My Christmas Stash

My Christmas Stash
Originally uploaded by M Kawamoto.

Well, this is what I got for Christmas. I got a new set of sheets, a set of jumper cables, a tea set, a trunk organizer for my car, some shampoo, a mini first aid kit (that'll stay in the car), a long sleeve shirt, some socks, a pair of pajama bottoms, and some various other knick-knacks.

Not quite as later as I thought

Hat and Scarf in progress
Originally uploaded by M Kawamoto.

Well, I decided to snap a photo or two of the knitting project I'm working on, so here it is. Spiral pattern scarf and hat. Alpaca... so soft. Must finish before Christmas!

It's Christmas Eve...

That should mean something, right? Anyway, I haven't decided to go to bed yet, but technically it is Christmas Eve, but really it's still Christmas Eve Eve to me. I'm not sure if I'm going to do any last minute shopping tomorrow, although I did want to get one more thing for my dad, and I need to go to that store to get some other things... we'll see. I may just get it for him after the weekend craziness. Also, made progress on other projects. Picture soon.

Beauty killed the beast.

Watched King Kong last night with Dan, Austin, and John. I had picked up Dan from the airport and we had Taco Bell after. After King Kong we went to the Berkley Front, after dropping off John and some other errands, and had some beers and met Coronado there. Leaving the bar, we wanted to go to Jimmy John's but once again I was thwarted in my attempt to get JJs, as the downtown Royal Oak one had closed early. So we went to National Coney. When I got home, my stomach was acting up, I don't know if it was the Taco Bell, the beer or the Coney, but I spent quite a lot of the night on the toilet. Sorry about that, but that's the reason I was up until nearly 6 in the morning. That and the couple cups of coffee at the Coney.

Wrapped present today. My Dad also stopped by to drop off a few tools for the basement project. Austin also stopped by with his gift exchange present.

The movie. Yes, we're back to the movie. I liked it. Even though it was 3 hours, when it worked, it was awesome. There were only a few things that weren't spectacular, but I still really enjoyed it. Go see it. I recommend it highly.

Progress update

Here's a few pictures of my basement in the midst of my renovations. Actually it's more a finishing of what was started by the previous owner.

Before


After


Before


After


Before


After


Before


After

My Spidey-sense is tingling...

Your results:
You are Spider-Man

Spider-Man 70% Catwoman 60% Iron Man 60% Superman 55% Robin 52% Green Lantern 50% The Flash 45% Supergirl 35% Hulk 30% Wonder Woman 20% Batman 20%

You are intelligent, witty, a bit geeky and have great power and responsibility.

Click here to take the "Which Superhero are you?" quiz...

Ah! Kelly Clarkson!

Just watched The 40 Year Old Virgin with Austin. I bought it today at the crack that is Best Buy. Also did a little other Christmas shopping. That movie is so fucking funny. I have to swear to demonstrate the passion with which I feel about the movie and it's funnyness. Is funnyness a word? If it isn't, well, I don't care.

Last night I went out with my co-workers for the "Unofficial" office party. Our company is too stingy to put one on, so we just all met at the bar, and also quite a few former employees came out as well. It was a good time, but after the bar, I had a craving for Jimmy Johns, and nothing else would satiate it. There is one in downtown Rochester, just down the street from the bar we were at, but it had closed already. That unfortunately left me with the prospect of finding another that was open. Because nothing else would do. I went to the one on 15 Mile and Coolidge and that one was also closed. I eventually ended up going all the way to the one on Main Street in Royal Oak and got a #9. Yum. My favorite. After I got home I went to bed, but after a bit, the Coke I drank kicked in, and I stayed up watching TV for a couple hours.

Back to the Christmas shopping. I still need to find something for my dad. He's hard to buy for, as he doesn't really need anything. Well, he probably does, but it's hard to figure out. Harumph. Best Buy Gift Cards for all. Bah.

Just thought I'd share

I was reading a story about King Kong and it's box office opening, and there was one line in the story that killed me.

The typically understated Gene Shalit of NBC's Today called it, um, "fabularious."

Anyway, that's it. Here's the story

Three words about Alias

Irina Fucking Derevko!

