I really doubt why we call ourselves friends and I don't need your or trust you", when Clark goes Risky Business on the Princeton visit, he goes running straight to Lex. No wonder Lex grows up to not take any of Superman's threats seriously...the man just can't follow through.
Lost: Confidence Man
Meanwhile, over on ABC, the best new show of the season only gets better with an episode that focuses on Sawyer. (Or at least that is what he's calling himself). Whereas Smallville could not end soon enough to put me out of my misery, I wanted Lost to keep on going and going and going. Wow, this episode was good. Shannon has asthma and has run out of the medication in her inhaler. Lucikly, her brother was smart enough to pack four more in his suitcase, which he hasn't found yet but suspects Sawyer has since the copy of Watership Down we've seen Sawyer reading was also packed in said suitcase. Jack and Sayid begin to take dramatic steps to get the inhalers back as Shannon's condition worsens--culminating in Sayid using some of the skills he learned as a member of the Iraqi Defense Force to try and torture the knowledge out of Sawyer. Let me just say, the scenes of Sawyer's torture were not for the squeamish, but damn if I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. Sawyer eventually gives, but he'll only tell Kate. (Big shock there!) Meanwhile, we learn bits and pieces of Sawyer's past, including that he was sleeping with some guy's wife and conspiring to swindle them out of a lot of money in an oil well scam. Now, let me say this--what I love most about Lost is that it plays on your assumptions and then, in one quick moment, pulls the rug out from under you. Early on, Sawyer has Kate read a note from a boy that Sawyer swindled, causing his father to kill his mother and then take his own life. So, you assume that this is where the flashbacks are headed--up until the point that it's revealed that the Sawyer in the note wasn't Sawyer but a man who did that to Sawyer as a boy. Sawyer saw himself going down the same path and walked away, but he's punishing himself and trying to get others to hate him because he hates what he's become. Could the island be some type of redemption potential for him and is he wasting it? Just as Locke has made the most of his opportunity, is Sawyer actually doing anything with his? Certainly here, he has the opportunity to do the right thing but instead exploits it in order to get what he wants--a kiss from Kate.
But along the way, we get some other good character work. Seeing how far Jack and Sayid go to get the information from Sawyer was rivetting, but it also made me wonder something. If it were, say Charlie or Sawyer, would they go that far to get the information? Also, have his actions here cost Jack some of the loyalty of his fellow castaways who looked to him as the leader? And is Kate really the moral center of the island?
I also loved seeing how far Charlie would go to try and get Claire to come to the caves was nicely done. Charlie's accusing Hurley of hoarding food was well done and a scene that we needed to see. And to see Sun contribute something while Jin stands off to the side brooding and looking accusingly was nicely done. All in all, this was another great episode of a great show. And next week only looks to get better. Man, I am going to suffer some major withdrawals when this show goes into repeats during December. I have not been this into a new show since I discovered Buffy the Vampire Slayer and 24 and I think we all know how obsessive I am about those two.
posted by Michael at 11/11/2004 08:49:00 AM |
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I don't think I'm alone in saying that Lost is my favorite new show of the season. I also don't think I'm alone in appreciating the brilliance that once was Batman: The Animated Series.
One of the things that makes both shows so good--the writing staffs. Lost features at least one veteran from Buffy and Angel, David Fury. But also of interest is Paul Dini, who served as executive producer for Batman: The Animated Series and is a writer for Lost. (He wrote last week's episode focusing on Charlie). Dark Horizons has posted an intriguing report on a convention appearance by Dini that discusses some things that will happen tonight and in coming weeks. Be warned, it has some SPOILERs about things.
A couple of intriguing things that caught my eye...
- The show is filmed widescreen, but ABC chooses not to show it that way. It will be widescreen when the DVDs come out--and there are DVDs planned.
- Paul said that each writer drew names from a hat. Three names were chosen by each writer. That writer then went off to write the character's history and back story. Paul's character's are John Locke, Sawyer and Sun [Daniel Day Kim's wife]. Paul said that Locke was based off of the real life philosopher John Locke.
- Jack was originally planned to be killed off in the two hour pilot. The plan was to have someone famous play him and then kill him off before the middle of the second hour. The team talked about getting Michael "Batman" Keaton, however, Paul wasn't sure if they ever made it to the point of approaching him.
- A question was asked about the time period that seems to be mentioned on the show each week. Paul said that they want the viewer to be very aware of the amount of time spent on the island. The entire first season will take one month of pseudo island time
Man, I'm lovin' this show....
posted by Michael at 11/10/2004 01:22:00 PM |
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Smallville: Jinx
Growing up, I had an old Power Record that featured Superman taking on Mr. Mxyzptlk. Apparently, Mxyzptlk wasn't concerned so much with world-domination as he was with making everyone's life a living hell by turning the world upside down as it were. On the record, he made everyone talk stranglely, mixing up their words and saying things backward. The only way to get rid of him was to make him say his name backwards and he'd pop back to his own dimesnion. Other Superman shows have tried having Mxyzptlk show up before--I think Lois and Clark did it in season four with Howie Mandel as the villain in question. So, when I heard rumors over the summer he was coming to Smallville, I have to admit part of me was intrigued. And I'll give Smallville a lot of credit--his appearance here worked very well within the context of what Smallville is supposed to be all about--Clark Kent becoming Superman and exactly what that means. I really liked the questions raised here--Clark injuries another player on the field due to his super strength. The coach begins to suspect that Clark might be on steroids since he came out of no where and is an apparent Heisman canddiate. I loved the debate back and forth between Clark and Jonathan about whether or not Clark should be on the team and the nature of responsiblity. This kind of work is what was initially so intriuging about Smallville and why I hope we get more of it as the season continues to unfold. Also, I have to admit the writers came up with an intersting way for Clark to have his cake and eat it too. And the episode left us with a lot of questions, some of which need to be answered immediately in the next new episode. First of all, has Lex really given up his investigation of Clark or is that just a ruse to keep your enemy close? Second of all, what was on floor 11.3 at LuthorCorp? (My guess: A few more freaks of the week that Lex has collected). Thirdly, did Lex really get Jason fired? If so, why? What does it gain him? (This is the question I suspect will be answered in the teaser for this week's episode). Finally, is Chloe finally starting to put it all together and figure out there's more to Clark than meets the eye? All of these things make for a great, entertaining episode. I'll even go so far as to say, it's the best Smallville of the season.
