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Going, Going, Going

This past weekend was a whirlwind of activity. Saturday morning, I gathered my brother, a friend of his and my friend and co-worker, MiMo, to assist in getting a 50" widescreen TV from my friend WEW. A few weeks ago, he purchased a new 60" plasma HDTV and I asked what he was going to do with his other TV. I (jokingly) said I'd take it for free and he said, "If you can get it out of my house, you can have it."

You don't really need to twist my arm with that kind of answer. I took measurements and made sure it would fit and then we figured out the right date and resources to do it and so, at 11:30 we ventured into Mt. Pleasant . It amazingly took 90 minutes total to get the TV out of the row house and into mine. After that, I heard from my ex-girlfriend (and mother to one of my godsons) that she was in town and would like to see me. I was strapped for time, as I still had errands to run and my friend Patrick was coming into town to catch some theatre with me, so the only thing I could do with the ExG was pick them up at a metro stop and then take them to their car at another metro stop. Since it's been years since I'd seen them, it was good to do (and, man, 11 year olds grow like weeds). Thankfully, Patrick's train was delayed, so I was able to finish my errands before picking him up. The poor thing was starving, so we had a bite to eat before going to Arena Stage and seeing "Frankie and Johnnie In The Claire De Lune."

One of Terrence McNally's first popular plays, I've always found it moving - even the Broadway revival with Stanley Tucci & Edie Falco, while both being almost too attractive for the roles, touched me immensely- yet Arena's production was slightly uneven. Vinnie D'ambrosio has all the makings of an excellent Johnnie while Kate Buddeke's Frankie leaves a lot to be desired. I think that, with a few more performances, she'll be up to the task of a fully-formed character.

Sunday, we saw the final performance of "Vigils," a new play at Wooly Mammoth Theatre by 28-year-old Noah Haidle. A fun concept of a grieving widow, while hanging onto her dead husband's soul, trying to move on had a slow start but became engaging after the first half hour. The twist here is that it's the soul that didn't want to linger on earth and the living partner who wants to hang on, which is the opposite of all those other romantic ghost stories. I think with a little judicious trimming of the quickly monotonous memories; it'll be a captivating piece of theatre.

What else did we do? Check back soon...

George Takei Has His Say...

On the whole Tim Hardaway making homophobic comments thing. Too choice for words.



Thanks to Joe.My.God.

Torchwood

I haven't watched the new Doctor Who, but based on this clip from new spin-off Torchwood, I need to start...

This is touching, sexy, beautiful, romantic, sad brokeback action. Excellent.

First Of Year

So, here I am, the first night of 2007. Totally relaxed from a bath in my Jacuzzi tub and watching an episode of “Wonderfalls” (one of my favorite, yet canceled early series on DVD). My dear friend Flounder is dozing on the couch and her husband is watching “Babylon 5” on his laptop.

Here in the OBX we do things a little differently- more mellow and stuff. The other 16 folks are either asleep or downstairs in the home theatre or in the hot tub outside. So far, it’s been a fairly lazy week. Each night, someone makes dinner and we either imbibe some alcoholic drinks and just carry on or we watch some tv before hitting the sack. It’s funny how habits change as we get older. 9 Years ago, we all would’ve been all sorts of drunk and staying up late, now it’s a struggle to stay awake after 1 AM. I’m not complaining, mind you, I’m in a reflective state at the moment. Is this holiday one of the moments where reflection is part of the deal or just where I am psychologically?

No clue, just color me content.

Scrubs does "A Charlie Brown Christmas"

This was made by a staff member during Scrubs' third season in 2003. It's very fun and in the spirit of both Charlie Brown and Scrubs, so if you like either, check it out.

Reason #1 I wish I still watched Read World/Road Rules Challenge

Sitting In An Airport In Arlington, VA...

So, here I am waiting to board my plane bound to Atlanta to visit one of my dearest and oldest friends (and by oldest I mean longest not oldest-as-in-age-old), Kiwihunter. Since the plane’s been delayed by half an hour, I figured I’d throw up a little post…

My Thoughts On The Television Season so far.

New Shows I Love:

Ugly Betty-- Although struggling with the fact that this is running against Survivor (of which I am still addicted) and the block of NBC’s Earl/Office hour, I’ve been able to watch UB online, through abc.go.com (I again thank the gods for a high-speed connection). Based on a Mexican ‘telenovela’ and exec-produced by Salma Hayek, Ugly Betty is a joy to watch for the performances alone. America Ferrara, as Betty, is stunning in her enthusiasm and gusto and you want her to overcome all obstacles in her new position at Mode magazine. Vanessa Williams plays the devilish Wilhelmina with sinister glee. She’s “Prada’s” Amanda Priestly and Cruella Deville rolled into one. She’s also still dang hot to look at. Being set at a fashion magazine, Ugly Betty is going to share many comparisons and parallels with “The Devil Wears Prada,” but Betty is, dare I say, stronger in evoking the entire office atmosphere than the Meryl Streep film and it also doesn’t forget its Mexican roots with some of its outlandish plot elements.

Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip-- I never got into either of Aaron Sorkin’s previous TV shows, but started watching this one to see what all the fuss is about. Granted I liked the plays (play?) he’s written, and his dialogue is similar to Mamet, wherein people don’t really talk the way he writes them but the dialogue is sharp and the acting is v. riveting with a star turn by Steven Weber. Matthew Perry has also proven he’s not a one-note actor, broadening his comedic talents into less ‘sitcom-y’ mannerisms, but the one person who I’m constantly looking at is Sarah Paulson as Harriet (Matt Perry’s sort of love-interest)- she is a Christian comedian in a risky political comedy sketch show (SNL in its prime?) and each scene that she’s gets taken up a notch.

Returning Shows I Love:

Veronica Mars-- entering its third season, Veronica starts college and revisits an unsolved mystery from the previous year. The tone of the first episode this year was very off- was it too much exposition trying to reel new viewers in? - but with its second episode last week, we were back to the old Veronica with the quick one-liners and snarky observations as she worked under-cover in a sorority for a newspaper article on said rapist and was conflicted by her prejudices of Greek life and the actuality that some of these girls were pretty cool. The side-story concerning her father, Keith, is getting curiouser and curiouser. I’m glad that this season is going to resolve more story arcs, so at least we’ll know whodunit by Christmas.
Nip/Tuck-- A strong couple of episodes right at the start got bogged down by its third week, with its just-plain-ludicrous stories of Melissa Gilbert’s patient having relations with a dog and an entire organ-harvesting plot. Strange to say, Rosie O’Donnell saved the next week’s episode by playing a white trash lottery winner who wants to look like she’s got a million bucks. I like the whole “is he or isn’t he’ gay vibe from Christian and Sean’s walking a mighty thin line still deceiving Julia. The other interesting aspect is where the entire Mat storyline is going with his toying with scientology. Still gonna watch it, but it better not go all “Urban Legend” on me again.
Lost-- still rocks!
My Name Is Earl-- One of the funniest shows from last year, this year hasn’t focused too much on Earl’s list, mainly because of one item concerning Joy, who’s now facing jail-time for kidnapping someone (long story). But it’s still well written and acted and the guest spots are always fun (Last week’s Amy Sedaris was a stitch as a cat-lover who’s taken by Earl’s brother Randy).
The Office-- Last year’s smartest show is still going strong with the big shifts in the staff (Jim was rejected and took the promotion in Stamford, Pam called the wedding off, Ryan is now full-time) having ripples. Last week’s episode veered a little too close to absurdity but was reigned in enough to still make it good comedy.
Survivor-- This season’s ethnic-division was lacking any real controversy and only lasted two full episodes. The challenges this year are v. good, combining physical and mental at the same time and the backstabbing has been aplenty. So far, I’m not sick of it (yet).

Show that is on the brink of getting tired

Prison Break--Sure, they broke out and are now on the run. Aside from the FBI agent getting all “Javert” on their asses, there is nothing much to this show anymore. I found that watching 2-3 eps back-to-back keeps it interesting but it’s definitely on my “almost cancel off the TiVo” list.

I Want To See Pictures, Dammit!

In this TV.com story, some of the v. handsome men of the Lost cast have admitted to going skinny-dipping on the beaches in Hawaii but the networks, want them to stop.


Stupid network heads...

I've Never Been To Me

Based on this article, one of my favorite movies- "The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert"- is going to be a musical Down Under. Now, I'm not necessarily excited about it, but this vehicle doesn't sound as far-fetched as some other movies-turned-stage-musicals, like "The Color Purple" or "Lestat." At least the costumes should prove entertaining...

Also, here's an an interview with Chinchilla namesake, Fry's voice-over artist about the future of "Futurama" and stuff.

Has Anyone Seen This?

While getting dressed for work this morning, I caught this Softscrub Bleach commerical and, first of all, enjoyed the fact that it had a little Chinchilla in it, but it was also pretty freaking funny. Enjoy.

Spoiler!! -- LOST Numbers Revealed...

This is what the reward was for going through the online "LOST" game. I totally didn't do it, but it's good to know what those numbers mean at least...

TV Funhouse 2

Another educational short:

You've Got To Be Carefully Taught

So, a couple weekends ago, I went to a comic convention with my friend coquettecutie and I found a slew of old Olivia Newton-John television specials and old television shows I hadn't seen or heard of since I was a little tyke. I also grabbed a DVD of old politically incorrect cartoons from the 30s & 40s that included the oft-talked about "Coal Black and De Sebben Dwarves" amongst other toons made during WW2, so the stereotype factor was v. v. high.

I have to say while watching these, I found some of them are quite good. Tight storytelling, great music, wonderful animation- the classic Looney Tunes structure. Yes, taken outside of their historical/educational context they can be viewed as incendiary, but I'm pretty glad I found this.

Plus, I've always heard that Coal Black was the *best* cartoon short ever made so I wanted to see it. IMO, it's not *the* best, but it's up there.