Big Orange Michael

Out and about running errands this morning, I stopped in the Dollar Tree store to pick up a gift bag for my mom. She, Susan and Gracelyn are attending a shower tomorrow for a cousin who eloped to Hawaii back around Thanksgiving and are going to have a big marriage ceremony sometime next month. (Don't ask...) The shower is a garden themed one so Mom got a gift that will be difficult to wrap. Thank goodness for the modern miracle of the gift bag!

And the Dollar Tree has gift bags for a dollar for any size. How can you go wrong?

Well, first of all, it's Saturday so that means it's a bit busier than usual. Now, most of you know that I love kids...I really do. But there are just some parents out there who are going a bit too far in letting the inmates run the asylum at it were. I was trying to get around a cart that was blocking the aisle and the mother was trying to reason with a girl who was no more than four. "If you don't get out of the aisle so this man can get by, we won't go to Wal-Mart," the mom kept saying to which the daughter just whined and said she wanted to go to Wal-Mart. Seriously, just pick up the child please. If it's not too much trouble.

Then, the time comes to pay. And there's a line. A long line and some people have trouble with the concept of this. The line starts at a register and goes down an aisle..it's that long. So, I go to the end of the line and get in it. And some others who didn't miss that day in line school do the same. Well, this guy and two kids come up, look down the aisle, see the line and then stand at the junction of line and aisle. And every time it moves up, they try to cut in, I guess figuring that they're standing near the line so they should get in. I bet this is one of the same guys in traffic who knows the lane is ending but flies up at 90 to the end of the lane and then flips you off when you don't let him in.

Finally, I get up to pay and they have problem making change....out of a $20. And it's not like it's early in the day....the store has been open half an hour, maybe 45 minutes. So, the young lady running the register calls the manager for change. This only makes the line longer. So, manager guy comes waltzing out, gets her change and then proceeds to go back to his dungeon. Now, I'd been waited on already, but I guess part of management training is that you don't help your employee out by ringing up a few customers. (And before you start, I know, it could have been that there weren't two tills open...but that seems odd on a Saturday).

After the change arrives, the girl is perplexed by the simple math of giving me back multiples of five dollar bills and one dollar bills. As in, it took her three times to figure out that three five-dollar bills is fifteen dollars and then you put ones in there to get the rest. (I really flumoxed her by using exact change.)

I swear, there are just some days I fear for the future of our country...

posted by Michael at 4/30/2005 11:47:00 AM | |

This month's Sync Magazine has an article about toys for big boys. Basically, they are the "guilty pleasure" toys that were denied to you as a kid.

Below are two pictures of the Adult-Sized Big Wheel (with a model showing their proper use)....

When I was little, I wore out a bunch of Big Wheels in my time, riding them around the neighborhood (back before I had a bicycle). My question is--I wonder how much a new Adult-Sized Big Wheel is?

And how much is the cute girl in a bikini upgrade to the Adult-Sized Big Wheel?

posted by Michael at 4/29/2005 04:33:00 PM | |

Friday's Feast
Appetizer
Which keys do you have on your key chain?
I've got keys to: my car, the house, the study, my sister's house, my storage shed, the lock on the storage shed and then a couple of random keys I have no idea what they're to.

Soup
What is the most spontaneous thing you've ever done?
Back in college, some buddies and I decided--hey, let's go to Chattanooga. We drove down to Chattanooga and ended up only going to see a movie..that would could have seen in Knoxville.

Salad
Who is the best cook in your family?
My mom

Main Course
If you were to write a "how-to" book, what would the title be?
Dummies Books for Dummies

Dessert
Name a recent fad you've tried.
Well, it just goes to show you how untrendy I am..I've not tried any new fads of late.

Aloha Friday
Do you like road trips? What’s the longest you’ve driven in a single stretch?
Depends on the company really. If you've got a good travelling companion or are going somewhere fun or of interest to you, I love a good road trip. As for the driven, I'd have to say about eight or so hours to go to DC to visit some friends a couple of years ago.

What one technogadget do you have that, I don’t want to say you couldn’t live without, but would really bum you out if it were no longer available?
I would be lost without my VCRs.

Spread the spirit of blogaloha…what blog should we visit this week?
Say howdy to Karen over at My Life, a fellow DVD-aholic.

posted by Michael at 4/29/2005 11:45:00 AM | |

Good to know that Michael McKean is still getting work and not just living off those Laverne and Shirley residuals.

OK, was it just me or when Jack was digging around on his palm with a letter opener and removing whatever it was that McKean's doctor had implanted there, did you think--I bet Jack really doesn't have radiation poisoning, but this implant is somehow slowly poisoning him. And then I started to wonder who was behind this latest way to mess with Jack. My thought was--Jack knows something and McKean goes and encourages Jack to not die without unburdening himself to Sydney about all the secrets he's been keeping all these years. My suspicion meter went off there big time.

And how just wince inducing was it to see Jack pulling off dead skin and digging into his hand with a letter opener?!? I like to think I'm not squeamish but those scenes had me wanting to hit the fast foward on the remote to make them end sooner.

Meanwhile, Syd once again hangs out at the APO office so we can actually send other agents into the field--this time Vaught and Dixon. Thankfully, we get very little screen time with Vaughn and, instead, get some nice time with Dixon. Seeing Dixon meet an old Marine buddy who justified blowing up an embassy and killing 15 as casualties to in the war they are fighting was nice. And then Dixon has to shoot his buddy and appear to kill him in order to do the same thing. Seeing Dixon as conflicted as he was about doing this and then pulling the trigger was nicely done. I do think it was a bit of a cop-out that the guy was only severely wounded and Dixon didn't really kill him. I just think that gives you a too easy "get out of guilt and character development" free card later in the series. Or else it gets the writers out of dealing with that later so we can have more startling revelations.

Like the fact that the Derevko family is evil....pure evil. Now, I admit the little twist at the end where Sophia shows up and turns out to be Elena Derevko was kind of fun. But I find it staggeringly disappointing if all the secret Jack and Slaone conversations this year were about Elena stalking Sydney and Nadia. We built up all year to this?!? Come on...you can do better than that.

Also, how did Nadia know what flight that Sophia would be coming in on? Sophia calls and says, "Hey I'm gonna be in L.A." and Nadia goes, "I'll pick you up at the airport" and then the conversation ends. Yet a scene or two later, Nadia and Syd stroll up to a gate and meet Sophia. Yet, at no point did we find out what flight Sophia was taking. And it's not like LAX is the airport from Wings where you had two airlines coming in and out and so it wasnt' hard to figure out when someone was going to come in. Which brings me to another point--how the heck did they know when go and pick her up? Did they just say--well, we'll get there around 8 and browse gift shops until she comes in?

I know, it's nitpicky..but these are things you can take care of with ONE line of dialogue. I don't think it's too much to ask that we do these things.

I also have to wonder--will Dixon still be undercover next week? Will we see any resolution to the molecule that turns water to sludge plotline? Or will it all be spectacularily dropped next week?

posted by Michael at 4/29/2005 09:05:00 AM | |

Becky over at April Fool responded to a challenge thrown down by TAB (The Anoymous Blogger). Basically, you list ten things you like about yourself.

So, without any further adieu....

I am a good Uncle Michael
I lost a lot of weight in 2001/2002 and have kept it off
I realize that while Star Trek and Doctor Who are great TV shows that I enjoy watching, they can't take the place of having real world friends and relationships. And I would gladly choose spending time with a friend or family member over watching either one. Oh, I'd still tape them...let's not get nuts here.
I have a good sense of humor.
I enjoy writing
For the most part, I'm pretty easy-going--with me, what you see if what you get. I don't pretend to be someone I'm not to impress anyone.
I took a strengths test a while ago and found that four of my top five strengths are in the thinking category.
I have a close relationship with my immediate family. I am also close to many of my cousins.
I am a voracious reader. I love getting lost in a good book.
I survived a difficult time in my life--when it would have been easy to sink into a pit of despair and returning cruelty with cruelty--with dignity, grace and without comprimising myself. I stood up for myself, but I did it in a Christian way, which is not always easy to do.

posted by Michael at 4/28/2005 11:43:00 AM | |

My favorite super hero is Spider-Man. One of my favorite writers is Peter David. Starting this summer, there will be a new Spider-Man title written by Peter David.

How cool is that?!?

posted by Michael at 4/28/2005 10:15:00 AM | |

I'm sure many have wondered about this for years....

Your Brain is 73.33% Female, 26.67% Male

Your brain leans female

You think with your heart, not your head

Sweet and considerate, you are a giver

But you're tough enough not to let anyone take advantage of you!

What Gender Is Your Brain?

Tip of the hat to Barry over at Inn of the Last Home for this quiz.

posted by Michael at 4/28/2005 09:03:00 AM | |

For some reason, Wednesday just seems to wipe out my energy level. The last two weeks have been especially bad in this department.

I got to thinking--what has been different?

And then it hit me.

At handbells we're working on playing Pachabel's Canon. We're using chimes for it and it sounds really cool when we can all stay together.

Anyway, as I got to thinking about being tired, it suddenly hit me. I have one of those relaxation CDs that has the Canon playing repeatedly for an hour with the sound of waves crashing on the shore. For a while, I used to use it to help me drift off to sleep at night. So, I guess on some level, my body hears the music (on the chimes it sounds very simliar to the CD) and starts to shut down.

On a totally non-related note, the Today Show will be in Nashville tomorrow morning, snarling traffic, blocking roads and taking up the limited downtown parking places with fans of the show and the country artists who will be peforming. That should just make getting to work lovely tomorrow...

posted by Michael at 4/27/2005 09:06:00 PM | |

By Russell T. Davies
Directed by Keith Boak

In the 60s and 70s aliens invaded Earth for a number of reasons. In “The Dalek Invasion of Earth” the Daleks wanted to hollow out the planet’s core and drive the Earth around space as some type of huge space ship (don’t ask..it never made much sense to me either). In the Pertwee era, aliens came knocking because we’d sent up spacecraft, thus announcing our presence. Also the Master thought it would be fun to conquer Earth and destroy the Doctor.

Now, in the new modern era of Doctor Who, aliens don’t show up en masse to take over the planet. Instead, they show up as galactic entrepreneurs out to make a quick buck by having the entire planet go to war. Aliens have invaded the UK at the highest levels of power in order to get permission to use nuclear warheads to turn the planet into a radioactive slag heap and sell off the waste to the highest bidder. The waste can be used to power space crafts.

That, in a nut shell, is the entire plot the Slitheen have for our planet. No grand dreams of conquest, no bringing the aliens to our doorstep because of anything we’ve done. Nope, we’ve essentially got a bunch of aliens who are creating their own E-Bay auction for the remains of planet Earth.

I understand that we’re living in a new, modern age here and we’ve got to have a bit more motivation out of our Doctor Who monsters. But even this idea seems a bit paper thin at best. With the wealth of other planets even in, say, our solar system, why pick Earth? Did I miss some dialogue that stated that Earth’s composition made it a better radioactive fuel than others? Or was it that we just had the weapons to create the galactic slagheap? Now, I realize here that I’m answering my own argument, but I still think this is something that one or two lines of dialogue in the story could easily address. But, alas, it’s not.

Instead ,we get a lot of the other infamous Doctor Who cliché—running down the corridor.

Five episodes into the new age of Doctor Who and we’ve got a myriad of corridor chases. It’s good to know that Doctor Who’s contribution to the Olympic games lives on for a new generation of fans to enjoy.

None of this is to say that I found “World War III” to be all that bad. I found parts of it to be rather enjoyable. But overall, I found it to rather disjointed. Whereas “Aliens of London” made a smooth transition from the concerns by Rose’s mother and Mickey about her travels in time to the main plot of aliens coming from the sky, this one didn’t do as well moving from one plot the next. We end the Slitheen storyline with ten minutes to go and then have several dead scenes of Rose and her mother chatting about inviting the Doctor over for dinner and how her travels will affect the family. Now, I did find the scenes with the Doctor and Mickey to be well done, especially with Mickey admitting he’s not cut out for travel with the Doctor. But again, it was a rather abrupt change of tone in the story.

Not that we needed more the Slitheen.

I think the production staff fell in love with the new effects for the first time. We seemed to have a lot of transitions from the Slitheen in their human bodies to being in their alien appearance. I swear someone was scratching open a forehead every two minutes after the Doctor, Rose and Harriet Jones lock themselves in the safe room. Every two seconds the Slitheen were slipping in and out of their suits and it felt more like a time filler than anything else.

It certainly took away from the sense of paranoia and panic that pervaded part one.

That’s not to say I thought all of “World War III” was that bad. I liked the debates between the Doctor and Rose in the war room. It was nice to see Mickey well used and to see how he’s taken up the cause that Clive had back in “Rose.” Mickey actually worked as a character and while it might be intriguing for him to travel with the Doctor and Rose, I’m glad he didn’t. He could easily become the Adric of this series and we don’t need that.

The scene with the Doctor asking for bits of info about the Slitheen to determine their home world and how to stop them was nice. And it’s interesting how extreme the measures the Doctor is now taking to stop the alien baddies. He’s let Cassandra die, sacrificed the girl in “The Unquiet Dead” and here he allows a missile strike to take out Downing Street. He also slaps a band on the aliens in the opening moments of the episode and gives Mickey the way to kill a Slitheen when it attacks he and Rose’s mother. I find it interesting to see this development in the Doctor where the ends justify the means. We saw this develop in the seventh Doctor and now it’s continuing here. I keep getting the feeling that something has hardened the Doctor..he used to fight for a peaceful solution. Here, he barely acknowledges it, instead choosing to blow up the Slitheen in order to stop them. I can’t help but wonder if we’re missing a bit of the clever ways the Doctor used to defeat alien menace here so that we can have a big explosion to end the story.

Again, I sense there is something building in a season-long arc type of way, so I’m reserving too much judgment at this point and time. It may all make a lot more sense when we get to episode 13 and everything gels.

Until then, the fifth episode feels a lot like a placeholder. This may be that I’m about to go crazy to see the new Daleks show up next week. (How good was that preview, I ask you?) Or it may be that it was just too disjointed an episode to really capture and hold my attention. Again, there is a lot of isolated thing I liked, but when you add it all up, I’m not sure it worked as an entire episode, much less the second half of a story.

posted by Michael at 4/27/2005 03:38:00 PM | |

Now, I love Scrubs. It cracks me up and I look forward to its quirkiness each each week.

But did anyone else think that last night's episode felt like they were trying too hard?

I felt like we'd fallen into this weird, parallel universe where we had these characters who looked and sounded like the ones we've come to know and love, but weren't really them. Especially my favorite character, Dr. Cox.

posted by Michael at 4/27/2005 08:49:00 AM | |

Veronica Mars: M.A.D.
Last night, we got the final "mystery of the week" storyline for Veronica Mars's first season. From here on out, it's all about solving some of the lingering mysteries that have been with the show since day one.

I'm becoming more and more impressed with this show. In this week's "on campus" mystery, Veronica is approached by Carmen for help. Seems that Carmen made a sexy video involving her, a hot top and a popsicle. Her boyfriend (who she longs to make an ex) will distribute it to the school if Carmen doesn't stay with him. Veronica steals the boyfriend's camera phone but the sneaky guy as a copy on his computer. Boyfriend is set to go to the Naval Acadamy, so Veronica and Carmen set him up to look like he'd fail the "don't ask, don't tell policy." Veronica assures Carmen that by having this evidence, it will be a stand-off of mutually assured destruction for both parties, so neither will fire the first salvo. That backfires and Carmen is humilated but takes the high road, refusing to destroy her ex in retallation.

Meanwhile, Keith is trying to find Duncan Kaine for the huge reward so Veronica can have her first two years of college paid for. He's also falling in love with Alicia, so much so that he's running an ad in the classifieds so he can divorce Veronica's mother for abandonment.

Oh yeah, and Veronica's relationship with Logan seems to be going well..that is until the final five or so minutes when it all hits the fan.

