Don't forget your toothbrush! Or the tickets!

I think it's well established around these parts that your humble TNRLM editor is a bit OCD, and that making lists is the Sun around which the Earth revolves. (Unless, of course, you take it on "faith" that the Sun revolves around the Earth).

There are lists for all the logical things, like the running list of things to purchase at the grocery store. (Everyone keeps a running list, right? Rather than creating one from scratch right before the trip to the store? So when you run out of -- or run low on -- an item, you just add it to the list as you go? Maybe not? Chaos, I tells ya). Or the list of things to pack you make when you go on an out of town trip. Or the wish list at Amazon.com. Or the Outlook Task List for things to do at work. Or the Google notebook list of things you want to reference for a "potpourri" post later that week. You get the idea. Lists are good.

We got into a debate of sorts around these parts earlier this year, when one of my compatriots forgot something that might have been helpful, or even necessary, when attending a major college football game: the tickets.

Back when I was one of the primary drivers and organizers of the tailgating expedition, I developed a handy pre-launch checklist that looked something like this:

And when I travel, I use a checklist (that's both on the PC and the CrackBerry) that looks something like this:

But for those less inclined to generate their own lists, there's a great service that will help you create a travel checklist, called "Don't forget your toothbrush."

All you do is create a quick user ID and password, and the service will walk you though developing a comprehensive list. It's mainly designed for our of town travel, and has some awesome features. Of course, there's the "check off items you want to pack" part. But it also systematically asks you about other pre-trip preparations you might want to make (arrange for a babysitter, what to do about the pets, check your passport to make sure it's current, charge all your batteries, stop the papers, pay bills that will come due while you're gone, empty the fridge of stuff that will rot, turn off the pool heater, adjust the thermostats, set the alarm and lock the doors, etc.). At the end, it will generate a printed checklist for you for all the activities and packing you need to do, AND email you reminders (with associated activities) leading up to the departure date.

Some folks I know might want to add signing up for this service to their To Do list.

I think I've become Rupert Giles

Quick, when you think of Giles, what image comes into your head?

For me, it's probably something along the lines of this (from S6's "All The Way"):

Buffy : Is that why you're always cleaning your glasses? So you don't have to see what we're doing?

Giles : Tell no one.

I've worn glasses for years now, and for the life of me, I can't keep them clean from minute to minute. I must have at least 20 of those microfiber glasses cleaners stashed in every conceivable place: living room, bathroom, office, car, briefcase, kitchen. And it seems that I'm pulling one of those out to wipe them down every 10 minutes. I should probably go to Sam's Club and buy the lens cleaner in 55 gallon drums. I have no idea where all the glasses schmutz comes from. It's not like I compulsively decide to poke myself in the eye, with only the lens to protect me from becoming a cyclops. (Or Xander in S7!) I always take them off and put them on by the frame. I don't spray when I talk like Lou Holtz or Bill Cowher. I don't use them as protection when I'm dissecting corpses in the crime lab. I don't run out onto the balcony and stare at the sky during heavy precipitation. Yet I constantly see some type of smudge or particle on the lens that bugs the fuck out of me and I have to wipe it off.

I'm probably one psychotic break away from purchasing these:

I'll take potpourri for $4,200, Alex

Okay, I'll admit it. I had these as a kid. But sadly, I was too young to have someone in a Leia metal bikini to roll around them with me.

A Horrible gift to give. And I may have sent this to someone who hasn't yet experienced the magic.
Speaking of which, here's a completely unbiased review of the DVD.

Jane Espenson says chillax, everything's fine on Dollhouse. And FOX execs talk Dollhouse, among other things. And someone else who has seen the new pilot. An interview with the lovely and talented Amy Acker. Part 1. Mark Sheppard, of BSG, The Middleman, Firefly and Dollhouse and many other things, has an interview here. And another great video interview here.

The Periodic Table of Awesome.

Say what you will about his efforts on MNF, but Uncle Tony is great on the radio. Sadly, he won't be returning to that medium for a while.

I didn't need to read the rest of the article. I was hooked at the headline.

Who wants to work in the Death Star or the Enterprise?

Because really, that's where you go to find the best and brightest.

SlingBox on your CrackBerry? Should we go ahead and add the CrackBerry to Maslow's hierarchy?! And then there's this. Wow. that's a tough choice. With the CrackBerry, at least I can get it anywhere, anytime and for a long as I want. And I don't have to worry about catching a "virus" or spawning small, expensive and noisy BlackBerries.

Advisors suggest Sam Bradford -- and Matt Stafford -- should stay in school another year.

Check out the last item here. Damn, someone's not a Mark Richt fan.

What's Carly Smithson been up to? Still love her.

Read through the first few pages of this recap of the Heroes "volume" finale. Of the myriad problems with the show, characterization is first and foremost, as you'll see.

Sarah Michelle Gellar's Maxim outtakes. Time for a cold shower.

Sent to me by a former honey. Guess she knows me, huh?

Visitors to Bryant-Denny will now get in the proper mindset. Brilliant.

More ridiculous Batman 3 rumors. But I like this one. Meow.

Obviously, kids inspire bloodlust.

This should be posted in every office breakroom.

21 unnecessary sequels that were great anyway.

Mo Ryan's Top 10 shows of 2008. An excellent list, including the "runners up."

TV shows that more people should have watched. Yeah! for 7, 6, 5, 2 and 1. And The Middleman should be on that list, too.

The Big O really represents "change," eh? I made a note of this earlier in the week when it was first announced, and since then it's blown up into a big -- and legitimate -- controversy. Flat earth, theocratic politics as usual. Inclusive my ass. Why is this even necessary, particularly with someone so bigoted and intellectually dim? Of course, Hitchens has a take.

Say what you will Barry, but here's an interesting look at the development of his logo.

Robin was right about "entertainment" north of the border.

We have to go baaaaack!

Can you believe the season premiere of Lost is actually drawing nigh? Lots of goodies have surfaced recently, including:

New awesomely retro looking official posters (click for 5 more beauties):


Sneak Peek of a scene with Jack and Ben:



Sneak Peek with Kate and Aaron:



An unfuckingbelievable new trailer, that we'll all have to analyze frame by frame:



A "Lost Xmas" with Damon and Carlton answering questions:



And this isn't new, but as a refresher, a theory on Lost's time travel.