Holy Shit! Oh. Snap!

I guess they're pulling no punches now that they know the show's ending. Actually a pretty cool episode. And Jack was badass.

More proof that Passion Of The Christ is bad

Mel Gibson vs. Saddam

Focus, Daniel-san!

It's my last day of work for the year, and it's awfully hard to stay concentrated on work. I'm taking my vacation. I was going to take more vacation during the year, but I got busy at work and couldn't go anywhere. And it's one of those "use it or lose it" propositions and thus, my extended winter break. The general plan is to sleep in alot, and do some work to the basement to make it less crappy. I'll post some pictures of the work in progress sometime later.

I want a piece of pie. Ma!

Mike as a South Park Character
Originally uploaded by M Kawamoto.

Ok, this is a cool website, where you can make yourself as a character from South Park.

Make your own South Park Character

Merriment and Mestophiles

I don't really know what the title of this post means, I just needed some alliteration for it.

So, last night, we went out for Austin's birthday. We had a um, drunken time. Austin and I got there at 9ish, and drove because it was too cold to walk. We then had a lot of beers. Austin also had a few shots, which contributed to later events. A bunch of Austin's work friends came, and his sisters showed up. There was a lot of "Bringing It On" and nerd talk and other fun things and whatnot. We ended up closing out the bar. Eventually I drove his car back to my place where we sobered up a bit. Austin then decided to leave, but had to puke on the neighbors lawn first. He was then ok. He's still recovering as we speak. Well, not really speak, but as I'm writing this, but you're not necessarily reading it at that same time, but suffice to say, he's hungover, well and good.

Tonight, I'm heading over to Austin's friend Gerry's where we're going to play Unreal Tournament on the LAN. Wow, that's like, so super nerdy. It should be fun though.

-The Dork

For Jackie Whenever I May Find Her

Random rant about selling out

Ok, this totally threw me off. I was watching TV and a commercial for King Kong came on. And the music? Coldplay. WTF? That does not compute. Error. Danger Will Robinson! It's totally incongrous.

Coldplay has totally sold out, although that happened after the first album. Blech. Darnit if they don't write catchy tunes though.

I guess it's close enough now.

Since it's December, I suppose I can tolerate some Christmas music. I always like to check the iTunes Music Store every week to see what the free download of the week is.
Well, this week it's Diana Krall with a version of Jingle Bells. It's nice, swing/big band peppy music. Cool. Just thought I'd pass it along.

iTunes Link

All I want for Christmas

I'm feeling a bit greedy, so here goes.

• Buffy DVD seasons 5 and 6
  
• Zip-front hoodie, XXL
  
• Veronica Mars DVD Season 1
  
• Trunk organizer (so stuff doesn't go sliding around everywhere)
  
• Burnout Legends for PSP
  
• Mario Party 7 for GameCube
  
• Black Diamond case for PSP
  
• Chappelle's Show Seasons 1 & 2
  
• Family Guy all seasons
  

Creepy and funny

I was reading the recap of Grey's Anatomy over at TWOP today and there was a mention of a song played in the episode with a link to the video. I have include that link here. It is awesome. Well, creepy, but awesome. I may just have to buy Silence of the Lambs...

Lotion in the basket video.

Coma-toes

Just got back from Dim Sum with Austin and a couple of his work friends. Very tasty. One interesting part of the conversation was the fact that Ben (being one of the co-workers) was offended by some of the merchandise they had. Ben is Jewish, and they were/are selling Chanukah bears. The problem with the bears is that they have stitched on one of its feet a Star of David, in yellow, like the patches, during the Holocaust. Even I can see the problem with that.

So, that was just some of the converstation. I am now full and sleepy. I will have more to say at some later time.

Fly in my eye

Well, I got to see Aeon Flux last night for free, courtesy of Austin. Here's my mini-review.