Gilmore Girls: The Party's Over
This time around, Rory and Dean's break-up isn't so much heartbreaking as it is about two people who realize they can't hold onto the past anymore. Interesting to see Richard and Emily, after last week disapproving of Luke and Lorelai, also disapprove of Dean and Rory. And the lengths they go to in order to try and mold Rory into their vision of what they're granddaughter should be. (Anyone else get the vibe that they wanted to introduce Rory to these guys with huge income potential so she could have "cute little journalism career" or is it just me having been part of the journalism field and knowing how little it can pay?) I love how little scenes come back with new meanings in retrospect, such as Emily going to Richard and saying they need to talk in the teaser . On first viewing, you assume Emily is going to pitch a futher fit about Richard's appetizers, but then you realize later it was to talk about Rory and how they had to do what was best for her. Also, there was a lot of hilarity had with Ling helping the exchange student living in her house rebel against her mother.
Veronica Mars: The Girl Next Door
The good news this week is that Veronica Mars has been picked up for a full season. Let me be the first to say, "Yay!"
That said, this episode failed to really click for me. I liked the plotline of Logan and Weevil serving detention together (and how weird was it to see Steven "Mr X" Williams as a high school teacher?!? Anyone else exepct him to start spouting off about conspiracies?) but the whole main storyline wasn't really all that compelling. Part of it was that once they introduced mother and step-father of the missing girl, I pretty much guessed why she'd gone missing and exactly what had happened.
posted by Michael at 11/10/2004 10:59:00 AM |
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Last week, the big merge finally happened, forming the new tribe of Alinta. Rory tried to get Ami voted off the island only to see the women use their superiority in numbers and their alliance to vote him off the island. (Kind of smart move, really since he's a loose cannon and there ain't no telling how he'd vote on a jury). Sarge won immunity last week and tried to hook up with Julie and Twilia. (Oh, that wacky Sarge!)
First up, a look at our new tribe (and our jury)....
The video previews for this week don't tell us that much, except the guys are outnumbered (though apparently they can't count since they say the men are outnumbered 5-3 and looking at our picture above, it's actually 6-3) and could be "an endangered species." (Thanks CBS for making my job so much easier!) But, here's what the CBS web site has to say about this week's episode:
Fetching treemail, one Survivor is surprised to get more than just mail, but the meaning of the surprise remains a mystery.
One group of Survivors hatch a devilish plan to screw over their tribemates.
Hatred drives two Survivors to serious lobbying to get each other voted out.
One Survivor's guilt over aligning with a faction is exacerbated by a tribemate's words.
OK, with all that in mind, here comes this week contest:
1. Who gets the first confessional of the week? (1 point)
2. Which Survivor is surprised to get more than just treemail? (1 point)
3. Who wins the Reward Challenge? (1 point)
4. Are they allowed to share the reward with another Survivor? If so, with whom do they share the reward? (up to 2 points)
5. Who does Jeff Probst single out with a comment at the Reward Challenge? (1 point)
6. What is the Reward this week? (1 point)
7. Which group of Survivors will hatch a plan to screw over their tribemates? (1 point)
8. Who are the two Survivors who "hatred drives...to seriously lobby to get each other voted out"? (2 points)
9. Who feels guilt about aligning with another faction? (1 point)
10. Which Survivors words make the person in question eight feel guilty? (1 point)
11. Who wins the Immunity Challenge? (1 point)
12. Who does Jeff Probst single out first for comment at the Immunity Challenge? (1 point)
13. Will the winner of immunity pass it on to another Survivor? (1 point)
14. Who does Jeff Probst talk to first at Tribal Council? (1 point)
15. Who votes first at Tribal Council? (1 point)
16. Who votes last at Tribal Council? (1 point)
17. Who gets voted out this week? (1 point)
Bonus Questions:
18. The promos say there is a 5-3 female advantage this week. But looking at the tribe, it's clearly 6-3. So, here are your options. Is the promo wrong or does a female tribe member leave the game unexpectedly this week? (1 point)
19. Two or less, three or more: Number of exotic animal cutaway shots we'll see. (1 point)
20. Which Survivor gets the first on-screen confessional at Tribal Councils? (1 point)
21. Will someone's name get spelled wrong at Tribal Council this week? (1 point)
Good luck to everyone! Just remember to cast your votes by Thursday at 8 p.m EST. You can vote in the comments or on your blog by leaving a link in the comments.
posted by Michael at 11/10/2004 08:51:00 AM |
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Ya know, I'm a Christian and certainly I take very seriously the Great Commission to go out and make believers of all nations. But somehow, I just don't think this web site that my friend, Randall made me aware of is really helping that cause any: www.yourgoingtohell.com
I think my favorite feature is the "Hellbound of the Month." How exactly is this poll run and can you vote against yourself?
Another thing--you'd think if you're going to put a web page out there judging others like this, then maybe just maybe you'd spell the name right--it should be "You'reGoingToHell.com" Just a thought there...
Of course, I'm sure that by making fun of their web page here, that I'm on a slow boat to the everlasting fires....
posted by Michael at 11/09/2004 01:30:00 PM |
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Election Coverage
Well now that's it's over, maybe it's safe to look back on. LOL
1. Do you watch political coverage? If so, how much?
I watched some of the debates. I have to admit I listened to a lot more political coverage on the radio than I watched on television.