January 21st can get here fast enough.

Merry Fringemas!

But does it come with a label maker?

Much to my surprise, I opened up a UPS package this morning to find the following:


One of my BFFs sent me this (along with a delightful card). Too funny.

As we know, OCDs come in all shapes and sizes. My particular strain is more "organized" and less "germophobe." I mean, I do keep a pretty "clean" place, but I'm more worried about neatness and everything having a place than I am about coming into contact with germs. I don't have any worries about my cats having complete run of the house, and jumping up on whatever they want (like I could stop that anyway) and I'm fully in favor of the "5 second rule" when it comes to dropping food. But everything in the house (and office, and car, and briefcase, and...) has a distinct and specific place where "it goes." And when it's not in "active use," it goes right back there. Everything should be labeled, preferably with a P-Touch. I compulsively make lists, and have a "checklist" for virtually every type of activity you might want to undertake. Almost every household item has a "backup," and sometimes backups of backups. Needless to say, if the apocalypse came tomorrow, I would probably be well prepared.

Nonetheless, the "action figure" made me laugh. Now I have to find a categorized place for it.

But sometimes the "bad" ones make ya think

In my previous potpourri collection, I linked to one person's take on the "best sci-fi remakes." Here's another perspective on the "10 worst sci-fi remakes." Oddly, you'll notice some of the same films on both lists.

Of the listed "worst" films on that list, I agree with them all. However, when you get into the "runners up," you'll see two movies that I love, Vanilla Sky and Solaris. I'm sure part of the problem many critics and viewers had with both of these is that they are remakes of critically adored foreign films (Amenabar's Abre los Ojos and Tarkovsky's Solaris). Remaking a beloved foreign language film naturally puts you into somewhat of a cultural gutter, as many think you have to "dumb down" the original material in order to appeal to the popcorn munching masses in the US market. And there's probably a kernel (get it?) of truth to that. I've seen both versions of both movies, and though there are some concessions made in the translations, the central ideas and questions posed by both films remain intact.

One of the first blog posts I ever made (back on my old blog) was related to a rewatching of Solaris and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotted Mind:

Watched two of my favorite movies yesterday: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotted Mind and Vanilla Sky. Yes, I know one stars Tom Cruise. And yes, I know he's one llama and a chimp away from being Michael Jackson. But dammit, he still made some good movies before the whole couch jumping and Dark Lord Xenu shit. The fascinating thing about both these movies is that they ask one of the most critical questions you can face: what is real?

Is the person that you love or loved the way you see them or they way they are? Or is it some combination? Much like two different people can look at the same cloud formation, and one sees a bunny and the other sees a cheese grater. Your perception of a person is based on a multiplicity of things: what they tell you about themselves (that you can or cannot verify or trust); what you personally observe; the effect of what they do and say and how it impacts you; the filter of your own experiences and values; what others tell you about this person; your own insecurities, hopes, wants and needs and obviously the affection you feel for the person. And does it have a cause and effect component? For example, does how you view someone make them behave in a way that justifies their reality in your worldview? But what is the real truth? Or even, is there a real truth at all? Is there simply a core that is the collection of our behaviors and actions, and the rest of our essence is the way others view us giving each viewer their own separate interpretation of the same person (you) but therefore creating a number of different yous that all exist in the same time and space? Is it possible to change this person, by changing your own worldview? What triggers this?

The central conceit of both movies is that there is no clear cut answer -- no clear cut you or your other. If you entered an altered reality, would things be exactly the same, or if you knew that going in, could you actually change things? Can you strip away the biases and experiences and ever see anyone for what they really are? Does the love and affection your feel, and the truths you think you believe, prevent you from realizing they are psychotic, dangerous or cruel? Or are they that way because you created them that way? (VS) Or, if you stripped away the memory and experiences that shaped (or created) the person in your eyes, would you fall in love exactly the same way and relive things tangibly exactly the same way again? (ESSM)

What is REAL?

BTW, another movie that expertly, though somberly and with a sci-fi twist, plays with these same notions is Solaris.

Good sci-fi asks the "what if" questions. What if computers develop a personality? What if artificial intelligence aggressively pursues its own self-preservation? What happens if you mess with the time-space continuum? What happens if you have first contact with an alien species? What is the next next step for human evolution?

What I like about the movies mentioned above is that they all wrap their plots in sci-fi trappings and technology, but turn the central questions inward to the human condition. What exactly is real? Are the memories that we recall from the past truly a "recording" of the way events actually happened, or an "alternate reality" created through the prism of our own perceptions? And even in real time, are events unfolding with a "universal truth" or does each individual perception create unlimited, divergent timelines of individual realities?

Flicks that play with those questions in macro (like Total Recall or The Matrix) can make for great, thought-provoking and action packed entertainment. But I find that the movies that bring those stories down a personal level, like Eternal Sunshine, Solaris and Vanilla Sky, stick with me longer and make me ask some unsettling questions about my own human experience.

But no matter how philosophical you get, the Planet of the Apes remake still blows.

I'll take potpourri for $4,100, Alex

For fellow comic book nerds: who were the best artists for each superhero?

More official Lost cast photos have surfaced. Does anyone else agree with me that Juliet is hotter than a thousand suns?

Speaking of hot, Kristin Bell outtakes.

Economy in trouble? Here is a brilliant way to help.

One of the writers of the new Trek film discusses science, canon and how the movie fits.

The quotable Alec Baldwin.

Let Barry light up!

Finally, proof of the Almighty.

This cracks me up. The ALL CAPS are just perfect.

A peek at plans Supernatural's new year. BTW, I was late to the party on this show. I guess it got lost in the CW ghetto for me, but I've been catching up via (simultaneously) 4th season shows on TiVo, and the 1st and 2nd seasons on DVD. And I have to say, while it's not quite to the level of Buffy and Angel, this is an tremendously entertaining and engaging genre show, with laughs, scares, arcs and most importantly, great writing and acting. If you haven't checked it out, you should.

Are these the 7 worst guitar solos of all time? And 2 of them are in completely awesome songs, too.

I have no idea what this is about, but the title alone makes me want to see it.

Here's some logic and reason I wish was more prevalent.