Aeon Flux
Directed by: Karyn Kusama (Girlfight)

Aeon Flux is a member of a resistance movement, fighting against the government put in place when a disease killed 99% of the population. This government has been doing bad things, and Aeon is spurred to more desperate action when her sister is killed on suspicion of being a traitor. She is given a mission: Kill the chairman. This is where the story really begins get confusing but by the second half of the movie it begins to come together. It was a surprisingly short movie, only clocking in at 90 minutes, but packing a lot of action into that time.
One of best things about the movie is the visuals. The set design and cinematography are awesome looking. One of the best scenes visually is set in a park full of cherry trees in blossom.
Charlize Theron was, of course, hot. But she pulled off the action star role surprisingly well. Frances McDormand was just kind of there... she had some whacked out hair, which kind of distracted me for a minute. Jonny Lee Miller was also good, although I didn't quite remember who he was at first.
I really enjoyed the movie. The story moved briskly, there wasn't anything that seemed tacked on with no purpose, and it looked awesome. If you're looking for some (mostly) brainless action, then this is recommended.

B+

Kendall, meet Trina. Trina, meet Kendall.

Wow, awesome episode of Veronica Mars last night. Nice reunion of Charisma Carpenter and Alyson Hannigan. And the ending was a huge surprise. And the alternate ending that they had on the web was actually a bigger shock. Some things began to make more sense, that's for sure. Awesome.

Wow, I just don't know how to describe that...

Weirdest corporate promotional video ever

Courtest of The Register

Dramedy or apocalypsia?

Well, went to my 10 year high school reunion tonight... it's late so maybe I should say last night, or maybe not. Anyway, it was pretty interesting, some people are doing cool things, others making a living, and others made babies. In one of the signs of the apocalypse, a friend from high school, Bennett, has had a child, with his wife of course, but frankly he was one of the people I did not see having a kid. Crazy. Also, talked to a bunch of other folks, had several drunks make half-hearted attempts to say hi, and found out Melissa is having another baby. I suppose it could have been worse, although some amount of cliche-yness still remained, but generally people were nice.

After the reunion, Dan and I went to Austin's sister's friend's housewarming in Allen Park. There was some *awkward* there as the girl's whose house it was, apparently was having sex with one or more guys, and her ex was at the party. Ye-ouch! It was interesting to say the least. Then I was tired and dropped Dan at his car and came home.

In the third leg of this story or whatnot, Friday night we went to see Harry Potter in IMAX. That was neat, but IMAX is not really necessary, and it's more expensive. Back to the movie though, I thought it was good, although if someone had no idea who Harry Potter is, they would be very lost. Hermione is hot. That's just to get hits. Cool.

I should go to bed now. It's late.

Farewell, Sensei

Sad news to report,

Pat Morita has died.

Story

How to debate on the internet...

The succinct version. See link.

The Dilbert Blog

Worst Patient Ever!

I am sick. This sucks. I'm not sure what I have, but it definately involves a fever and a not-happy tummy. I've been sleeping most of the day, and will probably go back to bed soon. Blech.

Milhouse of cards

I actually received my PSP Wednesday, after I went to the DHL office to pick it up. Unfortunately the good times were not to last. I'm not sure how it happened, but somehow I managed to "brick" my PSP even though I was not try to do anything wrong, i.e. downgrade the firmware to run homebrew or burned games. It kind of sucks. So, I have to send it back to Sorny to have it replaced. But they're gonna send a new one, so it's cool.

Just heard the White Stripes version of "Walking with a Ghost". Weird.

I have to pick up my Birks from the shoe repair tomorrow, as I haven't been able to get there before they close during the week. I also need a haircut. Maybe I'll try the barber just down the street. I've determined that I am going to be doing a lot of errands near Christmas, because I have use or lose my vacation time by then. I need to make a dentist appointment, an eye appointment, and I might do some work on my basement then. That's when the "Hot Chicks Room" goes in. But it actually doesn't because there in *no* "Hot Chicks Room". *Wink*

I'm made of candy and butterflies and kittens...

You Are Not Scary

Everyone loves you. Isn't that sweet?

How Scary Are You?

Why must I be at work when these things happen...

I am finally about to receive the fruit of my labors as I finally got all the referrals and approval for my "Free PSP". Unfortunately, I got the shipping notice from DHL on the day they tried to deliver it (today). I was/am at work and therefore unable to sign for the package. Ergh. I guess I'll have it tomorrow. Woohoo! "Free" stuff!