2. Does political coverage effect how you vote?
It's difficult sometimes to distinguish the message from the messengers. We have so many outlets these days and sound bytes can be distorted in a variety of ways--for any side. As I said back when the last debate aired, I wish we could just see the debate, have an anchor come on and say "Thank you for watching and good night' and them move into something else on the air. But instead, there are so many media outlets who want to tell me what to think and how to think about the debate instead of trusting that I'm intelligent enough to watch or listen and make up my own mind.
3. Do you think the up to the minute coverage of returns effects those who haven't yet voted?
Well, I am sure that it effects some people, but I'd hope not that many. Voting is such a fundamental right that I would hate to see someone not vote because they felt like whoever they wanted to vote for had already won or was not doing as well as they'd hoped. Win or lose--get out and vote!
~Bonus~ Do you think there should be guidelines for political ads? For example, banning putting other candidates down.
I think there should be some kind of regulation where they actually have to have verified facts used in the ads. And as idealistic as I'd like to be and say--ya know, if only they'd do away with negative ads....but then again, I realize negative ads ain't going away any time soon.
posted by Michael at 11/09/2004 01:22:00 PM |
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You know, based on the BCS formula and how no one can actually figure out how it works, I suspect this Mallard Filmore cartoon from yesterday pretty much hits the nail on the head as it were...
How much you wanna bet it's true?
posted by Michael at 11/09/2004 10:27:00 AM |
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Yes, the Vols lost to Notre Dame Saturday and, yes, we've had two devestating injuries to our quarterbacks. And I understand this gives you a glimmer of hope that you might be able to reverse your 20 plus year losing streak to the Vols.
That said--it ain't gonna happen. Vandy, you couldn't beat Rutgers with a double digit lead going into the fourth quarter. You think you can follow the formula Notre Dame used to stop the Vols--stack against the run and let the QB beat you. Well, I hate to say it, but Notre Dame is a good team, you are not. So have your hope for a couple of days but let's come back to reality...you have to play Kentucky this weekend to see who is the bottom of the barrel in the SEC. Tennessee will play you for a chance to go to the SEC Championship Game and a good bowl game. You guys are playing out the string and can't play a complete game.
So, until you do something otherwise, keep your mouths shut.
posted by Michael at 11/09/2004 09:53:00 AM |
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Enterprise: Cold Station 12
Echoes of the original series episode "Space Seed" abound in this one--I guess if you're a product of genetic engineering, you have to attempt to kill someone else in order to make the good guys do what you want.(Also, did anyone expect Malick at some point to say, "I have five times your strength. You are no match for me.") Also, Malick's throwing Archer around like a rag-doll was reminiscent of Khan beating the stuffing out of Kirk in engineering, though Archer doesn't have the luxury of a small, blunt object to pull out and use as a weapon against Malick. I also found myself reminiscing about one of my favorite episodes of all-time, "A Taste of Armageddon" with Archer held prisoner and shouting order to T'Pol over an open comm channel (Wouldn't it have been great to hear him call out something with the number 24 in it, since this is the General Order that Kirk gives Scotty to target and take out all the cities on Eminiar VII?)
That said, I found part two of this three part story to be not quite as involving and compelling as "Borderlands" last week. I guess a lot of it was because we didn't really cover that much new ground here--you had to figure that they'd start setting up Soong to be disappointed with the Augments and the Augments to realize that maybe they didn't share the same morality that Soong does. Also, the fact that Archer and company would try a dramatic rescue was fairly much a given from the beginning. Now reading that, you might think I didn't like the episode. Absolutely untrue. I enjoyed it a great deal, but it just wasn't quite as compelling as last week. There was a lot I did like--Brent Spiner's chewing scenery as Soong was great work--especially the teaser where we see Soong with the younger Augments. Also, Archer connecting with Lokesh worked very well--and even though you saw his death coming a mile away, it still worked on an emotional level. This one ends on far more of an immediate cliffhanger so it should be interesting to see how they wrap all this up next week. I'm hoping we're not headed for another Trek concluding episode disappointment.
Lost: The Moth
I'll give you that the metaphor used for Charlie overcoming his drug addiction was pretty transparently presented to us by Locke early in the episode, but dang nabbit if J.J. Abrams and company don't still make it compelling and entertaining television viewing. I'll also give you that Charlie's plotline was a bit predictable but they threw in some nice little curve balls along the way--the scene of him confessing at church about his rock-star lifestyle to start the episode was nicely done. Slowly seeing Charlie's descent into the lifestyle that almost destroyed him worked fairly well, though you could have mapped out most of it from the first scene with his brother. What did I did like a great deal was Sayid's attempts to finally trangulate the signal and figure out if they could shut it off. Of course, someone knocks Sayid out as he figures it out, but we don't see who did it. The obvious choice is Sawyer did it, but then I start thinking--that's too obvious. Kate certainly might not want to get off the island, but she was busy helping Jack dig free. And Jack and Charlie are in a cave. Right now, I'm guessing Locke or Sun did it--Locke because he may go back to the wheelchair if they leave and Sun because she has a lot to lose by getting off the island. Of course, with J.J. Abrams in charge, it could be the dog somehow hitting Sayid....cause he likes it there and he doesn't want to go back to suberbia.
Survivor: Vanutau
Give Ami come credit--she is the Godmother of the island at this point. She's making offers that no one can refuse and none of the women see how they are pawns in her game. The men do, but only because Rory was over there with them and sniffed out what Ami is up to. And we see where that got him--booted from the island in a vote so obviously rigged by Jeff Probst to be "shocking" that it was really anything but. Meanwhile, it appears Sarge will now flirt with anyone who shows a passing interest in him. First he's stunned that Julie would cuddle up to him and then not five minutes later (screen time, not real time) he's baring his butt on the beach with her. Also, Twila and Sarge get flirtatious down in the jungle. How much you wanna bet Sarge ain't gonna be in a flirting mood this week? I must also say I got some weird vibe off Scout and Twilia. Scout was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too happy that Twila was still there and really seemed to be a bit too cuddly and all over Twila once the tribes merged.