Christopher Nolan examines his favorite scene in The Dark Knight.

The fabulous Maura Tierney joins Rescue Me? Awesome.

Marisa Tomei has no problem getting nekkid. And we have no problem say "thanks."

Just last week, I said that Stacey Dales is my favorite sideline princess. And just like that, she's out of a job. In case I have magical powers, perhaps I should say that Lou Holtz, Emmit Smith and Mark May are my favorite analysts.

Great news on the voice of the computer for the new Trek movie.

One take on the "best 7 sci-fi remakes." I agree with most of them, including the oft-bashed and underappreciated Vanilla Sky, and one of the best flicks I've seen in the last 10 years, the Solaris remake, but Burton's Planet of the Apes? Really? Ugh.

A preview of tomorrow's Sarah Connor Chronicles, which I continue to heart with a passion.

Around the Dawgosphere

Three of UGA's SEC compatriots have made coaching hires. The orange-wearing devils UT added Lane Kiffykins, and his primary benefits seem to be A) a hot wife, B) a smart dad, and C) adding the unintelligible but skilled recruiter Ed Orgeron. USC's offense didn't seem to miss a beat once he took his (arguable) contributions to the professional wasteland that is Oakland, and as long as Cutcliffe isn't calling the plays for the Vols, I'm okay with this move. Mississippi State only rolls around on our schedule every few years, and the talent base there isn't really solid enough to threaten for the conference championship, so anything that weakens The Jorts is okay in my book (though it would be nice if someone took their DC too -- who inexplicably got passed over on the coaching carousel again). And then there's the WarEagleTigerPlainsmen. Holy shit what a clusterfuck. You get rid of Tubs, only to add a head coach who has unbelievably managed to diminish the program at Iowa State? As a Dawg fan, I can only say "thank you" to Auburn.

How will Knowshon fare in the pros? He certainly has all the skills. The only question will be how he takes the pounding at the next level.

The tennis Dawgs win another national title. (Once upon a time, many moons ago, your TNRLM editor was asked to try and walk on with the team. Of course, your humble editor was more interested in keg parties).

Hey, guess what? I found another Mandel shot at UGA.

Julio Jones named SEC freshman of the year. Excuse me? Team results aside, what the hell were the voters smoking? And how does someone make AP ALL-SEC FIRST TEAM OFFENSE (ahead of the other guy) and NOT get named freshman of the year. WTF?

David Hale takes a great, in-depth look at next year's lineup. Yep, the losses of (potentially, but probably) of Stafford and Moreno, along with Sutherland and MoMass, will hurt. But I think the offense will be much better collectively than it appears. The line, with experience and recovery from injuries, not to mention CSS coachin' 'em up, will be very solid. And even though Cox has been there for a while behind Staff, I don't envision this as a Tereshinski situation. The question will be how the D -- and the coaching of the D -- responds to a horrific year.

Lost complaints from the future, and other geeky news

The blogging around these parts has been a bit sporadic of late. Real life has been a tad odd and intrusive, and promises to be moreso in the coming days. However, here are a few interesting geeky tidbits from around the intertubes to share:

From the new Lost DVD: producers Damon and Carlton report "from the future" on the anti-Lost backlash. (This was shown at Comic-Con this summer. Funny stuff).

The new Terminator: Salvation trailer is up on iTunes. Count me among the skeptics who didn't have faith that the guy responsible for Charlie's Angels could deliver a badass Terminator movie. But this new footage? Pretty damned awesome. I09 breaks down the footage shot-by-shot.

Kristin Bell, bloody and quite soon to be dead on the set of Heroes, doing crossword puzzles. Be still my heart.

An obscure license plate from my area, that makes me want to do the "dance of joy." See if you get it.

Joss says he would put Dollhouse on Friday, too. Plus, "7 trouble signs for Dollhouse."

Time's Top 10 TV Series of 2008. Notable, and completely correct, inclusions: Mad Men, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, Lost, Battlestar Galactica, Chuck. Missing: Dexter. Also, the Top 10 Episodes of 2008. Number 1 on their list is also number 1 on mine: Lost's "The Constant."

Wow, this sounds interesting. Has anyone read the source material?

The BSG webisodes start tomorrow! Sadly, I won't be near a computer all day, and won't catch the premiere until much later.

New Watchmen trailer on iTunes. Go find it.

The Robot Chicken creators asked Ron Moore and Joss Whedon for a job.

And yesterday, I was meeting with the general manager of a corporate dining establishment, and we were talking about various promotions for their patrons. He said that for a couple of weeks, they put a sign just above the salad bar that said "The secret of the universe? 42." Now that is just truly and magnificently geeky. They had a "prize" that they were going to give to the first few people that asked about it, but unbelievably, no one did.

Catch the Frak Up!

Here is another of those delightfully deadpan "what the frak" recaps of Battlestar Galactica. In anticipation of the January return of TV's best show, the powers that be have put together a recap of the entire series -- all three and a half season -- in just 13 minutes. Must viewing.

I'll take potpourri for $4,000, Alex

Playboy unveiled their annual poll about America's sexiest sportscaster. Sideline princess Erin Andrews is an obvious choice (anyone remember when she first started doing updates during Braves games for their regional coverage? She was awful on that, but has improved dramatically and seems like a nice person. You know, for a Gator), but I have a soft spot for Stacey Dales.

The stories behind the studio logos. (People thought Annette Benning was the torch chick? Really?)

The phenomenon of "TiVo Guilt." I suffer from that, along with "Google Reader Guilt." I get antsy if I don't clear out all the unread items in Reader. Thank Zeus for the CrackBerry.

Will any "final Cylon" live up to the anticipation? I hope for the best, but I'm sure the hype and time spent pondering it can't possibly live up to everyone's expectations. And I'm still on record as guessing Zack Adama.

What will your college smell like? (Right now, I think the eau du Dawg would have strong undercurrents of whiskey with notes of disappointment and bitterness. It might look good in the bottle on the shelf, but won't be quite the same once you open the package).

TWOP looks at 10 shows that were cancelled too soon. I was passionately in love with 6 of them (which certainly parallels a lot of my real life), and watched one regularly because it was a trainwreck of epic proportions. (Guess which one that was?)