BTW, thanks for the kind words on Beckie's 'blog. I appreciate it, and you shouldn't have. No, really, it's too much. I mean it. Really guys. No, knock it off. Seriously guys, keep it down. Shut it already! Whoa. Sorry, got a little carried away in my fantasy "Mike Love-fest".

My kung-fu is better than yours!

That's it. Just this picture.

Arr! Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum... makes me dumb.

Stolen from various...

You scored as Captain Jack Sparrow. Roguish,quick-witted, and incredibly lucky, Jack Sparrow is a pirate who sometimes ends up being a hero, against his better judgement. Captain Jack looks out for #1, but he can be counted on (usually) to do the right thing. He has an incredibly persuasive tongue, a mind that borders on genius or insanity, and an incredible talent for getting into trouble and getting out of it. Maybe its brains, maybe its genius, or maybe its just plain luck. Or maybe a mixture of all three. Captain Jack Sparrow 75% Indiana Jones 71% The Terminator 67% Neo, the "One" 63% The Amazing Spider-Man 58% William Wallace 58% Batman, the Dark Knight 58% James Bond, Agent 007 54% Maximus 50% Lara Croft 42% El Zorro 38% Which Action Hero Would You Be? v. 2.0 created with QuizFarm.com

Did I forget to mention...

I don't think I ever posted anything about this weekend's dorkness. Well, anyway, Austin and I drove up to East Lansing to visit our friend John Machiorlatti. I think it only took just over an hour to get there. My car is teh fa5t3r. (Sorry to lapse into "leet" speak there. It's de rigueur when talking about your car on some of the forums I'm on.) So, back to the point. We were meeting up to play Magic: The Gathering, and also to see the house that John's parents had bought for his brother and him to live in and fix up while in Law School for the next 3 years. Both John and his brother (Dan?) are first years at Cooley.

We played Magic for a couple hours and then decided to get some dinner. We went looking for Mongolian BBQ, we eventually found it, not realizing it was in Okemos. There was a pretty long wait, so we wandered next door to Best Buy for a couple minutes. Eventually we got to eat, and it was good.

We then played a couple games after dinner and John also prodded Austin and I to buy firearms. John has a lot of guns, and I've been to the range with him a couple times, but I don't know if I want to actually own a gun. Then I might have to get a gun rack, and a pickup truck, and a hound dog, and chewing tobacco... and it goes on and on. Eventually we managed to say goodbye and head home. Austin has to work early Sundays so, we got back home around 11 and he went home.

I watched Hitch over the weekend. I signed up for the Blockbuster Online for one of the "Free iPods" or whatever (I can't remember which site it was for) and so I've been catching up on some movies. I also had Crash and Ocean's 12. I should be getting Lemony Snickett today.

-The Dork

In life, as in poker...

Sometimes as the game progresses, you have to lower your starting hand requirements.

I played poker with Austin and some of his friends last night. I've played with these guys before, and did pretty poorly the last couple times. This time though, I watched some Celebrity Poker Showdown just before I played, and some of the luck must have rubbed off. I ended up winning $5 for coming in second. I was pleased with my play. I actually ended up taking out 2 guys on one hand. That was sweet.

-The Geek

I see a little silhouette of a man...

Scaramouge! Scaramouge! Will you do the Fandango!

Please, for the love of all that is holy, you must watch this flash video. It is what happens when you mix LOST and "Weird" Al's version of Bohemian Rhapsody. Watch. Watch like the wind!

Lost Rhapsody

I almost peed my pants I was laughing so hard.

Another picture or two for you...

These pictures are from the party I went to on Saturday. In one, there's me and a cowboy getting ready to drink from the luge. In the second, there's Wacko Jacko pouring the "Jesus Juice" down the luge for Pippi Longstocking and a cowboy.

So, in a recap of my weekend activities, Friday night I went to Catalog Only's Hall-o-ween Bash. It was a lot of fun. "Penetration" played an awesome set. They covered "Don't Fear the Reaper." I gotta have more cowbell! One of the other bands I really liked was Sons of a Gun. I met the guy that does the paintings for CO's albums too. I'll put some of the pictures from that up on Flickr when I get a chance.