What I like about this show is that you've got all this going on, but none of it feels rushed. Nor do I feel like we're wasting time in one plotline when there are other ones that should get more attention. And the final segment of this episode where we learn a few more shocking little tidbits about the night that Veronica was raped were stunning. Veronica learns that the night Carmen's little Paris Hilton video was filmed was the same night and party as her date rape. She learns that Carmen was drugged, as was she. She finds out the supplier of these was Logan. All in the span of fifteen minutes of screen time. As if that weren't jaw-dropping enough, Clarence Weedman calls in Alicia (who works for the Kaine's company) and informs her that her career is over if she doesn't stop seeing Keith Mars immediately.

So many revelations, so little time. And it leaves me hanging for next week. UPN has the first few minutes of next week's episode on-line, but I'm not sure I want to see them just yet. I'm honestly afraid that it will leave me that much more anxious than I am now for how this all plays out.

One final note--loved the little shot at themselves. The second epiosde of the series featured a guest star turn by Paris Hilton, who is referenced here. I wonder if that was the writing staff's way of taking a shot at UPN for forcing the "big name" guest star on the show to generate some early season buzz.

Smallville: Spirit
Smallville came out of its repeat cycle last week and is now in the final run toward the season finale. It has been far too long since I watched a new episode, so I guess that's why I'm just confused about some things. So, Jason is now working for Lex in order to spy on Lex for his mother, who in December he hated for manipulating him to be with Lana. Alrighty then...

In this week's "what can Kryptonite do?" segment, we find out that if you're at the point of death, Kryptonite can turn you into a ghost who can inhabit people's bodies and be passed by touch. Wacky fun ensues as people act out of character a bit, to the point that Lois is possessed and takes Clark to prom. Oh yeah, and did I mention that becuase this one is told in flashback, we get to hear band of the week play their song twice and I can buy their album right now at the WB web site?!?

OK, so does anyone remember in the first season with Kryptonite had to interact with something in order to make the freak of the week come out? Have we forgotten this or did we just run out of things for it to interact with and are just saying--ah, the hell with it, let's just have some fun and blame it on the Kryptonite. And then, we've got characters changing loyalties mid-stream like Jason. It's one of those moments that is meant to be a huge shock, but it comes off as--OK, so why is he chaging loyalties now when up to now he's been all against Mommy dearest? (For a good way to pull off jaw dropping plot twists that work see this week's Veronica Mars.)

Honestly, I'm just not sure. I'm slowly beginning to think this season of Smallville has been a complete waste.

posted by Michael at 4/27/2005 08:14:00 AM | |

Wow, wow, wow...the first trailer for Serenity is on-line.

All I can say is--wow, it looks good! I will be seeing this one in the theaters opening day.

For those of you who haven't yet given into the genius that is Firefly, all I can say is--get the DVDs now!

posted by Michael at 4/26/2005 04:10:00 PM | |

I love my local branch of the public library--and not just because I read more books than any one person should. No, I love my county library system because they have a good selection of movies on VHS and DVD for you to check out. And not just old stuff either--they get in the new releases on a regular basis. You just have to be patient and put them on reserve in the on-line card catalog. Added bonus--you get the movies for a week with no charge.

My patience in waiting for movies to come in explains why I've yet to see Napolean Dynomite.

So, last week, I was in the library and browsing the DVDs. I saw one that from the clam shell looked like it could be interesting--View from the Top. I'd seen previews for it during its theatrical release and couldn't recall any outright scathing reviews so I figured--hey, it's free, why not?

I made it through all of 45 minutes of this 90 minute movie before I just had to turn the thing off. This is a movie so bad I'm not sure MST3K could make it funny. My dad kept asking me, "So when does it get funny?" and I kept saying, "Surely it must get funny soon."

Let me be blunt here--this movie has Mike Myers in it and it's not funny. Mike Myers can read the phone book and make it funny. Heck, he could just read the phone book in the Dr. Evil voice for an hour and a half and you'd get more laughs than you do here.

Candice Bergen also stars in this. Apparently she lost a bet with Satan and this is her punishment. Both she and Myers look horribly embarassed to be in this. You can just look into their eyes and see them pleading, "Please for the love of heaven, get me out of this movie!"

So, I turned it off, having wasted 45 minutes of my life and not wanting to go for the full 90. And you know, if I turn off a movie, it's got to be pretty bad, especially in the light of the fact that I sat through all of Sorority House Massacre 2. So, that should tell you a little something about how bad this movie really is. Not even on a free Showtime or HBO weekend when you have nothing else to do should you watch this one. There's a test pattern on somewhere that would probably be more entertaining.

posted by Michael at 4/26/2005 01:57:00 PM | |

A judge in Oshkosh, Wisconsin has ordered that a woman who embezzeled funds from a labor union either give up her tickets to three Green Bay Packer games this year or go to jail for 90 days. If she gave up the tickets, they would go to the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

Of course, my first thought on reading this is--OK, so who are the Packers playing these three games? If it's the 49ers, the Dolphins and the Cardinals, give 'em up! It's not worth going to jail for that!

But then I got to thinking--what if it were UT tickets I was asked to give up? To games such as UT vs Georgia, Florida or Alabama. Would I choose to spend 90 days in the pokey or would I give up my tickets to the game? And the answer is--I'm just not sure.

posted by Michael at 4/26/2005 09:46:00 AM | |

I know that when it comes to watching 24, there are times I've just got to turn my brain off and go with the flow. Jack can get across L.A. in rush hour in five minutes--check! Jack or someone can be tortured/shot/greviously wounded one minute and five minutes later be up and around like nothing happened--check!

But as much as I'm willing to suspend my disbelief most weeks to enjoy the thrill ride that is 24, there are some times when the what's happening is so overwhelmingly unbelieveable that you can't help but stop and go--huh?!? Like this week where, once again, Marwan eludes CTU (again). Honestly, this man has more escape routes than Carter has pills. And he's the luckiest terrorist in the world. CTU is sending in someone to replace Jack because the secret service is there to arrest him and a car happens to drive by and alert Marwan's look out so he can escape. Yeah, that is a bit much for me. Also, would it have hurt CTU to send one or two guys in undercover into the night club to intercept Marwan should things go awry? Sure, I know that it's fun to see Jack going in and being super-spy Jack, but he can't do the whole thing all by himself? Also, couldn't the Secret Serivce guys realize--hey, it's national security and we can arrest this guy when he comes out? Surely they could wait five minutes.

Of course, we've seen the danger of being on the wrong side of President Logan, who I am now going to call President Prissy-Pants. Far too concerned with what people are going to think and how they're going to react rather than being a decision maker. At least about the important things. I love how quickly he's set to arrest Jack after Jack disobeys his orders but he can't make a firm, hard decision on how to extract information from Pratto in less than half an hour and without getting everyone's advice.

It's also apparent that Mike Novak has learned nothing from the last time he got canned. He got canned for keeping the president in the dark and yet he walks a dangerous line toward doing the same exact thing here. And then he calls in Palmer to come in and handle the crisis. Good thing Palmer is a news junky and was staying up all night. Oh, and here's a note to FOX and the media. Watching 24, I was pretty sure they were trying to keep Palmer's eventual appearance a secret...they worked it so that Dennis Haysbert wasn't listed in the guest star credits and the first scene with Palmer showed that. Now, I know it's been all in the media these past few months that he was coming back, but it was ruined here. Not just by the previews but by articles in USA Today about it...and not just in the body of the story but in the headline. I love that 24 is getting some good publicity, but I hate that we're having to give away plot twists before they happen on screen. Knowing Palmer is coming back is one thing....knowing the exact episode he's coming back in kind of ruins the fun.

Meanwhile, Chloe gets sent out in the field and kicks some butt. Chloe leaves no doubt that the terrorist attacking them is dead. I could go into the fact that the recoil on the machine gun would knock her to the ground, but I won't.

Something I learned from this episode..if you're a terrorist, you should really not be dating. Too often, your significant other will check up on you and see through your lies.

Also, it was nice to see Keith Szarabajka getting some work, though I'm such a huge Angel fan I kept seeing him as Holtz from Angel's third season and not as evil terrorist helping man. All he needed was the trenchcoat.

posted by Michael at 4/26/2005 08:19:00 AM | |

It's been a couple of weeks since I updated my progress on the 50 Book Challenge. So, here we go...

19. The Gospel According to the Simpsons by Mark I. Pinsky
It seems like one of the latest "trends" in Sunday School/Bible study material is finding TV shows and expanding upon them from a Biblical view point. (It really started back with The Gospel According to Peanuts and has expanded outward). We've had studies based on The Andy Griffith Show, Gunsmoke and The Beverly Hillbillies. (The last two I just think is stretching it a bit) So, why not The Simpsons? Actually, I've got to admit that Pinksy's examples of Biblical teachings from the popular animated sit-com actually are well done and thought out. You can see some of the theology behind the shows and it certainly might be a fun way to look at Scripture in a group setting. I may use this as a way to teach senior high Sunday School in a few weeks.

18. Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds
A hard SF novel that came highly recommended from a variety of sources. Parts of it are page-turningly compellng while there were a few stretches that left me wondering--so when does the good stuff start back up? Characters are not the strongest, but the story does well enough toward the end. There are sequels that I may check out, though I'm not running to the library to find them.

17. A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.
Considered a classic of science-fiction, this novel was particularily intersting to read around the time of the death of the Pope. In the near future, humanity has been nearly wiped out by nucelar war. The Catholic church is serving as keepers of what knowledge is left. This story is told in three segments and we ask the question--has humanity learned anything? Or are we doomed to keep repeating the same mistakes over and over?

16. Last Shot: A Final Four Mystery by John Feinstein
A mystery set at the 2005 final four, complete with plenty of references to some of today's most popular sports personalities. The star player for one of the teams in the final four is being blackmailed to throw the last game and only Steve and Susan, two young reporterers who won a writing contest, can help. It's fun, it's breezy and it's an enjoyable mystery.

15. Sahara by Clive Cussler
I'm a book snob. I saw the previews for the movie and thought--well, I might want to read the book first. After reading it, I can see why it would make a good action thriller. It's pure popcorn for the brain. It does have spots where it lags a bit and it stretches your suspension of disbelief at some points. Oh yeah, and the cover gives away the final twist (at least my edition did).

14. Rats Saw God by Rob Thomas
The first novel by guy who created Veronica Mars. It's a coming of age story about our hero, Steve York. Steve's father is an astronaut, divorced from his re-married mother. As we meet Steve, he's receiving accolades for scoring high on an SAT-like test, but wasting his potential smoking weed and not giving a damn about school or life. Through the story of his life in Texas and his first-love, we find out what led Steve to this point and we see his assumptions of reality slowly broken down (he blames his father for his parent's divorce when the reality is slightly different). We see Steve comes to terms with the events in his life of the past three years in a real, honest way. Even the novel's big twist works well becuae Thomas sets it up well enough in advance that you don't roll your eyes and go--come on, you've got to be kidding me. And it could have gone that way. A great first novel and one that compells me to seek out more of Thomas' work and soon.

13. Time Out of Joint by Phillip K Dick
More paranoia from the mind of Phillip K. Dick. An intriuging book that felt a bit like the movie The Truman Show. There are some dated references in here, but the story is still interesting.

posted by Michael at 4/25/2005 08:53:00 AM | |

This one could be a lengthy one. You have been warned.

Enterprise: In A Mirror Darkly, Part One
Visits the Star Trek's mirror universe are nothing new. We've been there in the original series in the classic episode "Mirror, Mirror", we journeyed there five times over the course of DS9 and the latest Shatner novels have been just full of jaunts into the mirror universe. So, the fact that Enterprise planned to visit the mirror universe wasn't exactly what I'd call earth shattering or ground breaking.

But it's how Enterprise visited the mirror universe that is ground breaking. In each of our previous visits to the mirror universe, we went through to the other side with a familiar character. And a lot of the tension in the episode came from character from our universe trying to get back the familiar, safe universe we saw week in and week out. Not so with Enterprise's journey to the dark side. Instead, we go over into the mirror universe and follow the adventures of the Enterprise crew there.

It's an interesting risk for the show. Becuase it means that you aren't having at least one sympathetic character the audience can identify with. And it's not like the classic TNG episode "Yesterday's Enterprise" where we start in our universe, go to a parallel timeline and then set things back on track by episode's end. Enterprise takes a bigger risk--there is no huge reset button at the end of this one. We're going dark and we're not looking back.

And you know what--it worked.

Yes, I have to admit that Friday evening as I watched this episode, my internal little Trek geek was going crazy. References to "Mirror, Mirror" "The Tholian Web" and actually seeing a Tholian on-screen! An attack by Tholians using their web with more than two ships slowly building a web! Small references to events that have taken place over the course of Enterprise as a series being slightly tweaked. A new look at first contact (brilliantly marrying the footage from First Contact with newly shot footage). Even a new, darker opening credits for this one. Wow, wow, wow, it was all good. And the cast was having a great time, hamming it up. Special props have to go to John Billingsley who clicked as the mirror version of Phlox. Phlox here was dark, nasty and vicious--but yet he got such a thrill out of his job. It was creepy and completely compelling to watch all at the same time.

But there was also a lot of other fun things happening here. The dark, moody, bitter Tripp, the Captain's woman Hoshi, the traitor T'Pol with her mid-riff bare. Reed's turn as Archer's number one goon. Reed invents the agony booth. Porthos is a rotweiller. The ship being slightly redone in the exterior shots and the music...wow, the music really added to the mood.

About the only thing I didn't find all that compelling or convincing was Archer in the mirror universe. I will admit I did question why Archer didn't just kill Forrest to get him out of the way. And I do wonder how it is that Vulcans are slaves in the mirror universe now but don't appear to be later in "Mirror, Mirror."

But when an episode is actually this much and as entertaining as it was--and since we get more next week--I can leave those aside and whole heartedly say that I really, really enjoyed this episode. And I can't wait to see more next week. It's also episodes like this one that tie together elements of continuity from the original series and do it a compelling, interesting fashion that make regret that the voyages of the Enterprise crew have been cut short. Again, I think this show was just hitting a creative stride and it's episodes like this one that confirm it for me.

Alias: Another Mr. Sloane
Last week, when we had the dramatic reveal that there was a second version of Slaone running about the globe, played by Joel Grey, I felt sure the writing staff was trying to take the easy way out. They'd fallen so in love with the idea that Sloane be the one who pay for the hit on Sydney that they'd gone with it, without thinking through how it would all play out on screen, once you got past the jaw dropping moment of--holy cow, Sloane ordered the kill. I was a bit skeptical about how the new, evil Slaone clone would turn out, but so far, I've got to admit they seem to have some kind of handle on just where all this might be going. Not that they can't drop the ball--they've done that before, big time. (For example, see last year's epiosde that explained why Syd had lost her memory for two years....it was a good concept ruined by the fact they took an extremely easy way out of the storyline).

So, we find out there's a second version of Slaone running about--one who is obsessed with Rimbaldi in the same way our Slaone was for years until Nadia came along. Interesting that in a week in which Enterprise goes "what if" and jaunts over to a parallel universe, Alias does sort of the same thing with Slaone. Let's play "What if?" with Sloane. What if he'd kept following his Rimbaldi obsession--where would he be now? He'd still be hiding out, playing out his agenda to assemble--what exactly? I'm not sure what we assembled here or why we had to have the wriggling in your seats scenes of Michelle Forbes having her hands sanded down with a belt sander. (Between that and Jack's interrorgation on 24, it's not been a good week for fingers on spy shows).

I will give the show credit. Any time you can get Ron Rifkin out there, doing something besides acting like Snidley Whiplash, it's a good thing. And we get to see a range here. From his cool, calm in talking to Nadia to his rage at beating Grey Sloane's henchman to death to his dark obsession at gaining access to the Rimbaldi artifacts again, Rifkin was compelling. He was interesting. The character worked and was far more entertaining that he's been, quite frankly, all season.