Morena Baccarin wins Newsarama's "who should play Wonder Woman" poll. I think Morena is gorgeous, obviously, and has an exotic appeal, but I'm not sure if she's statuesque enough for an Amazonian princess.

Glad I don't live in Gwinnett County anymore. Stick this old newspaper up your tree-hugging ass.

Someone has captured all the scenes of "The Observer" in the background on Fringe. Pretty cool.

A look back at one of my favorite albums.

A fun look at "best replacement actors." (And even though Hannibal was a baroque mess, I thought Julianne Moore nailed Starling's West Fucking Virginia accent. And I think Gambon has more of Dumbeldore's playful, and malevolent, side).

10 songs that "resemble" other songs. (And Joe Satriani just sued Coldplay, too). There are tons more suggestions in the comments. One that made me giggle: "Almost every recorded artist on the planet rips off John Cage’s “four and a half minutes of silence” for their 2-second pieces between most tracks of their releases. Vinyl lead-in and lead-out grooves also appear to quote the Cage composition."

TV show episode naming conventions.

TIME's TV critic has seen the Dollhouse pilot. Anyone else concerned about Eliza playing multiple characters convincingly?

Like Doctor Who? Like crochet? Then this is for you, and it's awesome. (h/t Pop Candy).

FINALLY! One of my favorite albums, by a band that should have been much bigger, is coming to an iPod friendly format next week.

Nerve looks for 40 lost pop culture icons.

ESPN's Pat Forde references a restaurant in Athens called "The Last Resort." Was this after my time? Any of my local readers know about it?

In honor of your birthday, I've enjoyed several this week.

Ralph McQuarrie's original concepts for the "first" Battlestar Galactica. I remember seeing some of these in Starlog when I was a kid. Pretty damned cool.

Married Iowa fan who was fucking a stranger in a bathroom stall said the incident "ruined her life." Ya think? (On a related note, one of my dates to UGA games a couple of years ago would vanish for significant chunks of time during the games. In hindsight, a lot of things make sense now).

Classic style pin up pics of several Hollywood hotties.

Mr. Skin's Top 20 movie nude scenes of 2008 (with 10 bonus scenes from TV).

Interesting new sci-fi pilot at ABC, from the guys behind the underrated Threshold.

Watch and listen to Al Pacino go from a whisper to a shout.

Wow, it's HUGE

Access Hollywood recently paid a visit to the Dollhouse set, and the thing is massive. I had seen still pictures of the set before, but in the videos, you really get a sense of how impressive and expansive the "dollhouse" itself is. The correspondent also talks to Joss and Eliza about the basic premise, the reshot pilot, the internet rumors and the Friday night timeslot*. Must viewing for all fans eagerly anticipating the show.

Part I is here.

Part II is here.

Part III is here.


*As I've said before, I think the Friday night pairing with Sarah Connor could be a blessing in disguise, especially if the new regime at FOX takes the "long view" of the property. Expectations for an initial audience are certainly lower for Friday nights (especially when compared with airing after American Idol, 24 or House), and may give the show time to build a critical following and add in some DVR viewing numbers. Also, since the show is produced by 20th Century Fox (along with Mutant Enemy), they maybe more likely to give it additional room, knowing how devoted whedonites snap up Joss's series on DVD (count me among them, as a proud owner of every single one of them) and purchase ancillary products. Thematicially, it's also a nice fit with the increasingly well-done Sarah Connor (Monday's ep focusing on Cameron's nocturnal adventures was particularly interesting). FOX also built the X-Files on a Friday night before moving it to Sunday. Of course, all that said, Firefly did die horribly on a Friday night (but both Firefly and X-Files were in completely different eras). So we'll just have to see.

Dawgs vs. Bugs: The Weekend Travelogue and Gameday Experience, Vol. V

The extra special extended edition director’s cut of the weekend started off early Wednesday morning, where I got up at 4:00 AM in order to catch a 7:00 AM flight back to the motherland.  Needless to say, getting up at the ass-crack of dawn, only to find an airport and plane full of harried parents and mewling infants, really set the tone for what would transpire Between the Hedges later on.  

The flight and subsequent MARTA trip was relatively uneventful, thanks to A) Bloody Marys, and B) the constant distraction of the iPod.  It took me a long time to join the iPod generation, mainly because I’ve never been one of those music snobs who thrills to discover the little known emo band that seems like they’re speaking directly to me, only to discard them once more than 15 people know who the fuck they are.  Sure, I listen to music on the iPod, particularly when I’m reading, but the thing has been a (insert fictional deity here)send for listening to audiobooks and podcasts.  There are a few “business” podcasts I’ll listen to, but I’ve primarily enjoyed sports and entertainment podcasts.  I admire the hell out of folks who put out the weekly content devoted to their favorite TV show, often for little or no compensation.  Their passion is contagious, and it certainly helps drown out the sound of the chatterboxes on the plane and makes the trip go faster.  (Note to FAA, who may be looking for clues after the next great air disaster:  I willfully disobey the request to turn off all electronic devices during takeoff.  I keep the earbuds in, make a show of hitting some buttons and put the iPod down beside my leg.  I also look and pretend to listen attentively when the flight attendants walk by me.  But I’m really listening to someone rattle on about the latest episode of Battlestar Galactica or Lost.  So if this makes our big shiny winged cylinder of death fall out of the sky, so be it.  To my fellow passengers:  Ooops.  Sorry).

The pick up was fine, though it was a different Freebird chauffeur.  Miz F (along with the WeeFree) grabbed me from the station, and the only problems along the way resulted from the overzealous Georgia Highway Patrol (we didn’t get busted for anything, just moved slowly) and the fact that none of the 6 DVDs in the rear seat player featured the exact Mickey Mouse video that was being vigorously requested.  We stopped along the way at the Redneck Bloomingdales (WallyWorld!) and at 5 Guys for lunch.  I had never eaten at a 5 Guys before, but the burgers were good, and most importantly, the fresh-cut fries were spectacular and plentiful.  We also made a run to the usual stop for the IPTs (Inexplicably Priced Tallboys).  I noticed that the prices went up slightly – but most intriguingly, they went up correspondingly.  So a 12-pack of 12 oz Lites was $10.49 (up from $9.99), but the 12-pack of 16 oz tallboy Lites was also $10.49.  The bargain remains the same.  4 free beers is still 4 free beers.