The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror 15
Thank you baseball for yet another year of putting the annual Halloween themed epsiode of The Simpsons AFTER Halloween. Kind of loses some of the magic, don't you think?
OK, now that I've let that go, I have to admit this year's Treehouse of Horror had the best segment early--the Kang and Kolos segment with the boss coming over for dinner. That was a riot and then using the theme from Perfect Strangers to open the show just had me on the floor laughing. And the opening segment, "The Ned Zone" was very funny, especially Homer in heaven with God being told to not eat the three bean salad (a throwback to the forbidden doughnut segment from years ago? Possibly). As for the other two, they had some chuckles but weren't much to write home about. It felt like they were trying too hard. But hey, I'll take a trying too hard episode of The Simpsons over just about any other comedy just simply trying these days.
Arrested Development: The One Where Michael Leaves
I'll admit that I sporadically tuned into this struggling comedy last year--espeically over the summer when it aired after repeats of The Simpsons. And I'll admit that I laughed at least once per episode. Plus, any show that gives Henry Winkler good work is OK in my book. Shockingly enough, it made it to a second season and I figured I'd tune in again. And it's still funny and it makes me laugh, so I may be hooked in for the full ride this year. Seeing Michael's attempts to leave town and the old comedy chestnut of humor through a mis-understanding (Three's Company, anyone?) all worked well here--I loved seeing Tobias thinking Blue Man Group was a support group for depressed men and then painting himself blue to become an understudy.
Two And A Half Men: A Kosher Slaughterhouse Out in Fontana
I usually watch and enjoy Two and a Half Men but it's rare that I comment about it. I have to say that this week's episode was worth commenting about. It had me on the floor laughing. Cameryn Manheim as Berta's sister Daisy Ray was an absolute riot. This is definitely an episode to watch for in repeats. And let's face it, with Raymond only doing approximate four episodes this year, there will be lots of room for repeats of this heir apparent to the Raymond throne.
posted by Michael at 11/09/2004 08:09:00 AM |
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Well, I'm disappointed that the Vols could not find a way to get it done yesterday against Notre Dame. Amazingly enough, today at church Notre Dame fans were coming out of the woodwork to tell me how great their win was. Yeah, where were you guys bragging last week before the game when I was confident of the Vols chances? I'll give my friend Mike credit--he's an Auburn fan and was one before they played UT and is one now. I may not agree with him, but at least he's not trying to rub it in now as if he was always an Auburn fan but didn't tell anyone until now.
Man, it's been a costly couple of weeks for the Vols. Two weeks, we lose to two QBs. Part of me says--well, we have a week off to get healthy and it's only Vandy and Kentucky. Heck, Vandy beats themselves all the time (Rutgers, anyone?). But if the Vols the lack of focus they had yesterday and in the first 28 minutes of the South Carolina game, we could get behind early and may not have enough to really dig ourselves out of the hole.
Of course, I'm conflicted about all of this. Part of me wants to win and win now. But another part of me says that if Ainge is hurt and if hurrying him back will damage our chances long-term, then we should let him have the time to recover and have surgery if necessary. I think the Vols have the talent to be good long-term and I'd hate to be too short-sighted and lose the chance for greater success down the road.
I guess we'll have to wait and see...
On a related football note--is it just me or are the Pittsburgh Steelers making a case to be considered the best team in the NFL? I've watched the first half of the Steelers/Eagles game and the Steelers are just dismantling the Eagles like they did the Patriots last week.
posted by Michael at 11/07/2004 01:04:00 PM |
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Looks like I did pretty well last week, with the exception of the Georgia/Florida game. I'm torn because as much as I like seeing Florida lose, if they had won it helps Tennessee. Again, it was one of those games that if a big sinkhole could open up and swallow both teams, I'd be happiest. OK, now that I've offended both UGA and UF fans, let's move onto this week's picks...
1. Notre Dame at Tennessee (3:30 p.m. EST, CBS)
The Vols are spectacular in November under Phillip Fulmer, compiling a truely staggering record. Of course, part of that is they get to play Vandy and Kentucky every November. But equally impressive is the non-conference competition they schedule each year in November. And this year is no different as the Vols renew their rivallry with Notre Dame. But which Notre Dame will the Vols get--the one that looked great against Michigan or the one that looked just so-so against Boston College? Notre Dame can be a Jekyll and Hyde type of team this year. I'm hoping Hyde shows up and the Vols romp. The Vols don't have the luxury of the two-quarterback system with Shaeffer out and hurt. Eric Ainge has to be the man. I think he'll do it.
Tennessee 28, Notre Dame 17
2. Arkansas at South Carolina (12:30 EST, JP Regional Game, ESPN GamePlan)
Two teams fighting to become bowl eligible. South Carolina is trying to avoid a repeat of last year's November slump. Arkansas had a week off to help Matt Jones get healthy. If Jones can play the whole game, Arkansas has too much for South Carolina.
Arkansas 28, South Carolina 20
3. Georgia at Kentucky (12:30 EST, JP Regional Game, ESPN GamePlan)
Georgia beat Florida last week and they play Auburn next week. Could they be in the position to overlook an opponent? That might be true if they weren't playing Kentucky.
Georgia 49, Kentucky 7
4. Florida at Vanderbilt (2 p.m .EST)
Of all the games this week, this is the hardest to figure out. On the one hand, it's Vandy playing Florida. On the other hand, Florida is sinking fast in the East and you have to wonder if this is just that year that Vandy pulls the upset. If they don't do it now, they never will. What the heck, I'm gonna open myself up to Vandy disappointing me again, but if I get this one right, I look like a genius.
Vanderbilt 20, Florida 17
5. Mississippi State at Alabama (6:30 p.m EST, ESPN 2)
Of all the games this week, outside of UT/Notre Dame this one has the most interest for me. Sylvester Croom returns to Bama to play his old alma mater. Two weeks ago, I'd say Bama rolls, but with the confidence builder against Florida and Bama's loss to Tennessee, anything can happen. This one is gonna be fun to watch though.