Veronica Mars: Weapons of Class Destruction & Hot Dogs
I'm slowly becoming convinced that whatever was in the water JOss Whedon was drinking, Rob Thomas has found some as well. With the early renewal of Veronica Mars, obsessive fans (like myself) can now focus on the myriad of mysteries that are supposed to be resolved by the end of the show. And just as you think you've got it all figured out, Thomas and his writing staff throw in a new twist. In the past two weeks, Duncan runs away when he finds out Vernoica is keeping a file on him and Weevil breaks into Lilly's bedroom to find a message written in a decoder pen. I love how this show just drops in tid bits of the story and then makes them pay off later. And how even the mystery of the week stuff is fun to watch. There aren't many shows that can balance the needs of an on-going storyline with the needs of an episodic television story and have all the parts be compelling, entertaining and totally watchable. And as addictive as it has been. I am loving where this story is going and can't wait to see more. It's just one reason that Tuesday nights at 9 p.m. EST may be the best hour of TV.

And just when I think I've figured out who killed Lilly Kane, they throw another red herring into the mix. At this point, I have no clue, though my money is on Duncan. But then again, that makes too much sense....

House: Babies and Bathwater
I'm not quite sure what I expected of the final battle between House and Vogler, but this wasn't quite it. After five weeks of it's my way or the highway, for Vogler to just take his money and go home seemed a bit anti-climatic. I did agree with Cutty that really no one one here...they lost the chance to do good with his money and House aliennated himself from the hospital staff and his staff a bit more. So, I'm hopeful that as the rest of season one plays out, we'll see some of the fall out of that. How great would it be to see House not able to do an experimenetal treatment because the hospital didn't have the funds from Vogler? That might be a tricky little dilemma.

Meanwhile, two sets of parents come in, each dealing with very different baby issues. And there are no good choices, no good answers. Just a lot of heartache and sorry. And some hard choices to make. Wow, seeing the couple struggle with trying to save the baby and the mother was just heartbreaking. And to see the new father hold his premature son in his arms after the mother died in trying to save her....wow....it reminded me of ER's best hour "Love's Labor's Lost."

posted by Michael at 4/24/2005 01:39:00 PM | |

Brent Schaeffer is out at UT. The sophomore quarterback, who was arrested last week for his part in an on-campus brawl, has been booted off the team.

I'm sorry to see a young man as talented as Shaeffer get the boot from the team for disciplinary issues. He's been in trouble before. I wish him well wherever he goes and hope that this will cause him to wake up and as my parents used to say "straighten up and fly right."

In the silver lining department, this helps make the QB picture a bit clearer for next fall.

posted by Michael at 4/22/2005 02:33:00 PM | |

The cast of Lost likes to get together and watch the show they all star in together. (More info and photos here) According to InStyle, these parties are some of the hottest on Oahu.

All I can say is--if Evangeline Lilly is in attendance, I'm there!

Oh wait, no one invited me...

Rats!

posted by Michael at 4/22/2005 11:17:00 AM | |

Friday's Feast
Appetizer
Name something that helps you fall asleep.
Old radio shows. I've heard the first half of a ton of them...I have no idea how many of them end.

Soup
Who brings out the best in you?
My family.

Salad
What do you like to do on a rainy day?
Read a good book...or really any book will do, I guess. Catch up on the zillion and one shows or movies I've videotaped.

Main Course
Complete this sentence: In our home, we never have enough...
chocolate animal crackers.

Dessert
Which shoe do you put on first?
Left

Aloha Friday
What actor/actress would play you in a movie about your life?
David Duchovny

What are your favorite things about Spring?
Spring football practice.

Spread the spirit of blogaloha…what blog should we visit this week?
You know, a meme has really got into you subconsious mind when you're surfing a blog and you think--this would be a good one for Aloha Friday..

That said, I am going to provide a link to What's Up Chuck this week. Chuck is a fellow Vols fan, who I've enjoyed reading his blog. But in the last week or so, Chuck has taken it to a whole new level with the raw, gritty and honest story of the end of his first marriage. It may take some time to read the whole thing and the story still isn't complete yet, but it's compelling reading.

posted by Michael at 4/22/2005 08:57:00 AM | |

USA Today's César Soriano is attending the Star Wars Celebration III in Indianapolis this weekend. He's got a blog that is reporting on all the events and festivities surrounding the convention, all leading up to the much anticipated premiere of Episode III. Now this is the kind of blogging from a convention that we need to see.

I mean, any convention where you can have an entry about two women creating a mob scene because one is dressed in the Princess Leia bikini from Return of the Jedi (mmmmmm, Princess Leia in the bikini...) and one is dressed like Padme from Attack of the Clones (including photos!)...that's the kind of hard-hitting, world-changing information that people go to journalism school to cover. That is good stuff!

posted by Michael at 4/22/2005 08:09:00 AM | |

For the past couple of weeks, I've been seriously considering the prospect of taking the plunge into home ownership. It's something I've thought about for a while now, but until recently I haven't felt like I was in a place where it would be the most advantageous for me.

So, I've started the process of looking for a suitable house that I can a)afford and b)would want to live in for at least a couple of years. I've also gone through the humbling process of meeting with a mortgage broker to figure out how much home I can afford. I was hoping for something between a "van down by the river" and "the mansion from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Aire."

Looking at real estate can be an interesting experience. I've seen a lot of houses--some I've liked, some I've thought "it could be OK with a lot of work" and some that have seen one too many episodes of all those shows on TLC like Trading Spaces.

Last week while crusing for houses, I came across one that was up for auction. Last Saturday, my parents and I went to the auction. I'd never been to a real estate auction and was curious to see how it all worked. Also, like everyone else who showed up, I had visions of getting a nice house in a good neighborhood at a bargain basement price. What I didn't know going into it was that it was also an estate auction with stuff from the house sold off to the highest bidder.

It's kind of humbling to think that someday, when I'm gone, my descendants will pick through my stuff, take what they want and then get rid of the rest. Now, there was a lot of stuff there for sale--old record albums, CDs, kitchen items, furniture, etc. As I sat there, listening to people bid on all this stuff, a throught struck me. Some of the stuff auctioned off was China from Germany and other places. It was nice, but it didn't looked used that much. And that made me wonder--were they saving it for a special occasion? And what constituted a special occasion?

And was I the same way? Do I have nice things that I don't use because I'm saving them up for this mythical special occasion in which high ranking dignitaries will happen to come by my house and want to use the good China and the guest towels?

In the Bible, it says to not store up treasures on Earth but instead store up treasure in heaven. And I wonder--am I too concerned with my stuff here on Earth? Like I said, am I saving it for a mythical speical occasion? Or should I just use what I have and enjoy it while I'm here? Share it with family and friends who are all diginitaries in my life in their own way. In my parent's house, they have some antiques that someday my sister and I will fight over. But the thing that makes them special to me is not that they're antiques, but that I know some of the stories and memories associated with them. Because we've used them, had them out and my parents took the time to tell me about them.

Yes, there is a danger that in using the good stuff that it could get broken. But, ya know, it's jsut stuff. We can replace it. What you can't replace is the time that you spend with your family and friends enjoying and using it. Got a nice tablecloth? If you get gravy on it, most times that new fangled washing machine will get rid of the stain. If not, don't focus on that it's ruined. Focus on that you were able to gather together the people you loved for a meal and a chance to build some memories.

You can save your stuff for a mythical special occasion or you can take it out, use and make today special. I think I far prefer the later.

posted by Michael at 4/21/2005 08:13:00 AM | |

I found this interesting little test over at Misty's. You draw a pig and then it tells you about yourself.

Here is the drawing I made of a pig.

Based on my drawing, here is what we know about me...

I am a realist, believe in tradition, are friendly, and remember dates (birthdays, etc.), emotional and naive, care little for details and are a risk-taker. I am they are secure, stubborn, and stick to my ideals and am a goood listener. And the quality of my sex life is medium.

Make of it what you will.

posted by Michael at 4/20/2005 01:18:00 PM | |

Written by Russell T. Davies
Directed by Keith Boak

Back in the 60s some of the most memorable episode of Doctor Who were those that featured images of alien invaders stalking the streets of then-modern day London. Images of the Cybermen and the Daleks roaming the streets, attempting to conquer the Earth are some that have been burned into the collective memory of Doctor Who fans.

With “Aliens of London” the new Doctor Who attempts to burn images of alien invasions in modern times into the hearts and minds of viewers. But instead of seeing Cybermen emerge from the sewers, we have greater technology today. Now we can see an alien space craft flying over London and have the memorable moment of Big Ben being destroyed by an alien ship etched into our collective memories.

But is this alien invasion story one that ranks up there with those classic stories like “The Invasion” or “The Dalek Invasion of Earth”?

For me the answer is—no, not yet.

Mainly because right now we’ve only seen the first half of the events to unfold on screen, Imagine trying to judge “The Invasion” after only seeing the first four episodes and determining if it’s a classic or memorable. You couldn’t honestly do it. And I don’t think we can jump to conclusions about “Aliens of London” just yet. As the first half of a story, I think it succeeded in what it needed to do—set up events, characters and situations for the Doctor and company to resolve in the second half of things.

For the first time in the series, a storyline has 90 minutes to set up and resolve itself. And I think that Russell T. Davies took great advantage of the first half of the storyline to set things up.

For one thing, I loved the time spent examining the consequences of Rose’s decision to travel with the Doctor. To see her come back after vanishing for a year (she thinks it’s twelve hours) was nicely done. Her mother’s reaction, what happened to Mickey, etc—all of that worked well. To find out that Mickey was suspected of murdering Rose was a nice touch. This is one of those things that was never really given much time or thought in the original series—companions jumped on board and may or may not have returned to the time and place they left. So, to see some time devoted to this here was a nice little touch. Also, to see the effect it had on Rose—her dilemma of wanting to tell her family but not being able to for fear of not being believed was a nice touch to her character.

But then aliens fall upon London, crashing into Big Ben before sinking in the Thames. But it’s not an invasion with without. Instead, we find out the aliens are already among us. Borrowing a plot from the Cylons or the Dominion, Doctor Who shows us that aliens are walking among us, looking like us and taking positions in high ranking government offices. Why, we’re just not quite sure yet. I found we had some echoes of “Terror of the Zygons” or either of the early Auton stories with aliens that could look and sound like human beings. And were ready with a plan to take over the highest corridors of power for whatever reason they saw fit.

Of course, the difference between the Zygons and our new found alien friends is that our new found aliens have a side-effect of being in human form. Their gas-exchange systems result in them farting a lot, thus giving away that they are aliens. Now, I know a lot of Doctor Who fans out there are pretty upset about this and think it’s juvenile humor. But from where I sit, it honestly didn’t bother me that much. I found the flatulent aliens to work. You have to remember that it’s Doctor Who we’re talking about here. It’s supposed to be fun. And what could be more fun than farting aliens?

OK, so I could have done without their ring leader cackling like the Master every five or so minutes, but that’s just a personal quibble.

Meanwhile, the Doctor is on the outside looking in. So many times, we see the Doctor show up and immediately insert himself into positions of authority to thwart the aliens. Not as much here. There is mention of UNIT and it did make me wonder what happened to the UNIT passes the Doctor carried about. But I am beginning to wonder if the 9th Doctor is trying to be more low-key. To rush in and take charge of things wouldn’t necessarily be a good thing if he’s the last of the Time Lords. He could be on the run and wanting to maintain a low profile. So, he may be waiting to see who the alien menace is before he steps in and eventually helps defeat them.

I did like how the Doctor did finally get into the fray, not by his own actions, as much as having the role thrust upon him. He’s a bit of a reluctant hero in this one. He’d willingly save Rose, but he’s content to sit by and be an observer as all of humanity faces a crisis. Interesting.

I did like the scenes where Rose’s mother calls the alien line and reports that she’s seen the Doctor and his TARDIS. I loved seeing how the government rushed into action to find the Doctor in light of the alien invasion. Indeed, you’d think the Brig would leave orders in the files saying that if aliens arrive, your best bet is to find the Doctor and quickly.

Of course, there were some predictable things in this storyline. One was that the alien ship was a ruse. The pig-alien was evidence of that and I figured long before the Doctor and company did that it the meeting at Downing Street was a trap. But for what purpose, I asked myself? Apparently it’s to bring all the alien experts together and destroy them? But why? We don’t know just yet, but I can bet that next week, we’ll have a lot of the answers.

Also, I have to admit that it would have been nice to have a bit more throw- away continuity. Like the Doctor telling Rose that it wasn’t’ humanity’s first encounter with aliens, just the first one covered by CNN, etc. Also, it would have been nice had the Doctor gone to UNIT himself instead of sneaking around too much.

One small thing that struck me—why did the boy paint the graffiti of “Bad Wolf” on the side of the TARDIS? Significant? I guess we’ll have to wait and see…

But all that said, “Aliens of London” was still an enjoyable episode for me. It set up some things well and I can’t wait until next week to find out what’s really going on here. Yes, it was a bit predictable at times but you can’t fault it for not being a fun, enjoyable hour. Not every hour of Doctor Who has to be groundbreaking. Sometimes it just has to be fun. And, for now, “Aliens of London” was just that—fun.

posted by Michael at 4/20/2005 10:26:00 AM | |

One year ago, I started a journey, not quite knowing where it would lead. One year ago today, Big Orange Michael sprang onto the Internet. It's been quite a ride the past year--what started out as a way to take my mind of certain things going on in my life and focus on things outside myself has turned into something more. But yet, I still maintain my devotion to focus on all things related to the Big Orange of the University of Tennessee.

Over the past year, I've watched as some favorite TV shows left the airwaves, some new ones took their place and my all-time favorite show made a triumphant return. I've posted about things that make me happy, reflected on Christmas, dabbled a bit in current events and shared stories from my life. Oh yeah, and I also bragged a lot when the Vols won. (But then again what did you expect?!?)

Here's a look back at some of the highlights of the past year.

April 2004
The Big Orange Cliffhanger - My first post, commenting on UT's annual spring game.
The Things That Make You Feel Better - My first of many posts about the joys of being Uncle Michael.

May 2004
A Big Day - Davis's adoption is finalized.
An Evening with Phillip Gulley - One of my favorite authors gives a reading at the local library.
Getting carded at Wal-Mart - Nothing like getting carded at Wal-Mart.
"And I said 'Go away, doggy!'" - One of my favorite Gracelyn stories.

June 2004
I'm an offical member - Big Orange Michael gets accepted into the Rocky Top Brigade
Thoughts on Bruce Almighty
What it was was slaugherball - The movie DodgeBall casts my memory back to the game of slaughter ball.
Walking to Memphis - I introduce Davis to the world that is Doctor Who..and he likes it!
Scenes from a job fair

July 2004
Spider-Man 2 Review - After weeks of noting every bit of hype and review for Spider-Man 2, I finally get to see it..and love it!
Tickets to a Titans game - How I won tickets a Titans game and traded up.
The new Doctor Who starts filming - And I slowly start to believe that just maybe we'll get new episodes.
Forget Meet the Press - Learn all about the way world was and should be at the barber shop.

August 2004
It Must Be Karma - August was the month of naming one thing each day that made you happy. Well, this cover of FHM and the photos of our female Olympic athletes was very nice.
Family Reunion - My annual visit with my mom's side of the family.
Scooby Doo, Where Are You? - A temp job as Scooby Doo goes terribly wrong.
Sorority House Massacre 2 - My long summary of a really bad movie.

September 2004
It's Football Time in Tennessee - At long last, one of my favorite days ofthe year arrives. UT football season starts!
Gather at the River - Several of the youth at church get batptized by immersion.
Just like the Amazing Race - In which my looking younger than I am rears its head again.
Going to the Titans game - Using the tickets I won back in July to see the Titans lose to the Colts.
Just another manic Monday - One of my more interesting job "interviews"
Adventures in marketing - Another job" interview" story.

October 2004
A Trip to the Pumpkin Patch
I Hope They're This Strict About Buying Alcohol - The quest to find Tink a b'day present.
Morgan Webb - How can you not love her?
The Final Debate - Kerry vs Bush, round three.
One year old - Davis's first b'day.
Tennessee 17, Alabama 14 - Nothing better than beating Bama.
Channel Surfing - I still have no clue what I watched that night.