The rest of the “holiday” was rather languorously uneventful.  Lasagna was made and eaten.  Some unbelievable “red velvet” cookies were made and eaten.  I wound up talking to someone dear, and as usual, it was intriguing, delightful and wound up going nowhere.  A turkey cooked all night (with a wake up call to pull it out of the Big Green Egg) and it was delish.  The football games on TV were a colossal SUCK, with barely watchable blowouts running rampant across the screen, and no amount of Crown, crushed ice and water could make them any better.  House reruns, and my 42nd viewing of The Lord of the Rings on TNT, alleviated some of the boredom, as did the new CrackBerry.  Google Reader on the handheld (especially coupled with wi-fi) is just about the greatest thing since the invention of the TiVo.  I also added a micro-SD card with 4 gigs of memory, and now have an option of which tiny device I want to use to listen to podcasts while smoking on the porch.  Two quick things about that:  4 gigs of memory on a tiny, tiny card?  When I graduated, my first computer (a Mac) didn’t even have built in memory for storage.  To save files, you had to use a floppy disc (remember those?) or an external hard drive.  I bought one, that was about the size of a VCR circa 1985, that had 20 megs of available storage.  That new 4 gig card in my phone holds 4096 megs, or roughly 204 of those ancient, humungous external drives.  It seems like my waistline is not the only thing to have expanded exponentially since graduation.  Second, if I had had this CrackBerry about 10 years ago, I might be married today.  One of the constant wedges in that relationship was my complete and palpable boredom during soul-sucking regular visits to DSW or an antique shop.  Had I had the ability to listen to audiobooks or podcasts, surf the web, blog, twitter or watch videos from my fucking phone, then I might still be up to my ears in mind-blowing sex.  Well, as a tradeoff, I guess I can just watch porn on my phone.

Gameday arrived, and it was wet, rainy and overcast.  Not particularly cold, just tangibly dreary.  We drew the short straw again for a televised game, and had a noon kickoff.  The Freebird woke up with a continuing, skull-crushing headache, and we didn’t even pack any IPTs or a cooler, if that tells you about the enthusiasm for the game.  (Before you get the wrong idea and think we were starting a 12 step program, due to the rain, we were meeting and “tailgating” at a bar).  The ride down to the motherland was odd, in that we didn’t spend an hour and a half dissecting the game, talking about how to defend the triple option or wondering why the fuck it’s so difficult to keep a kickoff in bounds.  Nope, we got caught up in a miasma of soap opera drama and social niceties that turned out to be much ado about nothing.  The Freebird and I also received an offer to play George and Weezy, and “move on up” to the SkyClub for the game.  We weren’t going to leave one of our troops alone in the rain, but once we knew he had some equally rain-soaked companionship, we took advantage of the kind offer and were only too happy to ride the elevator up to the De-Luxe Apartment In The Sky.  We scalped our 4 “regular” tickets to the game for $10.  $10 TOTAL.  (In hindsight, you get what you pay for).  We undercut the hustler trying to sell two blissfully dippy chicks a pair of tickets for $10.  Sign of the recession, bad weather forecast or foreknowledge of the outcome?  As the good Doctor would say: “Goff Prices……Goff Product!”

The best thing about the game itself was the spread of delicious chocolate chip cookies in the SkyClub.  That game, and in essence the whole season, was nothing short of an EPIC FAIL.  We were out-hustled, out-manned, out-schemed, out-coached, out-rushed, out-played and obviously, OUT-SCORED.  It breaks my fucking tiny, jaded and cynical heart that MoMass played the best game of his career and left his guts strewn across that field in his last time clad in red and black, and had to suffer the indignity of losing to the Trade School.

I guess this time of year is when we’re supposed to give “thanks.”  And I do have some things to give thanks for, such as the dear friends who pick me up, put me up (and put up with me).  Or the neverending wonders of the tiny CrackBerry.  But looking at this game, here is a list of things I do not give thanks for:

• A third quarter where we were outscored 26-0.
• A defense that, according to their own players, took things for granted at halftime and thought they had the game locked up.
• A DC that could seemingly skin puppies alive at the 50 yard line, bludgeon crippled orphans with a piece of rebar, play “Iowa Fan” with 14 year old girls, and give up 30+ points and a gazillion yards week in and week out, and remain steadfastly confident about his continued employment prospects.
• Confidence in the kicking game, such that going for it on 4th and 7 seems like an infinitely better option than a field goal attempt.
• Kickoffs that have all the precision of a scud missile launched from a giant rubber band, and can’t seem to stay in bounds even though there are 53.3 yards of width to play with.
• That if you did a search on “tackle football,” the first part of that phrase would filter out any reference to the 2008 Georgia Bulldogs.
  

Look, maybe we all got too jacked up and excited about our prospects for this year.  And there will be plenty of time to exhume the rotting corpse of this season and perform an autopsy.  (One pleasant housecleaning result is that I can now throw out all the preseason newspapers and magazines I've been keeping for posterity).  But there was no way to leave the stadium Saturday without feeling bitter and wondering about what might have been.  Keep in mind, there was no “Jasper Sanks” call or other shenanigans going on.  We didn’t show up (at least for two of the three phases of the game – can’t pin this one on the “O”) and got our asses handed to us.  Give the bees their props, tip your cap to them, and move on. 

Other than the offensive fireworks that were not quite enough to compensate for our 11 man (and one DC) sieve, here was the only other highlight of the game:

If you can't tell from the pix, that's Larry Munson being honored.  Thanks for all the memories, Larry.

As for the post game, the walk back to the car was dryer than we expected.  The chili was tasty.  The company and camaraderie was wonderful.  The texting was terrific.  And this quote still amuses me, even though I was at the bottom of a flask and can’t exactly remember the context:  “Can't fix me a liquor drink and tell me to take my shoes off!”

This puts a perfect capper on the weekend:  I got an upgrade for the flight back home.  Boarded early, and started quaffing a few bloody marys.  There was some delay in getting the rest of the flight boarded, so I built up a nice little buzz and enjoyed my spacious accommodations.  We finally take off, 45 minutes late, but the weather is so bad across the entire east coast that they decide to keep everyone seated, with no cabin service, for the whole trip.  No cocktails.  So, not only is this big cigar tube of doom flopping all across the skies for a good 90 minutes, causing me to get arthritic from vice-gripping the armrests, I also can’t have any whiskey that might mitigate the stomach churning terror I’m experiencing.