Alabama 21, Mississippi State 20
posted by Michael at 11/05/2004 05:01:00 PM |
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The Incredibles opens this weekend and I have to admit it looks pretty good. The reviews over at USA Today and The Tennessean seem to agree that it is a good.
As if the prospect of another great movie from the creative team over at Pixar weren't enough, George Lucas has attached the teaser trailer for Episode III to The Incredibles. Better yet, you can catch the preview trailer here and here for free. (And also so you can pause, rewind, rewatch and analyze every last second of footage about a million times).
Give George Lucas credit here. Remember how for Episode I the trailers were attached to Wing Commander and Meet Joe Black? At least this time around, he's attached the trailer to a movie that you'd actually WANT to see.
Of course, my biggest fear is that the trailers will be the best part of the movie. The last two times, I went to theater with my hopes high and was treated to just merely above average movies instead of the spectacular films they could have been. I'm hearing that Episode III will be much darker than the first two and along the lines of Empire Strikes Back (my favorite of all the the Star Wars films). So, I'm hopeful that Episode III will bring it all together and kick some tail. Until then, I'm gonna go obsess over the trailer a few dozen more times...
posted by Michael at 11/05/2004 09:43:00 AM |
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Here are the results of this week's contest. Please note my comments on several questions.
1. Will there be a reward challenge this week? Yes
2. Which Survivor is fed up and ready for a change? Rory
3. Will the tribes merge this week? Yes
4. Which camp will the tribes choose to live at now or will they be forced to make a new camp? Choose to live at Lopevi. (Yes, I admit it...after I posted the inital questions, the wording of my original question four was one that could cause some confusion. So, I checked and made sure no one had voted and changed the question. Some of you caught onto this and others didn't. Some even changed their votes to the incorrect vote. So, here's what I did...if you answered the original question, you got a point (I won't penalize you for having a bad contest facillitator) If you guessed it right, you got a point. If you changed it, I took the answer as correct or incorrect and counted a point accordingly. So, anyone else confused yet?)
5. Which castaway uses charm, flirtation and cuddling? Julie (huge shock there, huh?)
6. Which castaway will make one-on-one pacts with numerous others? Chris
7. Which castaway will tell another what to do? Sarge, Chris & Ami
8. Which castaway will not like being told what to do? Twila
(For questions 7 and 8, I went to my videotape trying to find this...but there wasn't anything that really stood out to me, except for everyone trying to tell Twila who to vote for and her turning on the men at TC. If anyone out there can point me to other evidence of this conflict, let me know!)
9. Who will win the immunity challenge? Sarge
10. Who will Jeff Probst single out first with a comment at the Immunity Challenge? Sarge
11. Can the new individual immunity be passed to another player? Yes
12. Who will vote first a Tribal Council? Chris
13. Who will vote last at Tribal Council? Twila
14. Who does Jeff Probst ask a question of first at Tribal Council? Ami
17. Who gets voted out this week? Rory
Bonus Questions:
18. What color are the new buffs the Survivor receive this week? Orange
19. Three or less or four plus: number of Survivors who tan their posteriors in this episode. Three or less
20. Will the immunity challenge involve fire? No
21. Will we see the volcano this week? Yes
22. Who gets the first confessional of the week? Ami
23. Who will Sarge try to hook up with in this episode? Julie and Twila (I say this because Sarge flirts with 'em both in my estimation. He bares his posterior at Julie's urging on the beach and later in the woods he is tryin' to get get Twila to touch him a bit lower. Oh that wacky Sarge!)
24. Will it work for Sarge? Nope
Super Bonus Question:
25. Name the Survivors who tan thier butts this week. Sarge, Twila, Julie
The maximum number of points you could get this week is 25. So, let's tally those results....
Vickie 56/108
Clayton 43/108
Dar 40/108
Michael 40/108
Leslie 34/108
TW 31/108
Amanda 33/108
Kurt 28/108
Bill 24/108
Jessica 20/108
Tudy 15/108
Barry 12/108
Danielle 12/108
Well, it looks like Vicki has become the Ami of our game (so, Vicki, will there be any racy photographs of yourself surfacing on the Net, ala Ami?) and sitting in the catbird seat to win. But this is Survivor where anything can happen. So keep on voting and I'll see y'all next week!
posted by Michael at 11/05/2004 09:26:00 AM |
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Steve Spurrier will NOT be returning to the sidelines of the University of Florida.
"When I departed three years ago, there were several reasons why I believed it was time to move on," Spurrier said. "Other than simply wanting to coach in the NFL someday, I also believed that 12 years at Florida was probably long enough. Many people in football believe that around 10-12 years in the same job is about the maximum time a coach should stay. Speculation has him trying the NFL waters again, possibly with the Dolphins.
So, does the University of Florida now have egg on their face? It looked like they were set to annoint Spurrier the savior of the program if he'd come back and right the ship. But now Spurrier has declined to come back as the conquering hero and save Florida. Does this mean that Florida put the cart before the horse in letting news of Zook's firing get out? Or does it mean that the program is headed in such a direction that Spurrier turned it down because he knew he couldn't win right away (which, let's face it, is what the fans would expect)? Despite having some good talent on offense (though I'm still not sold that Chris Leak is THAT good), the Gators are hurting on defense. Is this why Spurrier turned down the job?
Also, the power is shifting in the SEC East. Tennessee has turned the corner in terms of Florida owning us in the rivallry as they did under Spurrier. And Georgia won this year (I'm still not sure if they've turned a corner yet. They still have to do something with that win--as in win next year--to show me if they've turned a corner against the Gators) so they could be finding the corner to turn.
Did any of these influence Steve's decison? Did none of it? And is Florida about to have a repeat of three years ago when every coach they really wanted turned down the job?
As a Tennessee fan, I must say I love the Gator's misery....
posted by Michael at 11/04/2004 02:16:00 PM |
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The Classics.