Saturday during the day I did some housework and raked the leaves in my front yard. For dinner I went with John Perri to the City Cellar in Birmingham. John was doing another of his secret-shops. Fisher was originally supposed to go, but got hung up doing stuff with his brother. The food was really good although I probably wouldn't go there normally as it was rather pricey. Mmmmm... bacon-crusted grouper.

Saturday night I went to a party at a house in Warren. It's the friend of a friend of Karla's (my neighbor across the street). There was a keg, the ice luge, 1000 jello shots (of which I had over a dozen) and some good munchies. Kim (whose house it was) also had a fire pit in the backyard. I ended up leaving there about 1:30, as I was pretty tired.

Sunday I watched TV all day and went to my parents for dinner. I watched 4 episodes of I Love the 80s 3D. It was excellent. It's a little scary how much of the stuff I remember from back then.

I'm a little disappointed that the new Treehouse of Horror isn't until next week. At least I'm getting a little caught up on everything I have recorded. I think one of my hard drives is starting to go though... I get some serious stutter on playing back some files, and the drive access light goes nuts. Weird.

-The Geek

I promise. More content next time.

Here's a picture of me with "Jordan" at Catalog Only's Hall-o-ween Bash. Awesome.


*Please note that this is not actually Jordan. It's a guy dressed as Jordan. He won the costume contest.

Fall TV Returning Series Reviews

Let’s consider this their 1st semester grades. It's a good thing I'm grading on a curve...

ABC

Desperate Housewives
(Sunday at 9:00)
Season Grade: A-
Not as strong as the first season, mostly due to the mystery not involving all four of the ‘Wives but still with a lot of good performances and writing. There must be an even bigger mystery than just the dead girl in Chicago and the guy locked in the basement of Mrs. Applewhite’s, because it’s not that much of mystery any more.

Grey’s Anatomy
(Sunday at 10:00)
Season Grade: A
I like this show a lot. There’re a lot of subtle hints of the personalities at work, and the relationships, past and present. While I find Dr. McDreamy’s wife to be annoying I can understand her role in the show. Carry on.

Lost
(Wednesday at 9:00)
Season Grade: A
This season has continually made my brain explode. Literally. Every freakin’ new thing they learn about the island just compounds the mystery. The stupid “countdown of doom” clock. Strange magnetic fields. The Others. The tail section survivors. It all keeps adding to the aneurysm that’s about to pop in my head. And I love it. I hate Ana-Lucia but I think that’s intentional. I don’t know, I just have to keep watching, and that’s what I want and need out of this show.

Alias
(Thursday at 8:00)
Season Grade: C+
No Michael Vartan. Expectant mothers gambling. Baltazar freakin’ Getty. Sloane getting off scot-free. The list of reasons why this season is less than good is long and getting longer. I think there have been good parts of episodes, but no episode has been awesomely good.

CBS

NUMB3RS
(Friday at 10:00)
Season Grade: B
Being the only CBS show I watch that came back, I remain faithful, if just a bit belated at times. Generally the show had been good, the mysteries cool, but the only thing I just haven’t been a fan of is the new characters. Diane Farr is ok, but the cocky guy just gets on my nerves.

FOX

The Simpsons
(Sunday at 8:00)
Season Grade: B+
Chucklehead business as usual. They need a good Mr. Burns episode though. I think Treehouse of Horror should be good.

The Family Guy
(Sunday at 9:00)
Season Grade: B
Funny, funny stuff. Still not to the level of the Simpsons’ best seasons, but still really good.

American Dad
(Sunday at 9:30)
Season Grade: B-
Not consistently funny, but when they hit the mark with total inappropriateness, it usually leaves me rolling.

Arrested Development
(Monday at 8:00)
Season Grade: A+
I cannot praise this show enough. And what makes it great are really the little things, like the faux-James-Bond theme music “For British Eyes Only.”

That 70’s Show
(Wednesday at 8:00)
Season Grade: N/A
Season premiere next week. Will report back later.

Stacked
(Wednesday at 8:30)
Season Grade: N/A
Not sure when it premieres. Presumably in a couple weeks.