Oh, and also, for the first time in 20 years of traveling, Delta lost my bags.  Yep, give thanks, y’all.

I'll take potpourri for $3,900, Alex

Happy post-Turkey day to one and all. Hope everyone ate too much, drank too much and that your teams covered the spread. On to the random musings and linkage:

Are these the "Top 10 College Football Personalities?" You gotta love the first 3 at least. Hopefully, with all the coinage ESPN has now invested in the SEC, we'll see more of Ron Franklin, who, along with Uncle Vern, is kind of the narrator of Southern Football. (And kudos for mentioning the voice of college football Emeritus, Keith Jackson).

46 year old man "learns" to become a smoker. Welcome to da club.

Speaking of "smoking," now I know why Bella goes on and on for pages and pages about how beautiful Edward is.

Queen Amidala likes to do the dirty. A lot.

An unbelievably cool animated movie poster for Terminator: Salvation. A must see.

An Australian scientist finds out what happens when you don't buy into the global warming hysteria.

Time for Trekkies to come out of the closet? And now that there's energy in the movement, will morons in the Mormon church fund an initiative in California to ban Trekkies from getting married?

Chinese Democracy finally came out, to mixed to decent reviews. What other long rumored and gestating projects should finally see the light of day? Good news, some of these are close to fruition, and don't even need Dr. Pepper to mock them into existence. I'm particularly excited about 1, 8, 15, 17, 18, 26 and 28. But I won't hold my breath for all of them.

Go figure. Bottled water about the same as tap. I'll buy the bottles for convenience, but often at home, I'll just take an empty bottle, fill it up with tap, and stick it back in the fridge to chill. My taste buds and health haven't suffered. At least from that.

Pop culture perfection: The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade gets Rick-Rolled!

Hey, it's a new "blacksploitation" film. And it looks kinda awesome.

If you don't have it, you MUST go purchase it: The entire Buffy "Chosen" collection (that's the whole freakin' show, folks) on sale for $81.59.

Even if you are "the man," don't let "the man" keep you down. President O fights for his right to CrackBerry.

I've done this, and it's a beautiful thing: tell your TiVo what to record straight from your cell phone.

A great new blog that's been added to my google reader: Secular Right. Good conservative thinking, without all the judgmental, supernatural mumbo-jumbo.

Everyone saw "The Naked Man" on Monday's HIMYM, right? Here's a copy of Lily's "50 reasons to have sex."

And, a perfect way to end: a giant montage of different movies' "The End."

A bold new idea!

Bookswim is a service that allows you to select books you want to read, and then have them delivered to your house. You can keep them until you're finished reading them, and then return them for more books. It's like NetFlix for books!

Uh, isn't this called a fucking LIBRARY?

Look, I hate interacting with the masses just as much, if not more, than most. And I'm a firm believer in having just about anything delivered right to the front door. But on the surface, this just seems idiotic. I can logon to my local library, select the books I want online, and then walk in right to the front desk and have them all bundled up for me and ready to go. I'm in and out in less than 2 minutes. And they have a drive up drop off when I'm done. Oh, and it's FREE. Also, if I want auidobooks, can't I just never leave the house and have them delivered straight into iTunes? Or, for those that have a Kindle and want to "read," you can do the same thing. How is this ever going to fly? Part of the workability of the NetFlix business model is that DVDs are slight, easy to handle and not postage hogs. Books are bulky and expensive to mail.

This cracks me up.

I'll take potpourri for $3,800, Alex

With the (sniff) demise of Pushing Daisies, I09 wonders what genre shows you're watching. As of this morning's voting, the leaders were Heroes, Fringe and Sarah Connor.

Twilight hit the theatres this weekend, and there are vampire quizzes to be take. Here's one from Cinematical (I got 9), and here's one from USA Today (I got 7).

Did you know that "originally," Han Solo preferred his women with a hairy bush? I mean like a huge, 70s porn star kinda bush. If the setting is indeed "a long time ago," I think our favorite Corellian smuggler might have invented the "plushie" craze.

First BSG, then Burn Notice, and now Chuck. Tricia Helfer continues to pop up on my favorite shows.

Oh noes! My sugar daddy dumped me, so all that's left is fucking for money (oh wait, wasn't that what I was doing before?)

What's the area code in Columbus, GA?

This makes me resent my parents for not building me one of these.

Here's some footage from the remake of Cupid, this time starring Bobby Cannavale and Sarah Paulson. How are they going to compare to the Piv and Paula Marshall?

EDSBS amusingly looks at the flavors of disappointment, and here we are at a solid 5.

ScarJo's Allure photo shoot. Just because.

More about the Commander in Geek. It's appointment season now, so I'll also suggest Rupert Giles for Department of Hellmouth Defense.

More thinking on how to "free the GOP." Mike Huckabee is a fucking idiot. A dead nuts on column that's getting a lot of conservative praise and criticism in the blogosphere. A good blog and cartoon about the flat-earth crowd and their chilling effect on healthcare. Does Prop 8 violate the Constitution? I think so, personally. Money quote from the article:

The Framers of the American Constitution knew that throughout human history religious self-righteousness has caused intolerance, discrimination and injustice. They understood that religious self-righteousness is dangerous, divisive and destructive, and that it has led to untold ignorance and misery. It was for that reason that they embedded in our Constitution a fundamental commitment to the separation of church and state.

Damn, those old dudes were smart, no?

Okay, back to fun and frothy. Here's a great video interview with Big Ban Theory's Jim Parsons.

A TV critic stops worrying about Dollhouse's Friday night "death slot." Hopefully, lowered expectations and a pairing with the increasingly deep and engaging Sarah Connor will be a good thing.

New Lost promo! Fuck yeah! And Damon and Carlton speak.

Interview with Fringe's Walter, John Noble. If Fringe ever gets canceled (and let's hope it doesn't), I could see a spin-off sitcom with Walter and his son just driving around the country, getting involved in wacky situations. Maybe they could move in next door to Sheldon and Leonard, and hijinx ensue.