November 2004
Titans vs Bengals - At last, I go to a game the Titans win.
UT vs Vandy - In which I go to see my beloved Vols play and annoy Vandy fans all around me.
You Can Always Tell What Time of Year It Is - Post Thanksgiving guilt sends people to the Y.

December 2004
Santa Claus is Coming to Town - I remember being a helper for Santa
Angels We Have Heard on High - Gracelyn makes her stage debut as an angel.
To Granddaddy's House We Go - Celebrating my grandfather's 91st birthday.
A Care Bear for Christmas - The saga of Gracelyn's Care Bear.
I'm Feeling Old - You'll see why when you read it.

January 2005
Well, My Weekend is Planned - Any time you can have a picture of a squirrel on water skis, you must take it.
Happy Birthday to Me
Customer Service Means... - Is good customer service dead?
Apparently I'm Going to Hell - Because I want to see the new Star Wars movie.

February 2005
Yes, But Can They Sing? - A new crop of female country singers show off thier assets
My Nephew Needs This Entire Toyline! - Because Uncle Michael wants to help him play with them!
The Good Old Days - Making today one of the "good old" days.

March 2005
My Evil Plan Worked - Finding a great b'day gift for Brainy Boy.
Childhood Injury - How I broke my arm.
My New Job - Apparently I moonlight as the Easter Bunny.
Doctor Who: Rose - The first of the new Doctor Who stories reviewed.

April 2005
Should They Get to Play? - Home school students want to participate in public school sports.
The Tax Man Cometh - Does anyone LIKE paying taxes?
Throw It Over the Moon, Michael! - Babysitting my niece and nephew.

posted by Michael at 4/20/2005 07:52:00 AM | |

Your Linguistic Profile:

60% General American English

30% Dixie

10% Yankee

0% Midwestern

0% Upper Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

Tip of the hat to Barry who got it from Scorpy....

posted by Michael at 4/19/2005 02:52:00 PM | |

In the mid-70's on Doctor Who, there was a para-military organization called U.N.I.T. (United Nations Intelligence Taskforce). The purpose of U.N.I.T. was to thwart alien invasions of Britian (and the rest of Earth) and to give our hero, the Doctor somewhere to stay and hang out while he was exiled to Earth (saved money on the budget). Now, there were times when you believed that maybe U.N.I.T. was an elite force of soldiers who you would be comfortable putting the fate of the planet in their hands. And at other times, well, they were comedic foils for the Doctor and you really wondered how we'd avoided being conquered by every alien race that wandered by.

In one story called "The Mind of Evil" U.N.I.T. is tasked with several things--security a world-peace conference and disposing of a missile full of nerve gas. So, our intrepid heroes set out to dispose of the nerve gas missle, following a pre-determined route that takes them past a prison. A prison, by the way, where prison riots have broken out and the inmates are running the asylum. Before you know, the escaped prisoners have stolen the missile from the convoy, giving it to the bad guy and are ready to use it to destroy the peace conference and plunge the world into war. If only they'd listened to the Doctor when he said--by the way, a riot has broken out at the prison and done something simple like, oh I don't know, changed the route of the convoy.

Of course, then it'd have been a whole lot shorter story.

So, why do I bring this up in relation to 24? Last night as I was watching events unfold on screen and hearing about how the military was still moving nuclear warheads about despite the events of the day, I worried that it'd be a hugely coincidental chain of events that led Marwan to get his hands on a missile. And that it might be too much to accept and throw my willing suspension of disbelief right out the window. (And I can take a lot since my favorite show, Dr Who involved a guy travelling through time in a police box this is bigger on the inside than the outside).

Thankfully, I am pleased to report that 24 managed to avoid taking me completely out of the willing suspension of disbelief in this aspect of the plot. Indeed, I could see that Marwan would have operatives based around the country and ready to intercept a missile. Also, I found it interesting that he had a window of opportunity that he had to exploit and exploit it quickly to get his hands on a missile. What he intends to do with it, I'm not quite too sure yet. But I get a strange feeling the new president is in on it becuase he was way too eager to jump down into the bunker and cover his own butt rather than being the commander in chief that the country needs at that moment.

Yes, the new president annoyed me. Which I think is the point. In a time of crisis and when tough calls need to be made with authority, he wants to debate them. You could almost see Mike Novak wanting to reach out and slap him when he wouldn't condone to the interrogation of the prisoner. And CTU's reaction to him was nicely done. It almost made me wonder if that was what some people at the Pentagon said when certain less than popular with the armed forces presidents called them up. Just a thought.

Meanwhile, it actually takes Jack the same amount of screen time to get from CTU to the desert and then back to CTU. Yes, I was a bit stunned myself at that. But he got back just in time to go into classic Jack Bauer mode. So, the prisoner won't talk. Let him go, I'll resign and then torture the crap out of him in the van. You know, I think had the prisoner known that Jack was going to meet him for a special talk, he'd have given up everything he knew. And surely there must have been some loophole since the prisoner didn't call his lawyer that CTU could exploit without letting him go and having Jack break his fingers to get the truth out of him. (Which was quite a scene, let me tell you).

And did anyone else get the feeling that when CTU let the prisoner go that Edgar was going to snap, go out to the parking lot and beat the crap out of the guy? Or I figured Edgar would kill the prisoner and thus end that avenue of information for Jack and company. Either way, Edgar is slowly reaching his snapping point--and can you blame the guy? He's had a pretty rough day. And to think that Chloe seems to be acting like the boss again, even if she doesn't have the official title. (Which I think we established a few episode ago that Edgar is now Chloe's boss).

And along the way, there is time for Tony and Michelle to have a talk that makes Buchannan jealous. Why is it every time I see Tony and Michelle maybe think about being a couple, I'm reminded of the line from Speed about relationships based on high stress usually don't last? Anyone else thing that?

All that said, I found this hour to be a compelling one. It didn't have the dramatic edge-of-your-seat intensity that such as Air Force One being attacked, but it still kept me rivetted through most of the story. It also made me hate lawyers that much more with the Amnesty lawyer showing up like he did. But I think that was kind of the point, wasn't it?

posted by Michael at 4/19/2005 07:55:00 AM | |

Ever wondered what it'd be like to portray an Orion slave girl on Star Trek: Enterprise?

Well, thanks to TrekPulse, you can find out from Menina Fortunato, one of the three women who guest-starred on Friday night's episode, "Bound." You can also see what she looks like sans-green make-up, revealing outfit and flowing black wig. There are also on the set photos of Menina in the full-green make-up and Orion slave girl costume toward the bottom of the page. If you're interested in that kind of thing...

posted by Michael at 4/18/2005 12:40:00 PM | |

It's official.

After weeks of rumors that he was the front-runner for the role, David Tennant has been cast as the 10th Doctor on Doctor Who.

posted by Michael at 4/18/2005 11:40:00 AM | |

Enterprise: Bound
Enterprise returns from a six or so week hiatus with the first of the final six new episodes of the show. In a lot of ways it's the end of an era since for the past 18 years, we've always had new Star Trek as part of the upcoming television season. Alas, it's no longer to be and it's a shame really as I think Enterprise was really hitting a good stride this season with far more "keepers" in the canon.

And after a season with a lot of serious, continuity-tying-together arcs, I have to admit that I found "Bound" to be just a lot of fun to watch. It wasn't taking itself too seriously and it was just kind of a fun, enjoyable little episode to watch and enjoy. At times it felt like writer and producer Manny Cotto was taking elements of "Mudd's Women" and various other "strange alien women come on board the ship" episodes of classic Trek and distilling it into what we got there. The premise is that the Orions approach Archer about wanting to share a wealth of a mineral on a planet since they don't have the resources to harvest it. Part of the deal is that with these renewed diplomatic relations, Archer is given three Orion women, who he brings back to Enterprise. Faster than you can say "red shirt" the women are driving the entire male population insane due to the pheremones and the women are having blinding headaches. All except Trip and T'Pol who share a connection because of their intimacies last season.

So, it's the most politically correct storyline. But that's kind of the point. The original series was no where near politically correct all the time and yet it was always fun. There are lingering shots of the Orion women's assets and we have the male population behaving like a bunch of horny sailors on leave. I loved the scene where Malcolm and Mayweather are in the gym, trying to get the Orion women out of their minds. Also, we find out that the Orions actually used this as a trap for Archer-they're still pissed that he set all those slaves free during the Augments storyline earlier this year. And we also find out the women really run things over in the Orion Syndicate. Interesting little tid-bit that, alas, we may not get any follow-up on since we're in the final run of new episodes.

All that said, I enjoyed the episode. Was part of it the scantily clad Orion females wandering th ship, wreaking havoc? Yes, that was a part of it. But the other part was that it was just intended to be a fun little episode without any overriding social messages. Unlike Monica Erica Green over on TrekToday, who lumps this one up there with such clunkers as "Spock's Brain," I think Ms. Green was looking for some kind of message or agenda to the story when what it was really meant to be was just a fun, enjoyable hour of Enterprise before we get into the final five stories of the season/series.

About the only real downside to the episode for me was the swift resolution of Trip coming back to Enterprise

Arrested Development: Righteous Brothers
You know, I have to admit the more I watch this show, the more it grows on me. And if this is the last episode we ever get, I will be upset but also happy that it ended on a high note. (As all of this season has been, really). So many running gags surface in this one--from the cornballer to Tobias's trying to be part of the Blue Man group. And it was all funny. Gob recording an album with Franklin and then bleaching him out in the wash was a riot. And Maebe and George Michael kissing and, yet again, someting disastrous happens.

Seriously, this show can't get cancelled. It's far too funny.

posted by Michael at 4/18/2005 08:41:00 AM | |

Friday evening, I babysat my favorite neice and nephew while the parental units went out to dinner and to run some errands. Now, I love my niece and nephew, but if there is anything to convince me I don't have the energy to be a single parent, it's baby-sitting two small children under the age of four.

Gracelyn was upset when her parents left--she threw a hissy fit for about twenty minutes. Davis was unphased--except he did try to hug and console his sister, who wanted none of it. So, while Gracelyn had her tizzy, Davis took advantage of having Uncle Michael all to himself. I did manage to get Gracelyn to stop crying doing the following.

Me: "Davis, do you want to go outside and play?"

Small voice: "I want to go outside and play!"

Me: "Well, if you stop crying, we can go outside."

The crying slows to a trickle.

Me: "Davis, do you want to have fruit snack when we come inside?" (Gracelyn loves fruit snacks..I swear, she might turn into a fruit snack someday).

Small voice: "I want to go outside and have fruit snacks."

Me: "But we can't outside and have fruit snacks unless you stop crying and put on your shoes."

Crying stops.

Small voice: "Where are my shoes?!?"

So, we went outside. It was a nice, pleasant spring evening. We drug out more toys than any two small children and one adult should play with. Gracelyn has a big orange ball (you can see it in the picture of them I posted a few weeks ago). She liked to see me throw it up in the sky and watch it come down and then chase it. One special thing that Gracelyn likes to do with Uncle Michael is look for the moon. The moon had come out early and Gracelyn was happy that we could see in the lingering daylight. As we threw the ball up, she said, "Throw it over the moon, Michael!" So, we spent many attempts counting to three and then I'd throw the ball as high as I could to see if it could over the moon. Alas, we never quite made it, but Gracelyn said it got "close" and that seemed good enough for her.

After a while, it got a bit cool and we went inside. We had fruit snacks, watched Dora and Elmo. And we got Davis wrangled into his pajamas and then bed. I bribed Gracelyn with TWO stories before bed time if she'd let me put Davis to bed first and watch Dora. I came back downstairs after wrangling Davis into bed and then Gracelyn started to talk to me.

Gracelyn: I want some popcorn.

Me: It's too late. I will come back soon and we can watch a movie and eat popcorn!

We then negotiated who could and could not come to this event. Also, a couple of weeks ago, I gave Gracelyn an Aeryl doll from The Little Mermaid. I also told her that she was a princess from a movie and I'd try and find it for her. This is before I knew the doggone thing was out of print on DVD and VHS. So, after figuring out who'd watch the movie, it went like this.

Gracelyn: I want to watch the movie with the princess!

Me: Snow White? Or Sleeping Beauty? (We'd talked about them both earlier).

Gracelyn: No, the one with the mermaid. You bring it over and we can watch it!

So, I'm sending out an appeal to everyone. If you know somewhere I can find a copy of The Little Mermaid on DVD for less than $40 or so, please let me know. Otherwise, I'm going to have to keep scouring the countryside....

posted by Michael at 4/17/2005 01:40:00 PM | |

Haven't we seen this about a million and one times before--something dramatic, exciting and totally unexplained happens in the teaser and then Alias spins the clock back a couple of days so we can all be shocked, stunned and surprised at the events leading up to what we see unfolding on-screen. In this case, we're all supposed to be stunned and on the our edge of our seats that Vaughn would shoot Dixon. But surely, he must have a good reason for it, we say to ourselves. Let's go along for the ride!

Now, there are times when I've been irritated by Alias, but there are few times when I've honestly been itching to hit the fast-forward button. Until this week.

For one thing, I could care less about Vaughn's search to find his father--a plotline that thankfully appears to have come to an end. I just didn't buy Michael Vartan's "I'm so angry" act. This is the guy who goes undercover and puts his feelings aside every week, but yet his disdain for what he has to do here surfaces through? Was it an act? It didn't seem like Vaughn was putting on much of an act. And this is a man who changed identities in the field as often as Sydney does--he should be better at it. Oh, but he gets in a zinger on the blonde is practically tearing off her clothes for him. "This is the second time the CIA has rejected you." Good to know Vaughn speaks for the entire CIA in this matter.

So, Vaughn has to go up against the CIA to recover an artifcat that is Rimbaldi in origin. Just as I think I might get interested, this one just goes paint by the numbers and fails to engage my interest. Part of it is that Vaughn has little to do in the show. I figured out this week that I don't care anything about the character and I haven't for a while now. Had he gone rogue, that might have been interesting, but honestly, he's just no where nearly as much fun as Jack, Sloane or Marshall. Heck, even Weiss is more interesting that Vaughn and he barely gets half the screen time Vaughn does. Is it just me or did this whole storyline seem like a ploy to get Michael Vartan an Emmy nod? Let's have him run the gamut of emotion and get him and Emmy. Well, if this is what he does, I wouldn't expect an early call.

Meanwhile, Nadia is off visiting her evil Aunt Katya in prison. Katya uses Nadia to bring Syd to see her (Katya) and then reveals that--mommy dearest didn't want to have you killed Syd. Katya knows who it was--the answer is hidden in a clock, which Syd picks up and then surf on the Net at work to find out--golly, it's Slaone. But just as we think--ha, ha, he really is evil, we have the final reveal in which Joel Grey is also calling himself Sloane and is also hot for the Rimbaldi stuff. Everyone say it with me here--g'huh?!?

This little twist could have been nice had it not come completely out of left field. The best plot twists are those that you find out and you go--oh so that explains it all. For example, season two of Farscape. Crichton starts acting strange and we aren't sure why until about two-thirds of the way into the season we find out--by the way, Scorpius planted a chip in Crichton's head to spy on him and it's slowly driving him mad. Then you go--oh, that explains all these things that happened until now and it works as a plot twist. On Alias, they pull stuff out of the air and expect us to just buy it because they told us to. The writers are not working for anything here and it shows.

posted by Michael at 4/15/2005 03:15:00 PM | |

Friday's Feast

Appetizer
What was your first "real" job?
I had a paper route from my sophomore to senior years of high school.

Soup
Where would you go if you wanted to spark your creativity?
If the creative juices aren't flowing, I will often go and swim laps. You can go to the pool with everyone on the planet, but once you're in the water, googles on, it's just you and the line on the bottom. It's a good place to have the mind work over things.

Salad
Complete this sentence: I am embarrassed when...
I can't remember someone's name and I should know it.

Main Course
What values did your parents instill in you?
Work hard and be open minded.

Dessert
Name 3 fads from your teenage years.
1. Garbage Pail Kids
2. The Simpsons (specifically all the Bart t-shirts)
3. Those t-shirts that changed color due to heat.