Everyone has their own idea of what a classic movie is. Most would put films such as The Wizard Of Oz, Casablanca, and The Godfather on the classics list. We want to know what you think. So this week, there is just one question. What is classic to you?
Give us your list of YOUR top 10 "classic" films.
Note: This isn't necessarily how I'd rank the film--as in, the order for them. But it is a list of ten of my favorite movies of all time....
1. The Searchers
2. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
3. The Empire Strikes Back
4. North by Northwest
5. Back to the Future
6. Vertigo
7. Blade Runner
8. Casablanca
9. Beauty and the Beast
10. Star Wars
11. True Grit
12. The Lion King
13. His Girl Friday
14. The Shawshank Redemption
15. ¡Three Amigos!
posted by Michael at 11/04/2004 08:38:00 AM |
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The Sun newspaper in the UK has some of the first images of the new Daleks from next year's return of Doctor Who. Thankfully, Doctor Who On-Line was kind enough to provide us with some scans of the photos. I've got one below.
The new Dalek.
A new Dalek and its operator.
As if I needed anything to get me a bit more excited about the new series....
posted by Michael at 11/03/2004 02:08:00 PM |
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AP: Bush Wins Race As Kerry Concedes
The voting is over and we have a winner. Thank goodness.
Now we can get onto the really important things...like making sure Lost isn't pre-empted tonight....
posted by Michael at 11/03/2004 11:10:00 AM |
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Last week, Lopevi kept with their strategy of voting off the young, able-bodied men first so they wouldn't be a threat when the tribes merged and booted John K. (who never saw it coming). Meanwhile, Yasur won both immunity and reward challenges and Rory and Ami just couldn't get along.
Here's a look at the tribes after the first seven episodes...
In the video previews, CBS has hinted at several things. One is a possible island romance, another is that Julie will do some more sunbathing and be joined by others. Another is that the tribes could merge this week. Also, here's what CBS's web site has to say about this week's episode...
A Survivor gets fed up with the tribe and is ready for a change.
One castaway uses charm, flirtation and cuddling in an attempt to get in good with a tribemate.
Anxiety about a possible tribal merge leads one Survivor to make one-on-one pacts with numerous others.
One castaway gets into a war of words with a tribemate after being told what to do. So with all that in mind, here are this week's questions (and hopefully I won't post the same question twice!)
1. Will there be a reward challenge this week? (1 point)
2. Which Survivor is fed up and ready for a change? (1 point)
3. Will the tribes merge this week? (1 point)
4. Which camp will the tribes choose to live at now or will they be forced to make a new camp? (1 point)
5. Which castaway uses charm, flirtation and cuddling? (1 point)
6. Which castaway will make one-on-one pacts with numerous others? (1 point)
7. Which castaway will tell another what to do? (1 point).
8. Which castaway will not like being told what to do? (1 point)
9. Who will win the immunity challenge? (1 point)
10. Who will Jeff Probst single out first with a comment at the Immunity Challenge? (1 point)
11. Can the new individual immunity be passed to another player? (1 point)
12. Who will vote first a Tribal Council? (1 point)
13. Who will vote last at Tribal Council? (1 point)
14. Who does Jeff Probst ask a question of first at Tribal Council? (1 point)
15. Who votes first at Tribal Council? (1 point)
16. Who votes last at Tribal Council? (1 point)
17. Who gets voted out this week? (1 point)
Bonus Questions:
18. What color are the new buffs the Survivor receive this week? (1 point)
19. Three or less or four plus: number of Survivors who tan their posteriors in this episode. (1 point)
20. Will the immunity challenge involve fire? (1 point)
21. Will we see the volcano this week? (1 point)
22. Who gets the first confessional of the week? (1 point)
23. Who will Sarge try to hook up with in this episode? (1 point)
24. Will it work for Sarge? (1 point)
Super Bonus Question:
25. Name the Survivors who tan thier butts this week. (Points: You get one point for each correct guess. However, you get points deducted for each incorrect guess.)
Good luck to everyone! Cast your votes in the comments or leave a link to your votes in the comments!
UPDATE: To steal from Brittney Spears, "Oops, I did it again!" I posted the same questions twice in the same week. I've gone ahead and put a line through the duplicates and they won't count this week. I promise someday I'll get this whole thing right.
posted by Michael at 11/03/2004 10:16:00 AM |
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Congratulations Ohio--you're the Florida of the 2004 presidential election. It kind of makes you wonder who's going to be in the running to be the controversial, contested state in 2008?
That said, from what I've read, it's looking more and more like Bush won Ohio with or without "the disputed votes." Also, remember that our military men and women have some absentee ballots that may not have been counted yet. Honestly, I would far rather have the priority put on the military men and women's ballots than the disputed votes because our military men and women are out there, putting their lives on the line in order to give all of us the freedom to get out and vote. I think that carries a bit more weight that some guy or gal who couldn't be bothered to bring the proper identification to the polling place.
Of course, as the evidence mounts that Bush has won Ohio, you have to wonder--will Kerry concede and, if so, when? Or will be go Al Gore on us and keep dragging this thing out long beyond any reasonably measure?
And, please take this next statement in the humorous vein that it's intended....
I swear I will go postal if they have this whole thing drag on all day and then decide to go on the airwaves with breaking news during tonight's new episode of Lost.
Woman Is State's Oldest Voter: Woman Is 107
I may print out a copy of this story and carry it around with me the next time an election rolls around. If I hear someone younger than Illinois' Helen Leckemby complaining about its too difficult/inconvenient/time-consuming to vote, I will point out this woman who is 107 and yet understood the important of her right to vote and exercised it. I don't care who she voted for...the fact that she voted is inspiring.