Are these the 40 best TV Theme Songs? Of those on the list, I particularly like:

The Rockford Files
WKRP in Cincinnati
Love Boat
Sopranos
Dukes of Hazzard
The X-Files
Brady Bunch
Greatest American Hero
Welcome Back Kotter
Barney Miller
Rawhide
Bonanza
Beverly Hillbillies
Addams Family
Star Trek TNG
Mission Impossible
Hawaii Five-O
Jeffersons
Peter Gunn
Sanford and Son

But how can you possibly leave off Green Acres? Or SWAT? Or Magnum PI? Or, of course, any of the Whedon shows (Angel, Buffy and Firefly)?

And why the hell can't you find a compilation of TV theme songs, performed by the original artists, on iTunes? I'd buy that in a second.

Here's their look at the 12 best current theme songs. (I like my list, linked below, better, though there is some overlap. Mine was focused more on the entirety of the opening credits, vs. just the pure theme song, though I do like King of the Hill and Chuck. And at the time I put my list together, I hadn't yet seen the masterpiece that is the True Blood opening, which not only sets the mood visually, but features a damned good stand-alone song that also ties thematically to the show. 100% pure awesome:



And here you can find some of my musings on TV Theme songs, including "The Canon" look at Best Modern Credit Sequences, complete with video.

My TiVo never cheated on me, for crissakes

A new study by the University of Maryland has shown that people who watch a lot of TV are more unhappy than people who do other activities, reports the NY Times.

Hmmm, I thought. I have 62 season passes on my TiVo. I have a shit-ton of TV shows on DVD. I once got in a knock down drag out with an ex because she thought all the televisions should all be "hidden" in armoires. And, of course, I'm a cynical, miserable bastard. Is there cause and effect?

In my two score and change years of existence, I can recall only two or three periods of extended "happiness." One of those was during the salad days of college, where I watched far less tube than at probably another point in my life. Conversely, another was a few years ago, when, for various circumstances, just about 95% of my time was spent watching TV with someone who shared my passions for programming (among other things). I was also, for me, blissfully happy as a child (though one consumed with neuroses and cynicism), and the family gathered around the ginormous faux-wood Zenith with personalized baskets of popcorn every evening. So can we draw any conclusions there? Probably not.

In the article, they don't specify all of the "8 to 10 activities that happy people engage in," other than "visiting others" and "going to church." So let's see how some potential non-television activities stack up against the almighty tube.

Visiting Others
Pros: Can talk to characters who talk back. Might serve you beer or chicken wings (though you can now order pizza from your TiVo). Could say something interesting, or something flattering ("hey man, great blog post last week!).

Cons: Mute button. Don't have to watch programs with kids if you don't want to. And aren't Gaius Baltar, Dexter Morgan and Greg House more interesting than the people you know in real life?

Going to Church
Pros: Ummm....hmmmmm. Not sure I can think of any, though the Southern Baptist girls at my high school did fuck like bunnies, and you usually had to punch the clock at church to get a chance to hit that. And if all the hokum turns out to be true, I seem to recall something about an eternal soul.

Cons: Even with a premium package that shows every channel known to DirecTV, NFL Sunday Ticket, MLB Extra Innings, ESPN GamePlan, and including top of the line televisions in every room in the house, it still won't cost you 10% of what make. Heroes has more believable plotlines. Television doesn't hate the gays or science.

Playing Golf
Pros: Just as many accessories to purchase. Competitive; there's a clear winner and loser, and I was usually the former. Pebble Beach, and the Inn at Spanish Bay, is much nicer than my (current) living room. People don't look at you as funny when you wear a Masters polo as they do when you wear a Sunnydale High t-shirt. Hard to gamble on Pushing Daisies.

Cons: I can get pissed off and shatter a 7 iron and it only costs me a couple of hundred bucks; if Carly gets voted off American Idol or Roslin turns out to be a Cylon, I can throw my shoe into the television screen and it's much more expensive. No DVRing tee times; I can watch when I want to. Inept programs in front of what I'm watching won't slow me down to the point of a nervous breakdown. Easy to delete a bad show, whereas leaving a round in the middle of a 10 over par on the front nine atrocity requires much more logistical effort.

Neutral: You can drink and smoke doing both. You can wear shorts doing both. Rain (if you have satellite) can affect both.

Having Sex
Pros: Duh. It's fucking, y'all. Mad Men won't lie and tell me that I'm just as fabulous and perfect as it is. 30 Rock never asked to be tied to the bedposts. Watching Burn Notice in the hot tub is still pretty much watching Burn Notice. There are millions of other people watching Doctor Who at the same time I am. Big Bang Theory, while it sounds like it would be similar, just really isn't.

Cons: A really satisfying season of Lost lasts 16 hours. You can have Joan Holloway one night, Liz Lemon the next, Juliet Burke the next and Sarah Connor another. DirecTV only costs a hundred bucks or so a month. There's no chance of Rescue Me giving birth.

Fine Dining
Pros: My TiVo is pretty fantastic, but it never brings me a filet mignon or a bottle of red. Much easier for other people to deep fry things, and the dish just doesn't work that way. Sometimes an episode of The Office doesn't quite fill me up.

Cons: TV is much cheaper per serving. No reservations required. No waiting, unless it's for the next season for BSG or Lost to finally fucking come back. Law & Order doesn't make me gain ten pounds. Very difficult to find a place that serves lobster where you can wear sweatpants. There's always a smoking section.

Having a Relationship
Pros: See "Having Sex" above. Someone might encourage you to watch a good television show you never watched, like SportsNight or Gilmore Girls. Hard to play Trivial Pursuit with fictional characters. Look like less of a loser at a dinner party or wedding with a date, versus sitting in corner watching Chuck on your iPod.

Cons: Jack Bauer and I never say "what do you want to do? I don't know, what do you want to do? It doesn't matter, what do you want to do?" (And if I did, he might toture me with a lamp). My TiVo doesn't solicit anyone else to program it. At least when Firefly was canceled and left me with a sucking chest wound, there was an explanation (and a DVD and a movie). No matter what time of time of day it is, or what kind of mood you're in, there's always something on TV. I've never had to go shoe shopping with Eureka, nor had The Closer ask me to buy tampons.