Aloha Friday

Describe a time in your life when you were completely, totally caught off-guard by something.
Back a couple of years ago, when I was "the single guy" at church, I kept hearing these stories about this new girl who'd started coming to the early service. She was blonde, about my age, and I just HAD to meet her. Well, our paths kept not crossing for weeks, even though mutliple people told me about the new girl that I'd enjoy meeting. Finally, one Sunday, she was at the same service I was and we met. I asked her if she'd be at the church picnic later that day and she said she would. I have to admit I was intrigued and now eager to be at the picnic. I arrived and found her. We sat and talked for what seemed like minutes but was, instead hours. As we bantered back and forth, I felt myself really falling for her..to the point that in order to "impress" her I gave into her dare that I get my face painted and I completely trust her to pick out the face for me. (And yes, Barry, I will kill you if you dare to post the photos on-line of this moment). After the face painting, I got her phone number. I was pretty much blind-sided by how quickly and completely I feel for this woman. It was amazing. See, due to the immense "build-up" of her by friends, I figured we'd meet and not really get along the well. I had no idea by the end of the afternoon of meeting her, I'd be on the way to falling in love with her.

A friend is coming to visit you. Where do you take them to visit, eat, shop?
Oh goodness, that is a good question. Does Sonic count? Cause as you know, I could eat Sonic 24/7. Honestly, I've not really been in Nashville long enough to find any really just out and out cool places to shop or eat. I'd probably be inclined to head up to Opry Mills and see something on the IMAX at the very least.

Spread the spirit of blogaloha…whom should we visit this week?
Well, I sent y'all to three people yesterday, so now I'm wondering--how should I send you to now? I'm in a UT kind of mood, so I'm going to have you drop by and visit Prochein Amy who roots for the other UT. (Ya know the one in Texas)

posted by Michael at 4/15/2005 12:11:00 PM | |

It's April 15th and that can only mean one thing...it's tax day. Hope everyone has already filled out and sent in your tax forms. If not, I hope you've got a good book to read while you wait in in line at the post office.

In honor of tax day, here are a few nuggets to keep in mind...

Many of us remember that one of the battle cries of the Revolutionary War was "No taxation without representation." The Boston Tea Party was one of the cornerstones of the war, designed to protest an "unfair" tax. The tax: 1 percent.
According to the figures released by the IRS on their web site, 50 percent of the "wealthiest" Americans pay 96.4% of taxes. By the way--if you made more than $28,000 adjusted gross income in 2001 (this is the latest year they have figures through) you are among the "wealthiest" Americans out there. And yet, Congress feels we should pay more.

There's a great song out there that was covered by Ray Stevens. It's called "If 10% Is Good Enough for Jesus." I can't help but agree. If we did away with our current tax system, went to a flat 10% tax (15% if we must) that EVERYONE regardless of income level paid, I think we'd be better off.

First of all, the Lord, who created the universe and without whom we'd have nothing said that He could run His kingdom of 10%. Why can't we run our worldly kingdom on that much?
Next up--out of that 10%, no deductions for any reason. Everyone pays. Then, instead of arguing about how to collect the money or how much to take, we could instead look silly things like how best to use it. Congress might also be able to turn their attention to such important things as Social Security reform so some of us might have access to it when we retire instead of worrying about new ways to tax us.
Having the 10% tax would be helpful to us also because it would allow our accountant friends to see and interact with their families in Febraury through April. Also, by not having to work on taxes 24/7 during that time, it woud allow them to help the rest of us create better retirement plans and invest for our futures.
Finally, it'd mean that maybe, just maybe, you and I could actually sit down, do our taxes in a simple, clear, concise fashion without having to devote 12 or 13 hours to filling out the forms. A flat 10% tax means it'd take all of five minutes to fill out the forms.

Of course, this plan makes a lick of common sense, so that means Congress won't touch it with a ten foot pole.

posted by Michael at 4/15/2005 07:29:00 AM | |

The University of Tennessee unveiled six new logos yesterday. Four of the new logos are shown here.

As you can see, all of these logos feature our mascot, Smokey, the blue tick hound. I have to admit that, at first, these logos didn't do much for me. But they're growing on me. Thankfully, these will not be used as official logos on things like football helmets. Instead, they are sticking with the power T, the way God intended it.

But the new logos will be available on a T-shirt or sweatshirt near you very, very soon!

posted by Michael at 4/14/2005 04:12:00 PM | |

According to Stacy over at Outwit, Outblog, Outsnark, today is Blog It Forward Day. (No wonder I felt like sleeping in this morning!)

Here's what you do to celebrate: (From Ficken Chingers) All you gotta do is pick a name or two or three from your blog roll and tell us all why they are there. What makes them blogroll-worthy? And then, of course this will just spread like wild fire and EVERYONE will be doing it!

Inn of the Last Home. This is the blog of my best friend, Barry. We've known each other since the fall of '91 when our mutual interest in Star Trek brought us together. It's been a roller coaster ride of wacky fun ever since.

My Random Musings. I've forgotten how exactly I found Kate and her Random Musings but I'm glad I did. She's a 20-something lady looking for an old-fashioned romance in a new-fangled world. She also works in the wacky world of broadcast journalism, which since I got my degree in journalism, it's nice to keep up with someone who is working in the field.

A Blonde Moment Krista is a single-mom, living in the great state of Texas. Her posts are always entertaining (though for some reason she feels this need to interact with the real world and not blog as much as she should!). Plus the picture of her on the top of her blog is just hot.

posted by Michael at 4/14/2005 11:48:00 AM | |

Saw this over on Keith R.A. DeCandido's blog and thought it looked like fun.

An interactive TV show meme:

a. Post a list of 10 TV fandoms/shows you follow (current or cancelled!)
b. Have your friends list guess your favourite CHARACTER from each show
c. When guessed bold the line and write a sentence about why you like that character

1. Star Trek Captain James T. Kirk. (Really a no brainer!) Identified by Barry.
2. Doctor Who The 7th Doctor, as identified by Sarah. I just like the 7th Doc as he was i my favorite Dr Who story and I met Sylvester McCoy once. Nice man.
3. Seinfeld Jerry Seinfeld as identified by Stephanie
4. Picket Fences Douglas Wambaugh. Identified by Barry
5. Farscape John Crichton. As much as I love the hotness that is Aeryn Sun, I just really love Crichton's reactions to the Farscape universe. Identified by Barry.
6. Party of Five Bailey Salinger as identified by Stacy. I liked the Salinger family, but it was Bailey who I liked the most, despite all the insanity of his life.
7. Futurama Bender. He just cracks me up. Identified by Anna Banana.
8. Scrubs Dr Cox as identified by Becky. As for why--I just how the character--sharp, witty, funny, completely and totally fallible.
9. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
10. Happy Days Richie Cunningham as identified by Stephanie.

posted by Michael at 4/14/2005 09:23:00 AM | |

Going into spring practice this year, there were a lot of questions surrounding the Vols for the 2005 season.

But I never expected one of the biggest questions would be--well, who got arrested today?

Monday the news broke that Brent Shaeffer and Bret Smith were arrested late Sunday night for getting into an altercation. This brings the total of arrests for the program to 11 in the past 13 and 1/2 months. Not exactly a good statistics.

Phillip Fulmer immediately suspended both players indefinitely and says he's looking into why this is happening at Tennessee. I wish I knew. There's been a lot of debate about the players here in Nashville on the call in shows and in the paper. Local call-in show Blake Fulton, who never has a kind word to say about Tennessee, seems to be gloating that the Vols are in trouble and screaming for Fulmer to take "control of his team." Meanwhile local curdgeon turned sports columnist David Climer has been piling on as well. I guess they're hoping to give the Vandy fans some modicrum of hope that maybe they might stand a snowbell's chance in hell of beating Tennessee this fall.

(Note to Vandy fans: Satan called, it's still hot down there....)

But back to my point. It'd be easy to say that any big time, top 10 program will have this problems and dismiss it as that. Certainly I can now feel a bit more empathy for my football fan brothers and sisters in Colorado. But saying--oh, it just happens, doesn't make it OK. There are some fans who will scream--we should know more about their character before we bring them in. Well, yes, but these are also 18 year old men. There may not be a pattern to this behavoir coming into the university. Also, let's face it--there are going to be some people who will delibarately antagonize a football player into a fight. It's not right, but it happens. Especially in the wake of the negative publicity now surrounding the University of Tennessee football program.

The thing is that it is becoming a bit obvious that, for some, discipline is not a big thing on the football team. Either that or the players feel they are above the rules.

And they're not. Nor should they be.

But what we also have to remember is these are 18 or so year old kids who are out on their own for the first time. They are gonna do some stupid things--and getting into a fight when you're a high profile football player is one of them. Fulmer now has the unenviable talk of weighing what is best for the players individually with the overall interst of UT football. Are the Vols better off long-term without them? Should they get a second change? Is there an epidimic occuring here and we need to have more severe conseuqences? Should it be "one strike, you're out" rule to scare those left into shape?

I'm not sure of the answers...and not just becuase it's Tennessee. I want to see the Vols win. But I have to ask myself--at price are we paying for the success? Is it better for Fulmer to make a difference in these young men's lives now by making them accept severe consequences for their actions or is it better for us to be undefeated next year and have these discpline problems keep rearing their ugly heads?

There's no easy answer to any of it, despite what Blake Fulton and David Climer would have us think...

Meanwhile, on the basketball front, local star Jamont Gordon has earned a big Steewie from Family Guy, "Why don't you shut the hell up?!?"

Gordon came out yesterday, saying new basketball coach Bruce Perl had made his "first big mistake" as men's basketball coach by allegedly snubbing him. Gordon is apparently miffed that Perl went out to see Tyler Smith and Brandon Wright and never came to see him. So he's signed with Mississippi State out of spite.

Well, Jamont, let's look at it this way. You had not, of yet, signed with UT. You were leaning toward it. Tyler Smith has signed with UT so you know, you gotta take care of those on the roster first. Plus, from my understanding, Gordon's official home visits by UT were used up. So what Gordon wants is for us to violate NCAA rules for him. Yeah, no player is worth that in my mind. As for Perl visiting Wright, from what I understand, Wright's home is near Smith's so it makes sense that Perl would stop by.

Sounds to me more like Gordon is whining because he's used to being the big fish in a small pond. He may have all the talent in the world, but he needs to check his ego a bit. If he's gonna be this selfish in recruiting, imagine how he'd be as a player on our team. I think maybe UT's loss is actually a gain in the long run.

posted by Michael at 4/13/2005 12:35:00 PM | |

I was chatting via IM yesterday with my good friend, Sarah, who pointed out that in my long thoughts on "The End of the World" I really didn't address the ending of the story. Specificially, I didn't address a choice made by the Doctor.

If you're not into Doctor Who, you can cruise on past here. And if you're a fan of the show but haven't seen the new episodes yet, I will warn you I'm going to give away large chunks of the ending.

That said....

In "The End of the World" we meet Cassandra. Cassandra is basically a piece of skin stretched over a frame, the result of having one too many cosmetic surgeries to extend her existence. In order to stay alive, Cassandra must be hydrated on a regular basis by various servants. In the course of the story, we hear Cassandra say she is the last "pure" human being and she makes some off-hand remarks that as humanity explored the universe, they mixed with alien races, something of which she does not approve.

The station on which a large number of delegates have gathered--from a lot of alien races--to watch the final moments of Earth is sabotaged. The Doctor and company discover that it's Cassandra behind this--turns out she's bought stock in the companies owned by the various delegates and will step into quite a position of wealth and power when they're eliminated. She then "beams" off the station, leaving our heroes to their doom. The Doctor is able to stop the station's destruction with the help of one of the tree people, who sacrifices herself to help save everyone else.

Then, the Doctor returns the main conference room where he deduces that Cassandra has hidden a device to allow her to beam out. He finds it and reverses the device, bringing her back but no servants. At this point, the Doctor is upset about what has gone on--so much so that he allows Cassandra to die for lack of moisterization. At this point, the Doctor barely bats an eyebrow about Cassandra meeting her end.

In some ways, this can be seen as pretty much something the Doctor would never do. He never allows for senseless death, if he can help it. It's just not who he is...

Or is it?

I see it as more a progession of the Doctor as a character. Over the later years of classic Doctor Who, we saw the Doctor become more and more prone to manipulation, fits of anger and rage, etc. Indeed, this is the man who tricks the Daleks into destroying their own planet and then is able to convince a Dalek to commit suicide in "Remembrance of the Daleks." Also, the Doctor has never been one about not letting the bad guys get what's coming to them. He doesn't go out of his way to save Davros in "Genesis of the Daleks" when Davros' creations turn on him, killing him.

We also learn in this epiosde that the Doctor is the last of the Time Lords, with Gallifrey having been wiped out in a war.

So, I can take that the Doctor allows Cassandra to die. On one level, he can identify with her as being the last of species. It doesn't excuse, though what Cassandra did.

We've seen him walking the line of a darker morality before--the ends justifying the means. Also, who's to say that the war and its effects haven't somehow killed the innocence of the Doctor's personality. Maybe things are no longer as black and white for him as they once were. He's no longer the hero we once knew. He's darker and edgier. Heck, one of the first things we see about the new Doctor is his blowing up an empty store to destroy an army of Autons. So, it's not a huge stretch to see him allowing Cassandra to die here, based on our first meeting with him. The ends justify the means to the Doctor and there isn't a better way to be found. It should be interesting, as the series progresses, to see what is made of this.

posted by Michael at 4/13/2005 11:28:00 AM | |

Today's Fox Trot is just a funny little reminder that the dreaded tax filing deadline looms heavily this week.

And I'm still looking for a cheat code in TurboTax to get me a huge-ol' refund!

posted by Michael at 4/13/2005 10:20:00 AM | |

Looking at the second installment of the new Doctor Who, it's easy to see how the story might have unfolded had it been made for the original series-the Doctor and Rose arrive on board a space station full of delegates, gathered together to watch the end of the world. As soon they turn up, a series of murders occurs and the Doctor and Rose are prime suspects in the investigation.

But this is not your father's Doctor Who and (thankfully) we aren't subjected to this little sideways journey into filler plot. Instead, what we get from the new series second outing is a story that seeks to give us a bit more background on the Ninth Doctor and begin to slowly gel the Doctor/companion relationship of the Doctor and Rose. And the storyline follows that mandate pretty well-by the end of the story we've found out a lot of interesting tidbits about the new Doctor and we've got some seeds sewn for a potential continuing storyline. All of that is extremely successful.

At times, it feels almost like "The End of the World" is trying to take a page from the classic Pertwee serial, "The Curse of Peladon." We have a gathering of aliens together for an historic event. But whereas "Peladon" took the time to flesh out not only each of the alien species but also a bit about their political agendas on Peladon, "End of the World" just doesn't necessarily have the time for that. Having half the screen time means that we get to discover a bit more about Cassandra, the last "pure" human left in existence and some more about the Forest of Cheem, a race descended from trees. Both of these alien groups prove pivotal to the plot and far more memorable than some of the others, who all look great and get an isolated scene but it never amounts to much more.

Instead, we get a relatively standard someone has assembled all these people here to kill them all off and we've got to figure out why.

As soon as the Doctor shows up, things start going awry. From the station manager being killed to Rose being put in mortal danger to the enemy revealing herself and revealing her plot and motivation, it all feels like classic Doctor Who. Again, we're spared the whole Doctor and Rose being suspected of the murders and I think the story is that much the stronger for it.

Turns out that Cassandra, the last "pure" human is behind the plot. She has controlling interests in the companies owned by the various delegates. If they all perish in the accident, she stands to make a killing (pardon the pun). As villain motivation goes, it's not the best I've heard, nor is it entirely the worst. It's a motivation and it works within the confines on the story. And it also opens some more interesting doors.

For one thing, Cassandra speaks to Rose about being the last pure human and hating how humanity, as it has expanded outward into the universe has become "distilled" and "less pure." It's an eerie echo of the exact reason the Daleks have for hating everyone else in the known universe

But while the storyline isn't exactly ground-breaking, the series new emphasis on characters and characterization is.