Police: Man poisons coffee at work
Kemarat Vathananand was upset that his boss wouldn't allow him to drink coffee out in the shop area so he decides to get some revenge by poisoning his boss through the coffee. So, does this mean Vathananand had to stop drinking coffee during the time he was poisoning the coffee pots or were there certain pots that he kept poison free? Also, this doesn't sound like the brighest of plans because I'm not sure how you insure that the boss in questions drinks coffee from the pot that you've poisoned. Also, wouldn't you also be poisoning your fellow co-workers? I tell you, this is definitely not a guy I'd want to work with.
Man allegedly drives dozer into church
I love how we have to use the word "allegedly" here when they probably found the guy in question on the bulldozer sitting inside the wrecked church. But you never know, he could've been framed! LOL. The other thing is--I understand that it was an African-American church, but does that mean that because this guy was white this was "racially motivated." Could've been that he was drunk and/or and an idiot. Or that he was a drunken idiot who thought, "You know, it sure might be fun to drive a buldozer around." and ends up slamming into church.
posted by Michael at 11/03/2004 09:12:00 AM |
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After the final debate, I made some comments about how I wished they'd just show the debate, have an achor come on the air say, "Thanks for watching and good night" and then let us go about our lives again, confident that as reasonably intelligent citizens we could make up our own minds and not have to have talking heads tell us who did or didn't win. (Run on sentence much?)
Anyway, today as I'm driving around, I keep hearing all these conflicting polls that state that Kerry is ahead one point here and Bush by one point there based on talking to people either a)coming out of the polls b)going into the polls c)thinking about going to lunch at McDonalds and ordering those chicken selects (95% of voters think Bush is the candidate to protect your Chicken Selects in case you were wondering) or d)none of the above. Seriously, around 11 a.m. this morning I would bet there were at least 897 polls out there, none of which could tell you anything more substantive that it was Tuesday and people were voting. And there was still some doubt about whether or not it was Tuesday. Then, of course, we had the poll that tried to see how people felt about the first few polls and it's just got out of hand.
Now, I appreciate the hard work the news media does in covering things and I was extremely grateful to have a whole lot of coverage about some things like Septeber 11th. But this whole election coverage just makes me want to tear my hair out and run screaming from the room. Thanks to the cable news outlets, we have to have second-by-second coverage of the polling and speculation based on exit polls on who might or might not be ahead. It's enough to make your head hurt thinking about it. Why can't we just come on this evening and start talking about it when, say, polls are closed on the East Coast and starting to close across America when we, say, having something intelligent to talk about.
I know, I know...it makes a whole lot of good sesne, which is probably why my career in the journalism field hasn't been as successful as I'd hope it would be.
Speaking of careers--I went up to apply for serveral jobs today. One was especially annoying. I went to apply to be seasonal help with a call center for a major department store catalog. The ad in the paper said it was only part time which I figured--hey, any little bit helps during the holidays and while job searching. (I will sell a kidney if I have to to make sure I can afford a gift for Gracelyn and Davis). Anyway, I went up to fill out an application.
I waited my turn in line, only to have the woman behind the desk ask me if I knew it was part time. I replied yes I did, thank you. She then asked me if I'd signed in. I said no and she asked "Well, why haven't you yet?!?" I let that one go. She gave me a sheet to fill out availability and then a reading comprehension test to take. So, I went off and filled out my availability--putting down "Any" for most of the days. I then took the multiple choice reading comprehension test. After completing it and checking my answers, I went up to turn in my results and see what I needed to do next.
The woman just looked at me. "Are you done?" she asked. I told I was. She then looked at me and said I got done too fast and did I cheat? Ummmm..yeah...the answers to this test are just all over the Internet. Cause you know, I knew I'd be taking this test and figured--sure, why not cheat for a part time job answering the phone and putting in orders? Yes, I am that dishonest. Then, I show her my sheet with my availabilty. She says, "You can't just put down any. You must put down 12 a.m. to 12 p.m. if you can work any time that day." Well, she hadn't told me this, but since I cheated on the test....
So, I fix my sheet and turn it back in. Then I have to fill out an application on a computer which is no big deal. I finish faster than most because she's amazed again at my speed. Sorry, I just read and type fast...it's a gift. It's certainly helped when it comes to blogging.
At this point, I'm ready to tell her where she can take this job and shove it, but I figure it's better to be polite about it and see what happens than to be rude and doom all chances. So, I leave my info and head out. Yeah, I'm holding my breath for a call there.
I tell you, it was quite an exciting day...
posted by Michael at 11/02/2004 06:23:00 PM |
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Well, the big day has finally arrived. Yes, it's election day. All I can say is--if you haven't already done so, get out and vote! If you don't get out and vote, you have no right to complain or celebrate when either candidate gets into office. And don't complain about the long lines. Think of how many people there are in the world who would gladly stand in line for days just to have the right to vote and have a say in how their country will be run. Just something to consider as you're standing there in line....
I early voted so now I'm just gonna sit back and let the returns roll in. Which does not mean I'll be watching election coverage wall-to-wall this evening. Yes, I'm interested in who wins but it's a lot like the baseball playoffs were for me. I was interested to know who was winning and would tune in for short amounts of time but I just can't make myself watch an entire baseball game on TV. Same thing with the returns--I will tune and keep up with how things are going, but I just can't make myself watch the coverage from start to finish like I know many others can. Does this make me a bad person?
Finally, here's an Election Day chuckle for you, courtesy of one of my favorite comics, Close to Home. Enjoy!
posted by Michael at 11/02/2004 09:22:00 AM |
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Reality TV I know we'd done this before but since all the comments were lost somewhere along the line I think we'll do it again! LOL Reality TV has become all the rage, and love it or hate it there's no sign it's going to be leaving anytime soon. From MTV's "The Real World", Ozzy's life, an Australian adventure for some city girls to win some guy's affections, to 12 men trying to become the perfect lady... They've tried to out do each other over and over again. How real is reality TV? I doubt anyone will ever know but let's talk about it anyway! :)
1. Do you watch reality shows? Which ones?
The Amazing Race, Survivor, The Apprentice.
2. What's your favorite all time reality show?
The first season of Survivor.