So, after careful analysis, where does that leave us? I think, all things considered, it's either close to a draw, or more likely, coming down in favor of television. It's cheaper, offers greater diversity of stimuli, screws up fewer other people's lives, provides more dependability and is always just a button or two away. Plus, I can be miserable in just about any fashion, so television offers the path of least resistance, no? And you never have to turn the TV off, do you?

Noooooo!!! Yessssssss!!!

ABC's Grim Reaper made the rounds on Thursday, swinging his scythe down on Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money and Eli Stone.

Despite the subject matter and the occasional political preachiness, I enjoyed Stone, but the true gut-punch here is the loss of Daisies, which was the most inventive, charming, literate and laugh out loud funny show I've seen in ages. I wasn't on board from the very beginning (fuck you Comcast), but quickly got sucked into the wonderful world of the pie-maker, and watching this delightful and different show was a highlight for the week. Once the DVDs come out, Pushing Daisies will occupy a place of honor on my shelf next to another of Bryan Fuller's brilliant (and canceled too soon) creations, Wonderfalls.

The rumors around the TV watercoolor are that Fuller, if the fate of Daisies was sealed, would move back to Heroes. Lord knows that show could use his deft touch. In fact, if I was NBC, I would give Tim Kring the bum's rush out the fucking door and install Fuller as show-runner ASAP. Did anyone else read about Kring's latest idiotic statements? At a writing conference recently, he asserted that serialized shows are more difficult for people to follow in this era of DVRs. Huh? That's the most counter-intuitive and stupid thing I've ever heard. DVRs make it soooo much EASIER for people to follow Lost and BSG and Dexter and Mad Men and serialized shows now. If you can't make this week's ep in real time to follow the ongoing plotlines...HELLO!.... you can catch up because you have the episodes saved to watch at your leisure. In fact, lots of folks I know save up weeks and weeks of 24 to watch them all unfold back to back. Sheesh. And this guy is running a "flagship" show, albeit into the ground? Put Fuller in charge, like now.

RIP, Daisies. If only HBO or Showtime had the pie-maker's magic touch to bring you back. (If that was the case, and Pushing Daisies remained "alive" for more than 60 seconds, perhaps The Hills and Hannity and Colmes could die in your place to balance the cosmic equation).

But speaking of brilliant, funny shows euthanized before their time, it appears there's life for the Arrested Development movie. Yeeeeahhhh!

A pleasant surprise. But he probably could have "predicted" that.

One of the unexpected pleasures of the fall season has been The Mentalist on CBS. When I was mapping out my fall TV schedule and examining which new shows I would sample, it made the first cut of scrutiny, but I was really thinking "who needs a dramatic, procedural version of Psych?"

So I let it languish on the TiVo for a while (much like I did Simon Baker's last show, the quickly canceled Smith), but it's turned out to be one of the few big hits of the new shows (though if you look at the "demo," Fringe, another show I really like, can also be considered an unqualified success). Being a bit hit won't necessarily sway me, since I loathe 99% of reality TV and gave up on Grey's Anatomy long ago, but it did encourage me to give The Mentalist a try, since it was apparently going to be around for a while.

And guess what? It's a charming, funny, entertaining hour. Not always "funny Ha-Ha," like its obvious antecedent Psych, but more slyly amusing. The premise of the central characters is the same, in that both shows revolve around a "fake psychic" who really just has unusually good powers of observation, intuition and persuasion. (In Psych, Shawn keeps up the illusion of being a psychic; on The Mentalist, Patrick Jane is a former charlatan who gave up the gig when his wife and child were killed by a serial killer). The mysteries are standard issue procedural stuff, but with a unique spin and aided by Simon Baker's winning performance. This week's show, where Jane encountered a purported real psychic, icily played by Jack Bauer's dead wife, was a particularly good one.

The thing that I admire the most about the show is that it steadfastly avoids the usual trope where the rest of the squad, and often the team leader, disbelieves and argues about Jane's contributions to the cases. Here, the officer in charge, played by Robin Tunney (on whom I've had a crush since Empire Records and The Craft) is respectful and only occasionally skeptical. I would have groaned and rolled my eyes at the expected tension and friction, which we all would have seen coming from a mile away, but to its credit, the show has carefully subverted those expectations to make her, and the rest of the team, actively utilize their oddball compatriot's gifts. The rest of the supporting cast does a fine job, and I really look forward to watching the show each week. Check it out if you have a chance. B+

Boldy go...

The long-awaited full trailer for J.J. Abrams new Star Trek film has hit the intertubes.  And while I'm not entirely sold on the opening snippet, the rest of the trailer is spectacular.  Everything you want, presented in a fresh, yet loving and respectful, manner. (and yes, we see that Kirk gets some alien strange)

To see the whole trailer in QuickTime, in whatever format floats your monitor boat, check it out here.

Daily geek stops I09 and TrekMovie have both done a deconstruction on the trailer, which if you're a Trekkie (I have no problems with the "ie," BTW, which some who prefer the "er" suffix seem to) you should check out.

I09's take is here.

TrekMovie's, with additional "canon" commentary, can be found here.

William Shatner's reaction (not), can be found here.  :-)

And as an added bonus, Monday's Big Bang Theory featured a more complicated extension of the "Rock Paper Scissors" game, including additional options "Lizard" and "Spock."  How to play:

Rules for Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock

1. Scissors cuts Paper
2. Paper covers Rock
3. Rock crushes Lizard
4. Lizard poisons Spock
5. Spock smashes Scissors
6. Scissors decapitates Lizard
7. Lizard eats Paper
8. Paper disproves Spock
9. Spock vaporizes Rock
10. Rock crushes Scissors

More fingers to remain attached this holiday season

For a long time, consumers have hated Satan's packaging, the vile and evil clamshell. Now, finally, someone is doing something about it.

It started with Amazon, and now Microsoft, Sony and Best Buy are all hopping on the bandwagon to prevent their customers from inadvertently cutting off their own digits, severing an artery or winding up on top of a book depository with a high-powered rifle.

This is the biggest advancement in retail packaging since companies stopped using those on-product stickers/UPC labels that required liberal use of razor blades, steel wool and Goo Gone.

Huzzah!