If "Rose" was all about establishing Rose, then "The End of the World" is all about fleshing out some of the background of the ninth Doctor. In the final few minutes of the episode, we find out he's the last Time Lord, that Gallifrey has been destroyed in a war and that he's wandering the universe. Reading into that, I could almost see that he's on the run for some reason, hiding out from whoever destroyed Gallifrey. And if there is a force out there strong enough to destroy the Time Lords, you can see why the Doctor might be on the run,

But we also learn a bit more about him. The dark streak that was in the 7th Doctor is still in evidence here. Christopher Eccleston does a nice job of running the gamut in this episode from his early sheer joy at taking Rose to the future to the dark intensity when he calls Cassandra back to answer for what she's done. Along the way, we see his compassion as he acknowledges the sacrifice of Jabe, the leader of the tree people. The Doctor's regret that Jabe has to sacrifice herself in order to save the rest of those aboard the station is nicely done.

And was it just me or did anyone else seem to think the Doctor is somehow pulling an Ace on Rose? By this I mean-I got the impression that the Doctor took her forward in time to this exact event to test her. I got the feeling that the Doctor was feeling out how Rose would react to certain things-Cassandra, the end of the world, etc-before he took her fully into his confidence about being the last Time Lord in the universe. (Which I strongly suspect the Master is still out there lurking somewhere…) For all his over the top, easy-going, confidence bravado, there's a dark depth to the new Doctor. He's not all he seems, as evidenced by the speech to Rose at the end about the war and wiping out his people. In many ways, knowing this explains why the Doctor is so eager and almost desperate to save the station on his own. He wants to make right for whatever happened in the war that destroyed Gallifrey.

There's also some interesting work done with Rose here. Of course, being the companion, she gets herself into jeopardy on several occasions. But we also see her questioning why she stepped into a time machine with a man she hardly knows. I liked that little moment a lot.

Of course, I could have done without the call home to her mother. I'm not sure why but that scene was a little too jarring and take out of the story for me. None of the Doctor's other companions have done it before. And I will admit part of it is that, as a character, Rose's mother annoys me. The less seen and heard of her, the better in my book.

So, how does "The End of the World" stack up? It's hard to say really. In a lot of ways, it's apples and oranges. There are elements of the classic Dr Who stories in there, but there's also a new spin put on it. For the most part, it's successful. Since I've heard rumors that Russell Davies intends to have a season-long story arc that this one might be a bit more important to the overall tapestry of the new season of Dr Who in about 11 weeks. It certainly wasn't horrible along the lines of "The Web Planet" but certainly is not close to the levels of what I consider the classics of Dr Who. But it was an entertaining story that, for the most part, got it all right. It's a bit stronger than Rose was, simply because it's freed from having to establish Rose and re-establish the Doctor Who universe.

But there's still some work left to do on the series to achieve a perfect episode.

But I'll give them this-"The End of the World" is a step in the right direction.

posted by Michael at 4/12/2005 02:40:00 PM | |

I saw this over at Always Victoria and thought it was interesting. So, let's see how much of it describes me....

Capricorn - Your Love Profile

Your positive traits:

You are serious about relationships and ready for a commitment.

You tend to help your partner attain the success they dream of.

You are a rock. Relationship problems don't seem to phase you.

Your negative traits:

Sometimes it's very hard for you to accept your parnter's past. (Not really...I've seen Chasing Amy and I know how this works...of course, I sometimes have a hard time with someone accepting my past....does that make a difference?)

You are emotionally reserved, and difficult to connect with. (Unless I'm at a UT football game)

You expect your partner to take care of you - and may cheat if they do not (I am not wired to cheat...can't do it. But I do like to have a partner who takes care of me and vice versa)

Your ideal partner:

Is incredibly powerful and well respected.

Is often older than you - and could be a superior at work.

Has a good amount of money... or the ability to be rich someday. (To afford all the Dr Who stuff and season tickets to Titans and UT games)

Your dating style:

Practical. A "get to know each other" coffee date is just fine by you.

Your seduction style:

Bossy - you like to be the one in charge in the bedroom.

Slow and patient. You know that good sex takes time.

Calculating. You'll use sex to get ahead, if necessary.

Tips for the future:

Open up. A little emotional expression is a good thing in relationships.

Leap before you look. You don't have to run a cost benefit sheet on everyone you date.

Enjoy the now. No need to worry about marriage on the first few dates.

Best place to meet someone online:

eHarmony - they'll automatically match you with someone who's as driven as you are

Best color to attract mate: Dark green

Best day for a date: Saturday (Unless there's a UT game on..then all bets are off!)

Get your free love profile at Blogthings.

posted by Michael at 4/12/2005 11:03:00 AM | |

Looks like Mike Novac landed on his feet after being dismissed by President Palmer back in season two. He's back in the White House, this time advising the vice-president on how to be presidential and to come out of the crisis not looking like he doesn't have a handle on the crisis. The American people need a leader, Novak says. And I keep thinking--yeah, a man like David Palmer who'd be pretty pissed at all this going on on his watch.

So, upon seeing Mike Novak back on the scene, did anyone else immediately jump to the conclusion that he's played some part in the events unfolding during day four? Or was that just me?

Meanwhile, Marwan finds vehicles that are faster than any helicopters and rushes out into the Mojave Desert to retrieve "the football." It's interesting that the suitcase holding the codes to all of our nuclear missiles is called "the football" since everyone and their uncle fumbles it in this episode. I had to feel a bit sorry for the nice couple who were just out in the desert to try and get away from the stress and "make a baby" and instead get drawn into Jack's world of terrorist fun. (One huge quibble..so uber-camper has a compass and such but not a pocket knife? Come on!)

Following the couple as they elude Marwan sustained the tension for the entire hour and made you forget about some gaping plot holes, such as shouldn't the Secret Service, the Army and the Marines be swarming across the area? And also, wouldn't it have made sense of the CTU helicopter to blow up Marwan's escape jeeps so that he couldn't dash away. Yeah, buddy, you can run, but only into the desert, ha, ha! Instead, it's yet another contrived way for Marwan to get away in the end. And is he really such a control freak that he'd lead the assault to find the codes? I mean, earlier in the day he's letting the Araz family run the whole show but now he becomes control freak man?

And don't get met started on why Jack doesn't turn his cell phone to vibrate when he's pursuing the bad guys. That just made no sense at all! OK, yes, part of it is that we had to know that Jack was getting a call. But it just didn't make a whole lot of sense for Jack to leave it on while trying to go commando and kill everyone himself.

Does CTU issue any agent who goes with Jack a red-shirt? They must as going into the field with Jack pretty much means you're dead by episode's end. Man, I'd had to draw the short straw on that one.

And where is Heller in all of this? A couple of weeks ago, he was off for some secret meeting and we've not seen him since then. Also, what happend to the pilot and the stealth fighter? Did it crash? Did he run off? Why is there little or no effort being made to find him? And if he is going to crash and he's a terrorist, wouldn't he crash the plane into a city and thus create more havoc and terror? Plus a good distraction for Marwan to come in, pick up the codes and run off.

I can't see how logically Marwan will get his hands on any weapons. First of all, we've seen that throughout the day, his campaign of terror is centered on the Southern California area. So, if I'm the military, I'd be changing the codes on those bombs first and not worrying about, say, Delaware, where it seems less likely that Marwan has operatives. Second of all, I'd figure the weapons are stored on places with men and women who have guns. So you triple the guard on the bases and around the weapons, thus defeating Marwan that way. Of course, I have a feeling we'll come up with some way for Marwan to get him a weapon of some kind. Or perhaps there will some type of high up consipiracy (maybe involving Mike Novak!) that lets him get a weapon. But honestly, you'd think Marwan would have a plan in place to shoot down Air Force One while stealing a few weapons. It just doesn't make a lot of sense to say--well, first I need this and then I need that. You'd think he'd go for all the marbles and use the chaos and confusion surrounding multiple attacks to divide CTU's attention and resources as well as to achieve his goals.

And did anyone else wonder if they keep forgetting that D.C. is three hours ahead of L.A.? It just seemed to me that they missed the fact that it's 3 a.m. in Washington D.C. as the episode ends.

posted by Michael at 4/12/2005 08:49:00 AM | |

The network brass over at UPN have made a small step towarding winning back my love today (They are still on my official you-know-what list for cancelling Enterprise). They renewed Veronica Mars.

This means now I can spend the next five weeks obsessing over the details of the season-long "Who killed Lilly Kaine?" story arc that is coming to a conclusion rather than dividing my attention between it and whether or not we'll get a second season.

posted by Michael at 4/11/2005 03:35:00 PM | |

I took in a matinee showing of Sin City yesterday afternoon.

Interesting movie. Visually, the movie is spectacular in the same way that Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow was spectacular. Watching both movies it's easy to become immersed in the world the filmmakers are creating on-screen. I will say this--Sin City had a better narrative to it than Sky Captain did. Sky Captain seemed to fall too in love with the technology that was used to create the visual experience and lost the key element of great filmmaking--good stories. Sin City had an interesting story...actually, it's three narratives, all of which have elements that intertwine with each other in the closing moments of the film.

The movie unfolds in a film-noir style, even down to most of it being in black and white. There are some colors used in the film--notably red. It's interesting to see visually how the colors are used in the context of what's happening in the storyline. I'd love to go back and watch it again, just to analyze where and when color is used and why. The story is told a lot through voice overs and that staccato, film-noir dialogue. It's one of those movies where if you don't pay enough attention, a seemingly little detail will pass you by and leave you scratching your head ten minutes later. The film also dovetails well, which I found intriguing and well done.

Now, I do admit I had a hard time seeing Alexis Bledel as the character she plays here. But that's more because I'm so used to her as Rory in Gilmore Girls and her character here is...well, let's just say it's not sweet Rory Gilmore. Also, I admit I figured out who Jessica Alba's character would turn out to be and how that would impact the storyline about ten minutes before it's revealed. Which in the grand scheme of things ain't really that bad. Again, it's interesting to see how the characters and storylines are all interconnected. Things don't unfold in linearly, so it does require you to put some pieces together yourself. This could be one of those movies that holds up well to repeat viewings and actually gets better the more you see it.

Is it for everyone? I don't think so. It's definitely rated R for a reason. And it's not got the most flattering view of women. Not that the men seen here are exactly what I'd call role models either. This is definitely one of those good "guy movies."

Will I buy it when it comes out on DVD? Maybe.

One cool thing not related to Sin City. Got to see the previews for Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Star Wars: Episode III on the big screen. All I can say is--if these two movies live up to the hype, the summer movie season will be off to a great start.

posted by Michael at 4/11/2005 03:11:00 PM | |

Since All Consuming is down at the moment, I'm going to have to post more often about my progress on the 50 Book Challenge. So, here's what I've read since the last time I posted...

22. Shadow of the Giant by Orson Scott Card
Latest in the Ender's saga. The Shadow novels have followed the story of Bean and explored the gap between Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead in an effective manner. This one started out slow but picked up speed toward the end, to the point that the final few chapters end in a bittersweet way that really touched me. I am not sure if Card will write any more sequels from here to this series. If not, he gave us a great closure to a great series.

21. Little Girl Lost by Richard Aleas
Part of the Hard Case Crime series. Kind of a throw-back to the pulp novels of the 40s and 50s this little mystery was very well done. Told from the first-person perspective with some great descriptive passages. Basic story--ten year ago, Miranda left our hero to go to college and become a doctor. Now, our hero sees her obit in the paper and finds out she never graduated and was a stripper. He wonders why and begins to look into only to be drawn into a case of greed, double-crosses and murder. A great book though I guessed the ending about 20 pages before we got to it. But if it's only 20 pages before the denouncment, I can live with that. Highly recommended.

20. Hope to Die by Lawrence Block
The first-person narrator of this story, Matthew Scudder, is a great voice. I was compelled to read this story because of the "voice" of the story alone. That's not to say I found this the greatest book I've ever read. It's a mystery and it does well enough until the ending which, quite frankly was too much of a set-up for a sequel.

posted by Michael at 4/11/2005 12:27:00 PM | |

A couple of days ago, Misti posted an interview for me in her blog. Here are my answers (at last). And I apologize to Misti for taking to so long to answer her questions. No excuses. I just hope the answers were worth the wait.

1. I know you're a huge Dr. Who fan. I used to watch it with my Grandma when I was younger. It used to scare the bejesus out of me. Admit it, it scared you when you were younger, too. Right?
To be honest, I discovered Dr Who right as I was on the cusp of my teenage years, so there wasn't a whole lot in there that disturbed me that much. I will admit the first time I saw "Remembrance of the Daleks" I got pretty excited to see the Daleks be able to float up and down stairs.

Along the lines of the original question, back when I was younger, I used to watch the series Buck Rogers. I remember one episode in particular where Buck crashes on a planet. A woman and her son are terrorized by this half-man/half-goat creature, who if he bites you or something you will become a half-man/half-goat person with glowing eyes just like him. Needless to say, Buck tussles with the guy, gets bit and his eyes start glowing. For some reason, this scared the stew out of me as a kid...really unnerved me.

2. What's your dream job?
Oh goodness, that is the million dollar questions. Honestly, my dream job would be as script editor and head writer for the new Dr Who.

3. I know you're a huge football fan. What other sports do you watch on a REGULAR basis?
Lady Vols basketball.

4. How has blogging changed your life?
I started my blog during a time in my life when I really needed to have some way to focus on something other than myself. So, I started it as a way to have an outlet, to focus on things around me and offer up comments on them. In that sense, it has saved my sanity and helped make a healing process a smoother than it had any right to be. And I will also say that by blogging, I've got to get to know a lot of interesting people and freinds that I ordinarily would never have crossed paths with.

5. I'm pregnant. So of course, everything is about ME. I cannot think of a name for my child. So please, give me your top 5 baby girl names. =)
Here we go....1. Emma 2. Claire 3. Madeline 4. Francis 5. Peri. (You knew there had to be at least one Dr Who name in there!)

posted by Michael at 4/11/2005 12:08:00 PM | |

Well, let's just say the Nashville Sounds won easily last night, 14-5. I thought we might be in for a long night with the Zephrys got a three-run home run in the top of the first, but the Sounds answered in the bottom of the first, took the lead in the bottom of the second and never looked back. If you were looking for a defensive battle, this was not it. But, hey, it was still fun. (Also, if you're a Washington Nationals fan, you have to be worried as your farm system ain't looking too hot right about now...)

It was a nice evening out with a couple of hot dogs and some popcorn to eat during the game. I had to wait about forever and a day for the popcorn as there were two families in front of me each buying enough popcorn for the thundering hoards (I guess they can't all share the giant vat of popcorn). But at least I knew my popcorn was fresh.

Then, on the way home, I heard the end of the Nashville Cats game--only the second arena league football game to ever end in a tie. My fandom came out last night as I heard we were playing a team from Dallas, so I wanted to beat them all the more. Alas, it was a tie. Honestly, they kept fumbling and turning the ball over to each other in the overtime period. It was almost like no one wanted to win this game...

posted by Michael at 4/09/2005 01:12:00 PM | |

To celebrate the fact that it's Spring, I'm headed out to the ballpark tonight to watch the Nashville Sounds take on the New Orleans Zephrys. I'm headed out that way with a group of friends from church. It's Faith Night out at the ballpark, which means that for your ten dollars, you get admission to the game in the "good seats", a free concert by a Christian group before the game, and a hot dog and drink. Not too bad a deal, actually. And at a couple of games this season, they're giving away religous related bobble-head dolls, including ones of John the Baptist, Queen Esther and Daniel in the lion's den. (I admit I am curious about the Daniel in the lion's den bobblehead)

I have to admit I was a bit more enthused about the opening act when it was Bethany Dillon. However, she was not able to be there tonight and so, instead, we get Everyday Sunday. (A group I've not really heard that much about, so I'll let you know).