The O.C.
(Thursday at 8:00)
Season Grade: B-
Dra-ma! I guess because they only had 4 weeks before baseball they decided to cram a bunch of stuff in, but quantity /= quality. I hate Dean Evil and that other chick and Summer is still good, but Marissa needs a sandwich and Ryan is being a dumbass while Seth just is. Hopefully things will get better in this half of the season.

Malcolm in the Middle
(Friday at 8:30)
Season Grade: A-
After getting the shaft timeslot-wise for the last couple years, Malcolm moved to Friday, which, while not much of an improvement, lessens its chance of being preempted by football or something else. So far this season, there have been some excellent episodes, especially the one where they went to Burning Man or the one where Dewey is smoking.

NBC

Crossing Jordan
(Sunday at 10:00)
Season Grade: C+
Nothing too spectacular here, but generally solid episodes. If you like it, you’ll enjoy this season.

Medium
(Monday at 10:00)
Season Grade: A-
Watch this show. That’s all.

The Office
(Tuesday at 9:30)
Season Grade: B+
The Office has really grown on me. Oftentimes it the “laugh because it’s so uncomfortable” moments that get me.

Joey
(Thursday at 8:30)
Season Grade: B-
This season has been pretty “meh.” It still seems to be missing something. And I can’t figure out what.

UPN

Veronica Mars
(Wednesday at 9:00)
Season Grade: A
OMG! I, like, totally love this show! Like wow, it’s awesome.
No, seriously. The writing is good, the continuity is amazing (for us geeks who care) and the acting is good. Even Duncan is better this season.

WB

Gilmore Girls
(Tuesday at 8:00)
Season Grade: B+
Having Rory not in Yale has been a challenge I think, as so much of Rory’s motivation came from schoolwork. I’m so glad that Luke and Lorelei finally are together though, hope it isn’t a Moonlighting-jump-the-shark decision though. They still need more Lane though.

Smallville
(Thursday at 8:00)
Season Grade: C+
This season has been a definite step up from last season. It’s somewhat less gay, and Lana is less wooden/annoying. There have been missteps, like continuing to have Lois around, and the Aquaman episode was kind of lame. I also don’t know how many more times I can stand it if Lex just keeps appearing out of nowhere, or someone angrily bursts into Lex’s office. Better, but still not as good as it should be.

Everwood
(Thursday at 9:00)
Season Grade: A-
Everwood continues to be one of my favorite shows. It’s well acted and well written. There’s so much depth and growth in the characters as well. Bellisimo!

What I Like About You
(Friday at 8:00 *Additional episode at 8:30)
Season Grade: C
Val got married and Holly is with Vince. Bleh. There’s still funny parts, but I don’t get real excited to watch.

I *Heart* Things in 3D

So, I've been watching I love the 80's 3D and in the 1982 episode they were talking about the first affordable home VCRs that came on the market. And the one that everyone was holding up while discussing the VCR was the same exact one we had when we first got a VCR. The exact same Quasar (that's a name from the way-back machine) VCR that we got in 1983. The same stupid top-loading design. The same corded remote. The same faux wood cabinet. I might have said "day-mmn!"

-The Dork

Class, lets review.

Well, since it's now deep enough in the fall TV season for some series to be showing repeats in the ramp up to November Sweeps, I thought I'd catch you up with my current thoughts on the new series and even just the latest seasons of favorites. I think for now, though, an update of new series will have to do.

FOX

Reunion
(Thursday at 9:00 after The OC)
Original Grade: C-
Updated Grade: N/A
I stopped watching after partway through the first episode, I can’t speak to how the rest of this season has been.


Kitchen Confidential
(Monday at 8:30 after Arrested Development which you should be watching anyways)
Original Grade: A
Updated Grade: A
This show kept me laughing for all the episodes shown this season before baseball interrupted. All the casting really works, the writing is good, and is unpredictable enough to keep things interesting.

Head Cases
(Wednesday at 9:00 *Canceled)
Original Grade: B-
Updated Grade: C+
This show was canceled after only 2 episodes, so it didn’t have much time to either rise above or sink below, but it just didn’t do much of anything. As TWoP said, “The thing is, the show wasn't bad. But it also wasn't good. It was so totally, incredibly "meh" that the black hole of apathy its two aired episodes created has quite possibly rent a tear in the space-time continuum.”