3. Do you feel "reality" shows are real or are they faked?
I don't think they're faked so much as edited for a storyline. I have a feeling certain things are embellished or focused on to create drama and/or interest.
~Bonus~ If your life was a reality show what would it be called? What would be the story line that kept people coming back?
It'd be called My So Called Life. And I have no idea what would keep people coming back unless it was my sarcastic sense of humor and my undying devotion to the Vols, Titans and Redskins.
~Bonus 2~ If you could create a reality show of your choosing what would it be about?
Oh goodness, there have been so many I'm not sure I could come up with one that's really all that entertaining. Not that seems to have stopped FOX mind you....
posted by Michael at 11/02/2004 08:49:00 AM |
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After weeks of waiting, I finally got my chance to win my very own island from Capitol One.
Sadly enough, I didn't win an island (so much for my fan scripts of Lost now ever seeing the light of day!). But I did win the chance to (and I hope you're sitting down here because this is almost too good to believe) apply for a credit card! Man, I tell you I am the luckiest man on the planet.
Seriously, I hate to tell Capitol One, but I didn't apply for a credit card that features the Vols or the original starship Enterprise from classic Star Trek, so why am I going to be in a rush to apply for theirs? Is it just me or does everyone else get at least one credit card offer a day in the mail saying I've been preapproved because I'm managed to exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide so successfully all these years.
I've even received the same offer twice within a given week.
My thought, usually while I'm shredding the application because it's got all my useful info on it that would help a would-be identity theft person steal my identity (if only he'd take over my car payments, I'd let him!), is that I wonder if everyone is having to pay colossal interest rates just to fund the massive mail campaigns these companies go through in order to get these offers in my hands. It's sort of like Hechts here in Nashville. I swear they have coupons for 15% off the entire store (excluding anything you might actually want to purchase) in the paper every day and we get a circular from them with the same coupons at least once a week. I wondered if they might not be better served to lower the prices and not advertise 24/7 and pay for the mass mailings.
Of course, what do I know? I'm just the consumer...
UPDATE (11/03): Congratulations to Barry from Inn of the Last Home for correctly identifying that the quote used for the title of this post is from classic Star Trek's great first-season episode "The Naked Time." You win official Big Orange Bragging Rights.
posted by Michael at 11/01/2004 02:29:00 PM |
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Holy cow, I went to a Titans game and they won! Woo-hoo! Great game and a lot of fun. OK, so maybe the seats weren't quite as plum this time as they were when I went to see the Titans play Indy a few weeks ago, but it was still great fun to be in the stadium.
Reflection on the game itself:
- Give Jeff Fisher a ton of credit for some gutsy play calling. Before the half, he uses a fake punt on fourth one and one to power forward and get a fourth down. Later in the same drive, he goes for it on 4th and inches from the goal line as the half expires to give the Titans a 10-point lead going into the lockerroom. That TD made the difference in the end and was what helped us win the game. You can tell Fisher knew how important this game was to the team's pysche going into a bye week.
- Defense played well, especially in throttling the Bengals at times. However, it looked a bit weak in the late stages of the fourth quarter--until the last huge stand.
- It was funny. The last defense play of the game, Randall (the guy who went to the game with my other ticket) and I were discussing how the Titans needed something huge to happen in order to seal the win and not go to OT. He said we needed an interception and I said, "What I want is for a huge defensive play where we knock down the QB, he drops the ball and we fall on it to win this game." Suddenly, Albert Hainesworth is doing just that. I tell ya, Fisher needs to call me to coach this team since I got that one call exactly right.
- First home win of the year and I was there. Awesome.
Now, onto some of the fun of getting to be at the game.
- I had no clue this would happen. We got there and the boy who'd won the chance to be the Titans kids for the week was my cousin. I had no idea. He ran out, helped 'em toss the coin and ran back in. I'll bet they gave him better seats than we got.
- It was Halloween so some people had come to the game in costume. There were the standard witches and ghouls. One young lady who sat in our section and near us came dressed up with cat ears and a sultry outfit that was rather pleasing upon the eyes, if you know what I mean. Let me add that we were sitting near a guy who was loud in his being a bit tipsy. So, after the half, Catwoman is coming back up the steps to her seat and drunken guy sees her and shouts out, "Meow, kitty! Meeeeeeeeeeeeee-owwwwwwwwwww!" This fails to impress her. Because I'm thinking that if this does impress her, I definitely have a chance.
- Again, it was Halloweeen so the cheerleaders were in costumes.
- The ref got injured on the second play of the game. Not sure what happened there.
- In our section were a couple of Bengals fans (I didn't know they had more than two or three). One guy was there and was dressed up in his Bengals shirt and had on an orange and black spiked wig. Come on'....orange and white spiked wig--cool. Orange and black--yeah, not so much. So, he was cheering and would stand up and be quite vocal whenever the Bengals did anything semi-decent. (He wasn't so loud when we knocked the stuffing out of Carson Palmer and got an interception). He would pump up the Bengals fans around him and then we'd all respond with our own cheers when the Titans did something great in the game . I will give him this--it was good natured ribbing back and forth and never got ugly.
- Since we don't have a "band" they pipe in music during commericals, etc. (You think they seem long on TV!) So, some fans who are more rythmically inclined than I am are dancing during this. In the section with Orange Haired Bengals fan is cute Titans female fan in pink. She is dancing about and suddenly Orange Haired Bengals fan has reached his limit and starts dancing about, trying to pick her up. Hilarity ensues as we note that she's way out of his league because of the aforementioned orange and black wig. We also agree she's way out of our league as well.
- There was a young kid in front of us who found my sarcastic observations amusing. I would say things like, "You can throw an interception any time now, Palmer. Remember you play for the Bengals and its kind of expected of you." He was there I think with his grandfather and he shared stories of other games he'd attended and about his football team.
All in all, it was great fun. And best of all--the Titans won!
posted by Michael at 11/01/2004 10:20:00 AM |
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