I'll admit I'm not the worldest biggest baseball fan. Honestly, I can't get that enthused about watching it on TV. But out at the ballpark, it's a whole other thing. The smell of the grease as it cooks the corndogs, french fries and other food that is bad for you, but yet tastes so good. Watching the duel between the batter and the pitcher. Dizzy bat races and other such things between innings. Stomping your feet to the piped in organ music. So, yeah, I'll admit I'm looking forward to being out there. I just hope the weather holds up for the duration of the game and it doesn't get too terribly cold as the evening progresses.

I also admit that part of me is more intrigued by the whole baseball thing after reading Buzz Bissinger's Three Nights in August. It's the story of a three-game series between the Cubs and Cardinals back in August of 2003. It follows the players on the team and the moves made by Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa. It's a fascinating story and seeing how much goes into the many moves and strategies on the field is extremely interesting. Bissinger also weaves in stories of the players--the highs, the lows, the in-between--in the book. If you're a baseball fan, this one is a must read. If you're like me and don't always quite get what it is that's so magical about baseball to many, this might be a good place to start learning more.

posted by Michael at 4/08/2005 04:07:00 PM | |

Some of you may be wondering--why does he have two comment fields on the blog?

Well, a while ago, I was having some issues with HaloScan. So, I changed to a new comment feature that made the page load faster. Well, it looks like (::knocks wood::) those issues with HaloScan are resolved on my end. So I am transitioning back to HaloScan for commenting. But I don't want to lose some of the great comments I've had on things like home schooling, Lost, etc. this week. So I am going to have two ways to comment for a couple of days. Just to make it extra confusing for everyone who drops by. LOL

If you're wondering--the HaloScan comments option is the comment option to the right.

posted by Michael at 4/08/2005 10:24:00 AM | |

It's that time again...time for some Friday Memes! Let's get started!

Aloha Friday

Describe your home’s decor.
Big shock here--lots of Tennessee related stuff. Lots of orange and white, but tastefully done. In fact, I was excited to find an orange bath towel set at Wal-Mart last weekend.

As for most of it, I'd have to say eccletic. If by eccletic you mean--assembled together at random from donations from family and friends. LOL

It’s a beautiful Spring day. Warm, sunny…and you have the afternoon completely free…what do you want to do?
Pick up my neice or nephew and take them to the zoo or the park. Do the walking trail at the park--jogging or walking or both. Cook hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill, eat out on the deck while enjoying an IBC Black Cherry Soda. Sit on the deck or under a tree at said park with a good book and my sunglasses on, just enjoying the day.

Spread the spirit of blogaloha…whom should we visit this week?
Drop by and visit my fellow Dr Who fan Sarah at Woman of Smoke and Dust.

Friday's Feast

Appetizer - What is a symbol that inspires you?
The American flag.

Soup - Name something (either serious or funny) that has happened in your life that you would consider a miracle.
Better than just talking about them, here's a picture of two of the many miracles in my life. My niece, Gracelyn, and my nephew, Davis.

Salad - How do you handle criticism?
Depends on who is giving me the criticism. I generally try to take it as a potential learning experience to learn how to better myself. But again, it depends on who is giving it to me. If it's someone I know, respect and trust then I take it pretty well. If it's the idiot guy at the pool who complains that everyone splashes too much because he gets a drop of water on him while in the pool, I tend to dismiss it.

Main Course - Complete this sentence: I feel alone when...
I look at other people in happy, healthy, stable relationships and wonder--why not me?

Dessert - Name one TV show you wouldn't want to be caught dead watching
Fear Factor.

posted by Michael at 4/08/2005 10:02:00 AM | |

Some of you who live in the middle Tennessee area may have heard about this last night on the news. But since blogging is world-wide and I believer there is never any such thing as too much prayer, I am posting this.

A former police officer, Larry Simpson, is missing and it appears he may have drown on Percy Preist Lake. I work with his wife. We were all holding out hope against hope that there might be some good news but it's looking less and less likely. I ask for your prayers for Larry and his family in this situation.

posted by Michael at 4/07/2005 11:53:00 AM | |

Lost: Do No Harm
Between 24, Battlestar Galactica and now Lost, the edge of my seat has been getting quite a workout this week.

But Lost gave me more than just sitting on the edge of my seat. It had me there squirming and feeling very, very uncomfortable. Watching Jack promise to save Boone and then desparately doing whatever it took to keep that comitment was great drama. I loved how obsessed Jack is with saving people--a theme is becoming more and more apparent as the series goes along, both in the island scenes and in the flashbacks. In the three previous flashbacks, we see how Jack is determined to save his father. Then, with this week's flashbacks, we see Jack's wedding. I have to admit, part of my Party of Five bias crept in here, seeing Matthew Fox act in wedding scenes. On Party of Five, Fox's Charlie left Kirsten at the altar and I kept expecting a development like that to happen here. Even as Jack started his vows, I felt like we were walking a fine line where he could have decided to walk away at that point. I was glad they didn't choose to go that route, though they did leave a lot of things up in the air. For a flashback story, this one was pretty open-ended. We got next to no big payoff like we have with others. But then again, I complained last week that the Locke flashback was far too formulaic so I guess I shouldn't be complaining too much that this week's didn't follow the established formula.

But back to my original point. Jack's father points out that Jack is wired for comitment--and for keeping his comitments. Interesting to wonder if this takes place before or after Jack's betrayal of his father at the hospital. Also, Jack likes saving people--he wants to save his father, he saves his bride, he's trying to save Boone. In many ways, you could argue that Jack is trying to save Kate as well from whatever is lurking out there in her past. Is it that Jack is drawn to these people in his life because he has a Superman complex? The wanting to save people or shield them from the hurt and pain in their lives, to make things better. I honestly feel like I can identify a lot with Jack in the episode and the series because of this. And I can identify with his anger at the end of the episode. Jack doesn't necessarily mind if you come after him, but someone in his care has died because of the actions of another. In this case, Boone has died because of Locke's actions. Jack couldn't save Boone and now he's dead-set to find the person who created this problem--Locke--and give him hell. To demand answers . To demand there be consequences to the actions. To demand that someone suffer becuase Boone did.

And the way things slowly went from bad to worse worked so well. I've noted before how much of a community the island has become and how we're getting more episodes that focus on that as the series progresses. And I love it. I also love that not everyone is entirely what they appear to be. Take Jin, for example. Here was a guy who seemed like a controlling husband to Sun, but here we see a bit more to him. His running into the woods as Kate calls for help and helping out with Claire having the baby. We see him as so much more than just an angry man who controls his wife. He's growing and he's complex--just like most people are in reality. I love how complex everyone is--how much human and how falible. And yet, when the chips are down Jin comes through and does what he needs to do to help his fellow castaways.

Meanwhile, Sun serves as Jack's moral compass. Sun pulls him back from the edge. Jack promises to help Boone no matter what--even giving his own blood to try and save him. The scenes where Jack decided to amputate Boone's right leg to try and save him were intense. Those, along with Jack trying to find a way to transfuse his own blood had me squirming on the edge of my seat. The best thing about this episode was that for a long time, you hoped that they would find a way to save Boone, but as the story unfolded, we realized there was no way that Boone could be saved. And that made his final pleas to Jack to let him go all the more heartbreaking. And the final scenes with the music as Jack has to play doctor and tell Shannon her step-brother has passed away were heartbreaking. No words spoken--just everything shown in wide shot. Amazingly well done.

I'm sure many will point out that it's really coincidental that Claire has her baby and it's a boy as Boone is dying. Yes, I'm sure it wouldn't necessarily be that way in realty, but you know, I liked the juxtaposition of as one life ends another begins. It was also interesting the way the Jack and Claire's fears at a lifechanging event played out. Claire fears she won't be a good enough mother, Jack worries he may not be the husband or father he wants to be. I liked that little thread running through the parallel storylines. And the scenes of the community gathering around to see the new baby were a great counterpoint to Jack having to give Shannon the bad news about Boone. Triumph and tragedy all in one scene.

And then, like all good shows, it left me wanting more. Forget re-runs. Forget the sweeps schedule and ABC making money. I want new Lost next week. A couple of weeks seems way too long to wait to see how this all develops from here. And that, my friends, is the mark of a great TV show. When the hour ends and you're left wanting more.

Alias: Nightingale
The more I watch of Lost and Alias this year, the less convinced I become that J.J. Abrams is some kind of uber-TV genius along the line of Joss Whedon.

There are times watching the shows back to back that the difference is night and day. And I say this having watched Alias first this week and then watching Lost on videotape after Alias was over. I think my thing with Lost is the characters there feel real, they actually grow, develop and learn. On Alias, they seem to go through the same motions over and over again.

Like this week. For four years now, Syd has gone back and forth on whether or not she likes or trusts her father. But suddenly, this week, she's spilling out details about Vaughn's discoveries on his father to him. And yet, she never once thinks that Jack could or would betray her trust and confidence when he's done it so many times before. Honestly, if she's shocked at his betrayal when it does come to light later this season (and you know it will), then she's just not been paying attention. And, no, it doesn't matter that Jack went into the reactor to save her life. I mean, who didn't see that scene with Marshall coming--golly, there was no way I could save her and somebody must have. You sure are a good dad, Jack.

Yes, I get that Jack is conflicted. He has to balance the life he's chosen with the love for his daughter. But yet, this still won't matter to Syd as she'll easily shake it off, just in the way she seems to have taken in stride--oh yeah, my father shot and killed my mother. Yeah, that's one that's gonna be easy to forgive and then you can move on to being super cool spy family again.

Meanwhile, I think the central mandate of this show is "What sexy outfit can we dress up Jennifer Garner in this week and how can we build an episode around it?" This week, it's dressing her up like the St. Pauli beer girl. So we sent them to a tavern where there is done and it just happens to be the front of the bad guys who have a convient harddrive just full of information on stuff that Vaughn found out about his dad last week. Honestly, I don't feel as if this storyline is going anywhere other than to maybe not have Garner and Michael Vartan not be on screen together too much since rumor has it working together wasn't the most pleasant experience.

And then, we once again have heavy-handed exposition of Sloane and Jack talking about their evil plan but not giving us any clue as to what it might be. I think we're past the mid-point of the season and we've had to clue as to what they're really up to. And it's getting really, really annoying!

If this is how the arc stories are going to be, give me more non-arc stories like last week with Marshall. At least that one was entertaining and fun.

posted by Michael at 4/07/2005 09:05:00 AM | |

Monday Tampa Bay Devil Rays outfielder Alex Sanchez was the first major leaguer to be suspended under the new policy. Sanchez will have to sit out the first ten games of the new season for testing positive for steroids. Sanchez is already planning an appeal. In addition, major league baseball announced Monday that 38 minor league baseball players would face suspension for testing positive for steroids.

We've got our first culprits. I guess this means the new policy is working. Or is it?

Is it just me or does the new steroids testing policy in baseball still seem a bit lax? Why do players get five chances to be on the juice before they're booted from the game? What about "three strikes and you're out?"

If anyone out there knows of a company in the real world that would let you continue to work after testing positive for illegal drugs of any kind up to five times, let me know. I don't think you're going to find many. In fact, for most of us, it's one strike and you're out on the street. Do not pass go, do not collect $200.

But for some reason, baseball players--and for the most part most professional athletes--feel they're entitled to be above the rules that the rest of us have to live by. The excuse seems to be that they're under this intense microscope because they make so much money and are so famous. You know, I'm certainly glad that we have given them the opportunity to take advantage of their natural ability and to be well compensated for it. But just because you can play ball at a high level doesn't make you special or exempt from the basic, fundamental rules of soceity. Steroids are illegal unless used under proper medical care. End of story. None of the rest of us would be given a fourth, third or even a second chance in most cases. But yet baseball players think they should get five chance before they are effectively fired.

Of course, having a powerful union to hide behind makes a big difference. Here's my thought--if the baseball players were clean and had nothing to hide, they'd embrance the steroid testing. If you've done nothing wrong, then you shouldn't have to worry about the results of the test, right?

And it's not just baseball. No sport is immune to this problem. Seems that now that Congress has bored the nation and shown its futility going after baseball, they are going to show more futility by going after the NFL. And it's interesting to hear that the players there know about the test, what it looks for and how to get around it. I'm pretty sure the same thing extends to baseball and every other major sport.

You know, I love sports. I enjoy watching them, I enjoy being a fan. I hate that so much of the debate these days as people pursue records isn't about the game itself, but is instead about wondering if a guy is on the juice and how that affects what he's doing on the field.

posted by Michael at 4/06/2005 12:47:00 PM | |

The line to see Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith has started outside of Grauman's Chinese Theatre in L.A.

The only bad part about it--the movie isn't even supposed to open at Grauman's.

On some level, you have to admit that's funny...

posted by Michael at 4/06/2005 08:50:00 AM | |

Dell of Dell's Diner ran a brackets contest for March Madness. Guess who won?

Yep, yours truly. See the final leaderboard here.

posted by Michael at 4/05/2005 03:24:00 PM | |

If you're considering becoming an Evil Overlord, you might want to keep some of these things in mind...

posted by Michael at 4/05/2005 01:54:00 PM | |

Last week, I talked about the lawsuit by Desiree Goodwin against Harvard University. Goodwin alleged that she'd been passed over for promotion several times because she dressed too sexily.

Apparently a judge did not agree. Goodwin's suit has been dismissed.

Which is good. I'd hate for the judicial system to set a precident like this when we have such valuable web sites as Am I Hot Or Not? to determine these things.

The article also says that Goodwin has no plans to leave Harvard, though she is exploring other jobs. How much you wanna bet no one on the Harvard libary staff gives her a good letter of recommendation?

posted by Michael at 4/05/2005 01:01:00 PM | |

If I thought the publicity for the season finale of Battlestar Galactica was unrelenting, it was nothing compared to the full-court press FOX put on for this episode of 24. I managed to avoid the previews on FOX, figuring they'd give away too much information but I couldn't avoide the radio commericals that kept telling me that last night's episode would be shocking, mind-blowing and full of changes for the show.

Apparently, FOX was so sold on how huge this episode would be that they are giving us two more chances to watch it. (That couldn't have anything to do with a huge episode going up against a large audience draw in the NCAA Tournament could it? Naaaaaaaaah!)

And I'll admit--the final ten or so minutes of this hour were compelling, edge-of-your-seat suspense. I'd called weeks ago that somehow the terrorists were after Air Force One. And last week when they stole the steal bomber, I figured it was to shoot it out of the sky. But for what reason? Do they just not like Keeler as president? Or do they hope to create terror and confusion among the American public? I'm not quite sure what Marwan's agenda is with this, but it should be interesting as we enter into the final stretch of day four. Again, the last ten or so minutes were as good and taut as anything we've seen on 24 this year and may be some of the best moments we've seen on the show since it began.

That doesn't mean that all that led up to it was exactly the greatest. For one thing, how many times can Marwan escape? Seriously--this guy is starting to remind me of the Master on Doctor Who. For those of you who don't know, the Master was a recurring villain on Doctor Who who would show up from time to time with a plot to conquer the universe and destroy the Doctor. Inevitably, the Doctor would defeat him and leave him in some type of situation out of which it'd be hard to escape--being burned to a crisp, eaten by a dinosuar, locked into a room with time-share presentations..you get the idea. Anyway, a few stories later the Master would show up, unscathed and no one batted an eye.

It's like this with Marwan--there is no net that is going to catch him. He seems to have an unlimited supply of terrorists hanging around L.A., all who drive vans and are ready and willing to pick him up. Of course, if we captured him now, what would we do for the next eight or so hours of the day? (Watch Jack and Audrey break up most likely...)

And the whole situation over at CTU. Tony catches one glance between Michelle and the new head honcho from Division and puts together--hey, they hooked up. Maybe Tony should be out there in the field as well since his super-spy skills are next to none. And Chloe was actually being nice to someone--taking the blame for Edgar when Edgar made a fundamental mistake. That was nice to see...and let's face it, Edgar deserves a bit of a break. The man has had one heck of a rough day.