Bones
(Tuesday at 8:00)
Original Grade: B
Updated Grade: B-
I’m going to reserve any serious judgment about Bones until I’ve seen more than 3 episodes, because I liked it, but there are still some things that bug me about it. Hopefully the upcoming episodes will address some of the shortcomings.


NBC

My Name Is Earl
(Tuesday at 9:00 before The Office)
Original Grade: A
Updated Grade: A+
My Name Is Earl has moved to the head of the class as the best new comedy this season. All the wacky, screwball antics of Earl and his brother have me constantly rolling. His ex-wife is also hysterical. I was bummed that this week was a repeat. I always look forward to watching it, it’s the first thing I’ll watch if I was out that night.

Surface
(Monday at 8:00)
Original Grade: C+
Updated Grade: N/A
I haven’t watched beyond the first episode yet, so I will give an updated grade once I watch a couple more episodes, which may or may not happen, depending on how bored I get. Apparently a lot of people like it.


ABC

Invasion
(Wednesday at 10:00 after Lost)
Original Grade: D
Updated Grade: C-
I’m willing to give Invasion a second chance, as after watching the second episode, there’s a bit more intrigue, although sometimes there a scene that needs a Western Union agent because of how badly it telegraphs the plot twist. According to what I read online, the Sheriff is one of the better characters and makes the show worth watching. We’ll see, I still have several episodes I haven’t watched yet.

Commander in Chief
(Tuesday at 9:00)
Original Grade: A-
Revised Grade: A-
Still one of my must-watches of the week, although hopefully they can come up with a better way to showcase the political infighting and backstabbing in D.C. politics than to have Templeton hatch some plot that ends up backfiring on him. We get that he’s evil, move on already.

WB

Supernatural
(Tuesday at 9:00 after Gilmore Girls)
Original Grade: B+
Updated Grade: B
I still like this show, although it’s not at the top of my must-watch list. One of the problems that I can see coming for this show is whether or not the season’s story arc will actually advance any from the various episode plots. As of now, none of the episodes have really addressed the arc. If they can bring a more “Buffy-like” story arc in, it might deserve an upgrade.

Twins
(Friday at 9:30 *Moved to after Reba)
Original Grade: D+
Updated Grade: C+
After watching a couple more episodes, I began to reconsider my original grade. It definitely has been less flat than the first episode was. Some of the jokes are a bit too easy, but there have been occasional bursts of creativity in the writing. I guess I expected a bit more from the creators of Will & Grace, but I guess they used all their good jokes in the first couple seasons of W&G.


Just Legal
(Monday at 9:00 *Canceled)
Original Grade: B-
Updated Grade: B
I was disappointed that this show was canceled after only 3 episodes. I thought that the characters were starting to find themselves in their roles, and the plotlines could start to flesh them out. Unfortunately it was not given that chance.

Related
(Wednesday at 9:00 and also Monday at 9:00 in place of Just Legal)
Original Grade: C+
Updated Grade: B
This show has grown on me. Stupid WB chick shows. Ergh. The chemistry of the sisters is fairly realistic, even if some of their situations seem a little ridiculous. Still normal family dramedy stories, but I’m strangely hooked.

UPN

Everybody Hates Chris
(Thursday at 8:00)
Original Grade: A
Updated Grade: A
I think Everybody Hates Chris is going to bump Joey down the priority list when it gets to the point where there’s conflicts. Everything about this show is great, his school friend, the local bullies, his mom and dad, his siblings. The show is tremendously funny and warm. The only fault I can find is the stupid “every-body ha-ates Chris” chorus in the middle of the show. Do not watch Survivor or CSI. Watch this show.


Love, Inc.
(Thursday at 8:30)
Original Grade:N/A
Updated Grade: F
As I said before, this show stinks. I only am giving it a grade to satisfy the grading requirements, otherwise I wouldn’t bother. And I don’t think many other people are either.