Meanwhile, Audrey finds out Paul might be paralyzed from the bullet and goes in to see him. And that pretty much ends the whole Jack and Audrey relationship, I think. It was foreshadowed pretty early in this episode when Jack calls Audrey to say they need to talk about what he did to Paul earlier in the day and Audrey gives him the cold shoulder. Ah, well, Jack. It's OK. Maybe you can hook up with Michelle. She's apparently not averse to the inter-office romances. Just don't marry her, throw away your life and career and go to prison for her. Then she'll meet another guy and hook up with him while you're off in jail.

posted by Michael at 4/05/2005 08:38:00 AM | |

A new bill before the Tennessee Legislature would allow students who are home schooled to take part in after school activities (such as sports) at the public school they are zoned to attend. Part of the bill would also allow smaller private schools to have students participate in activities if their school didn't have them.

Proponents of the bill argue that the the smaller schools or the home schooled students would benefit from the increased competition and the opportunity to be seen by college scouts. They also say that the parents are paying taxes for schools the students don't attend. Advocates for the bill also say they only want all the children to be able to play together.

Mike Bell, a lobbyist for the Tennessee Home Education Association, says it's about giving the home schooled children "equal access."

On the other side, I have to wonder about this. I know that our public education system has issues, but these are people who made a choice to pull their kids out and teach them at home--for whatever the reason. It's like they want to have their cake and eat it too. This step is the first down a slippery slope.

First, letting the kids join the football team, next thing you know they'll want to participate in graduation ceremonies. Better yet--turns out that little Johnny who was home schooled had the highest GPA and is now taking that spot from the kid who earned that in the public school curriculum.

Then, I also have to wonder how much of a nightmare this could create in trying to oversee school sports. From my time as sports editor, I remember the TSAA has some pretty strict standards when it comes to participation in high school sports. So, how will this translate to the home school curriculum? Is an A in a public school classroom the same as one from a home school classroom? Also, how long until some wily coach figures out that Johnny Star-Quarterback is better suited to be homeschooled and get an "A" there rather than flunking in the public-school classroom?

Another question--with the budget for schools being a stretched thin as it already is, will this stretch it further? If you suddenly have an influx of home school students in the band programs, sports programs, after school programs, etc, will this create further strains?

posted by Michael at 4/04/2005 03:34:00 PM | |

At long last, baseball's opening day is upon us. For one day, every team is in contention for the World Series. And the best news--maybe with baseball to talk about, some of the media circus surrounding Barry Bonds will die down a bit.

Dimiti Young of the Detroit Lions has hit ~~two~~ three home runs to start the season. That means he's on pace to hit 486 home runs this season, shattering Barry Bonds' single season record.

posted by Michael at 4/04/2005 02:45:00 PM | |

By Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part 2
Was it just me or did it seem that everywhere you turned Friday, there was a reminder that the season finale of Battlestar Galactica would air Friday evening? I saw banner ads plastered across a variety of web sites, there was a lot of critical praise given to the finale and I even heard a commerical on the radio telling you it wasn't too late to get in on the ride. Which is good, though I have to admit if you just dropped by on Friday night to see what all these hype was about, you might be a little confused. Not only was this the continuation of the storyline begun last week in By Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part 1, it was also a tying up of some of the plot threads from the mini-series until now.

I have to admit that given the sheer hype and hearing from our fellow UK watchers that this hour of Batttlestar Galactica was beyond good, I was extremely skeptical. Going in, I wanted to like it, but I also knew that the potential for it to be as good as advertised was also there. I was cautiously optimistic about the story.

Needless to say, I should have a lot more faith in Ron Moore and company. To say that Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part 2 is one of the better hours of TV I've seen in a while is an understament. And you have to remember--this comes from me, the man who admittedly watches way too much TV for his own good. But that is how much I liked this episode of Battlestar Galactica. It was pitch-perfect in every scene with characters acting in ways that made absolute sense based on what we know about them. It was taut, suspenseful and exciting. There were times--such as when Adama goes to ask Boomer to help out attacking the Cylon basestar that just resonated. At first, I thought that Boomer would somehow sabotage the mission since she is a Cylon. Little did I realize that the apparent Cylon plan--or at least part of it--is to throw the fleet into chaos. Boomer comes back to Galactica to acccept the praise for a job well done and shoots Adama twice in the gut. That moment was jaw-dropping, but no more so than the other 17 or so that led up to it.

This one pulled out all the stops but left me wanting more . It can't be July fast enough for me to see where things go from here.

There was a lot of intersting stuff here. Apollo does what Adama asked him to do long ago--chooses a side. Caprica Boomer reveals she is pregnant. Adama is forced to take drastic measures after Roslin convinces Starbuck to the take the Raider to Caprica and retrieve the Arrow of Apollo. Tigh is thrust into command it would appar with Adama down. Six reveals that part of the Cylon plan to get closer to their god is procreation---something she wants to do with Baltar. How will Cylons being able to have children bring them closer to their god? I'm not sure, but I'm there for the ride. Seeing Baltar go on the long walk with Six and the music that accompanies it was nicely done.

And we got to see inside a Cylon Basestar. How cool was that moment? The sense of dread, terror and wonder at going inside was wonderful . Also, while inside, I began to wonder when and if Boomer's programming would take over. As near as I can figure, the programming kicked in when she left the copies of herself inside the ship and flew out. It appears the Cylons are willing to take on a few casulaties to get what they want--they sacrfice a basestar in order to get Boomer close enough to gun down Adama. Also, by sending a copy a few weeks ago to plant the seeds in Roslin's mind about the finding of Kobol and her role in it, they have now put a power vaccum in the fleet. Roslin is behind bars and the military is suddenly under control of Tigh who ain't exactly grace under pressure. If the Cylon goal is to wipe out the fleet, now is a good thing to attack. Especially since Starbuck and Apollo, two of the better pilots may be out of the fray for a while.

But the best part is--we get to continue the story this summer. It wasn't just a wrap-up to a plotline in a neat little bow. Instead, we were left with more questions than answers and a desire to keep exploring. I can't wait to see where the journey will take us next .

posted by Michael at 4/03/2005 01:25:00 PM | |

As much as I love the concept of "fall back" and getting an extra hour of sleep in the fall, it's a bear when you when have to "spring forward" and lose an hour of sleep.

posted by Michael at 4/03/2005 01:15:00 PM | |

If you were like me, your jaw dropped about 17 times during last night's season finale of Battlestar Galactica.

If you're eager for some hints of things to come in season two, you can check out this interview with two of the shows writers.

I cannot frakkin' wait!

posted by Michael at 4/02/2005 05:22:00 PM | |

Saw this over on Inn at the Last Home and thought I'd give it a try.

Take the quiz: "What does your birth month reveal about you?"

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.

Yeah, I guess that most of that is pretty much me--except for I'm not cautious with the money when it comes to things bearing the words Doctor Who DVDs.

posted by Michael at 4/02/2005 04:55:00 PM | |

Today at Wal-Mart, I saw the new toy line for Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. It all looked pretty cool though I have to admit the Lego sets were the most tempting to me.

Then, I saw it sitting there--the novelization of the new movie. The cover just beckoning--you can know all the secrets now. Only $17.96 plus tax, it said to me.

But then, I realized I've waited this long and it would ruin some of the fun of going to see the film on or as close to opening day as possible. So I didn't give into the Dark Side, but put it down and ran quickly away.

Of course, I did pick up some of the Dark Side M&Ms which are GREAT! (Actually, a local Wal-Mart put them out last week and I got some last week. Man, they are great!)

posted by Michael at 4/02/2005 04:46:00 PM | |

Last week, I interviewed Logtar for the Interview Meme. Now, Logtar is returning the favor. Here are my answers.

1. As boys we always identify with out fathers, emulate them in many ways and learn from their actions. Your father seems like an excellent example to follow, but my question is, what comes to mind when I ask you to describe a moment in life where your Mother did something that still guides you to this day?

As I've said before, I am very close to my family--all of them. There have been many times when I've looked to my mom for guidance, support and wisdom over the years. I'm not sure it's been so much one thing, so much as many things. See, my Mom grew up as an Army brat and then she married and Air Force officer. So she's travelled all around the world. And over the years, my mom has shown me the importance of family. And that being together in the most important thing--not just physically but emotionally. It didn't matter where we moved, as long as we were together we could make it.

2. We both seem very close to our sisters, she has been a very influential person in my life and I have played the Big Brother role lots of times… still do it now from time to time, tell us about a moment in your life when you played BB to your sister.

My sister's junior year of high school she was dating this guy who was, well, a jerk. Actually jerk doesn't even come close to describing it, but this is a family blog and I don't want to offend anyone. Anyway, he'd asked her to the prom and then one day before the prom he dumped her. She was pretty devestated, as you can imagine. My parents had to go to a social function that evening and I had planned to go to a Busch Gardens employee bash. But when my sister came home upset, I put aside those plans and stayed home with her. We went and got ice cream and all kinds of toppings, rented some movies and just hung out.

3. In my Christian walk one of the toughest things to do is to distinguish between God’s will and my own. I believe I am good by nature ;) no really, LOL. My question is, how do you make that distinction?

Now here is a question I wrestle with almost daily on my walk--is it what God wants or what Michael wants? The best way is for it to be both. But, hey, I'm stubborn. I've found over the years is that there will times when I pray for what God wants and needs me to do. I will hear an answer and go--yeah ,but what if...and then try to reconcile what I want with what I've been told. God has this way of reminding me. I compare it rain drops on a stone....God will pelt me with little droplet moments to remind me--hey, this is where you really need to be and need to go. Get back with the program, I know what I'm doing...trust Me. So, sometimes it's a matter of being reminded over and over again--by the way, your path is good but mine is better..why not get over here on Mine.

4. I hope you don’t think I have made the questions to tough :) here is the one that I spent some time thinking about, I told you I would get you back. Not only that it is a compound question. We all know you are a TV fan, but you also like to read and watch movies. If you had to unplug the TV and never touch it again what entertainment outlet would take up most of that time? And this is no single questions answer either, I want a least 3 examples of specific artist of authors ;)

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! No more TV and new Dr Who?!? That will NOT happen. LOL

But, let me answer the question. I'd have to go with probably reading, followed by music. I love to read. In fact, I cannot remember a time in my life when I didn't know how to read. I remember checking out Fox in Socks from the school library and being excited that I could make the words tell me the story without anyone's help. That was cool. Now, I have a couple of favorite authors--Stephen King, Elizabeth George, Phillip Gully, Max Lucado, Peter David. I love their books and can't wait for the next one to come out. So, I'd be content with those authors . As for music, I love all kinds and it'd be hard to narrow it down to just three. Oh, OK I will. Ray Stevens, Rebecca St James and The Monkees.

5. I am having too much fun, I want more questions… does this work kind of like wishes and can I make my 5th question 3 more questions… hrm… fine I will play nice. I could go for the easy, put you on the spot and ask you when are you coming to visit… but I will just change that to a childhood one. I want to know what childhood toy you still have, or know where it is sitting right now. It could be at your parents, but it would be interesting to see what you come up with.

When I was three years old, I had heart surgery. If not for that, I'd not be here today, blogging obsessively about all the stuff I blog about. During that stay in the hospital, I had a tape on Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too that I listened to a lot. I loved Winnie the Pooh. So much that my mother crocheted me a Winnie the Pooh to cuddle and sleep with at night. I still have it at my parent's house and I hope to someday be blessed and share it with my kids.

posted by Michael at 4/02/2005 09:15:00 AM | |

The AP is trying to convince us all that there is no "clear cut" favorite in the women's final four, taking place Sunday evening in Indianapolis.

Two words for you guys: Lady Vols.

'Nuff said...

posted by Michael at 4/01/2005 04:19:00 PM | |

Aloha Friday
What did you do for your 21st birthday?
Not much really. I didn't actually get to go out drinking as it was during an ice strom and the idea of going out drinking and them stumbling home up a hill covered in ice seemed not too prudent.

What’s for dinner tonight? Please…share a recipe!
Honestly, I have not thought that far ahead.

Spread the spirit of blogaloha…whom should we visit this week?

Well, it's Becky over at April Fool's b'day so wander by and spread the birthday wishes. But I've linked to her before, so I also recommend Logtar's Blog.

Friday's Feast
Appetizer - Describe your week in one word.
Frustrating

Soup - Tell about a funny practical joke that you've played on someone (or that was played on you!).
My junior year at UT, I met a girl named Beth at the UT Wesley Foundation. The Wesley Foundation was getting ready to go on our fall retreat and I mentioned jokingly we should go snipe hunting. Beth had apparently not seen that epiosde of Cheers or had heard of this tradition known as snipe-hunting. So, we started making plans to take Beth out snipe hunting. Only we decided to not be too cruel. This was a group effort. One guy scouted out the best possible places to take Beth snipe hunting Saturday morning and by Saturday afternoon we had a plan. We'd take Beth and our freind Kathy out into the woods, drop them off near the trail and then say we would go scare up the snipe. Kathy was instructed after about five minutes to take Beth back to the cabins saying we were all a bunch of idiots and must be lost. We'd be laying in wait to spring out and shock Beth. Well, this plan worked pretty well except that Kathy had no watch and we ended up out in the woods laying in wait to spring out for about half an hour. Did I forget that we were laying on the ground covered in leaves as we did this and one person drifted off to sleep? Needless to say, eventually Beth came by, we sprang out and all had a good laugh. And by all, I mean everyone but Beth...

Salad - Name someone you had a crush on when you were a kid.
Kathy Yates.

Main Course - If you were a member of royalty, what would your title be?
Supreme Chancellor of Stuff

Dessert - What colors are the clothes you are wearing today?
Dark blue shirt, khaki pants.

posted by Michael at 4/01/2005 12:26:00 PM | |

It's been a while since I updated the books I'm reading as part of the 50 Book Challenge. Here they are with a few comments about each one.

37. Star Trek: Worlds of DS9, Volume III
Proving again why outside of NF, the DS9 relaunch is the best thing happening in Trek literature right now.

36. St Dale by Sharon McCrumb
Fascinating fictional story about the cult of personality that has built up around Dale Earnheart.

35. A Taste for Death by P.D. James
A decent British muder-mystery.

34. Separation of Power by Vince Flynn
Good bubble-gum reading. A spy-thriller in the vein of some of Tom Clancy's better novels. Part of an on-going series.

33. Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton
First of the Anita Blake novels. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.

32. Sideways by Rex Pickett
Basis for the Oscar nominated film. Great book. I can't wait to see the film on DVD (which I am sure will be no where as good!) I couldn't put it down.

31. The Laughing Corpse by Laurell K. Hamilton
2nd of the Anita Blake novels. Starts to expand the universe a bit. All of these are page turners.

30. DisneyWar by James Stewart
Fascinating look at the Michael Eisner run Disney.

29. Circus of the Damned by Laurell K. Hamilton
3rd Anita Blake novel.

28. A Scanner Darkly by Phillip K Dick
Soon to be a movie. In typical PKD fashion, this one is mind-bending and full of parnoia. I cna only hope the movie is close to as good.

27. Blinded by Stephen White
A decent thriller by White though the ending is a bit obvious.

26. Iron Sunrise by Charles Stross
Strong, hard SF novel that is a sequel to Singularity Sky. Short-listed for the Hugo and I can see why.

25. Coalescent by Stephen Baxter
I keep wondering--why do I read Stephen Baxter's books? They always start off well only to lose steam in the last half.

24. Triggerfish Twist by Tim Dorsey
A mystery/thriller in the vein of Dave Barry or Carl Hiasson. There were parts that had me luaghing out loud. Surely Florida isn't this crazy...

23. Three Nights in August by Buzz Bissinger
A fascinating look inside the moves made by manager Tony LaRussa during a critical three-game series with the Cubs in 2003. Easily as intricate, fascinating and page-turning as the best novels by Grisham. If you like baseball, you'll enjoy it. If you're not a a fan, this might help you understand why so many find it so fascinating.

posted by Michael at 4/01/2005 09:50:00 AM | |

Happy April Fool's Day to everyone! If you're wondering what kind of prank you should play on others, Stacy over at Outwit, Outblog, Outsnark has a quiz that can help you out....

Your Prank is Putting Goldfish in the Water Cooler

What April Fool's Prank Should You Play?

posted by Michael at 4/01/2005 09:34:00 AM | |