CBS

How I Met Your Mother
(Monday at 8:30)
Original Grade: B+
Updated Grade: A-
How I Met Your Mother seems to have found it’s stride. I love Barney. He total makes the show. He’s kind of the “Kramer” of it. Marshall and Lily have also managed to find their niches. Of course that leaves the biggest problem which is, if Robin isn’t the mother, than who is it, and how will they resolve it and how quickly. This isn’t really that important though as the journey there is pretty enjoyable.
(Obligatory Barney quote: “Flight suit-up!”)

Out of Practice
(Monday at 9:30)
Original Grade: A-
Updated Grade: B+
Only a slight down grade for Out of Practice, because it seems that the plots haven’t been very imaginative. Otherwise, it’s been very funny and Henry Winkler is as usual, hilarious.

Threshold
(Friday at 9:00 before NUMB3RS)
Original Grade: A
Updated Grade: A
Keeping the scary factor up, Threshold has continued to creep me out. And that’s a good thing. One of the best things about the aliens on Threshold has been that they are intelligent, street-smart and because of their near-normal outward appearance, disturbing. The writing has been good, the acting is good, and I don’t even think “Data” whenever Brent Spiner appears.

Always take backup...

On the radio this morning they were talking about "backup husbands/wives", i.e. the person whom you may have arranged to get married to at a specific point if neither of you is in a relationship. This made me ponder my own rapidly approaching backup date. I find it rather unsettling. For one, there's a certain lack of clarity as to the seriousness of the arrangement. I'm also very comfortable in my current living situation. (Maybe a little too comfortable). There's also the fact that this arrangement was made in a rather drunken state almost 5 years ago, with the certainty that we would most likely find other suitable life-mates.

30 is sneaking up on me pretty quickly, and although I didn't expect to be married by now, I thought that I'd at least have some sort of reasonable prospect lined up. Sadly, as is my way, I have not really attempted to find a partner, whether through laziness, apathy, fear of rejection, shyness, or even lack of confidence. Maybe what's holding me back is the backup plan.

Now, don't get me wrong. I like Jessica a lot. I care for her deeply and I would never give that up, but the more I depend on the backup plan, the more likely I am to be hurt or disappointed if or when I am not needed as the backup.

I suppose making this realization is just one small part of rectifying the situation, but that doesn't really matter if none of the rest of it gets followed through with. I hope that I am able to make some progress. Maybe this is all generic psychobabble, maybe I'm wrong, maybe I don't really know what I'm talking, but I know me, and this has been weighing on my mind for a while.

Well, that was kind of heavy for a Tuesday. I promise more rainbows and ice cream next time.

[insert clever post title here]{increase originality factor}

Anyway, I went to lunch yesterday with Jackie. Originally we made lunch plans so I could give her the money I owed from the birthday limo party. Then it just ended up being a day that her boss was on vacation, so she was free to get lunch. We went to the Monogolian BBQ that's close by over here (near my work). The food was good, and Jackie and I had a very nice time talking about work, and not work, football, and Johnny Spirit and lots of other things. It's always good to get out of the office, although I usually end up going out for lunch anyways. I guess that's all. Aight.

There is no Dana, only Zuul!

You fit in with: Agnosticism Your ideals mostly resemble those of an Agnostic. You are fairly ambivalent towards any religion or spiritual connection. You lead a very busy life and find hat religion and spirituality are unnecessary to your life. 40% scientific. 40% reason-oriented.

Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

I am broken... not.

Personality Disorder Test Results Paranoid |||||||||| 34% Schizoid |||||| 30% Schizotypal |||||||||||| 42% Antisocial |||||| 22% Borderline |||| 18% Histrionic |||||| 26% Narcissistic |||||||||| 38% Avoidant |||||| 26% Dependent |||||||||| 34% Obsessive-Compulsive |||||||||||| 42%

Take Free Personality Disorder Test
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TV Series Premieres Part umm... I don't know.

So, I watched the first episode of Surface. My review is below. But I'd like to talk about a few other things first. Like Lost. Last nights episode was pretty cool. But man, I need my fix. I don't know if I'll be able to handle 3 weeks without Lost. That'll be rough. And Veronica Mars was excellent again, even if it was a fairly calm episode, it certainly laid the groundwork for a lot of things to go down. And thanks to VM's mom whose drinking finally paid off in helping out Veronica on her case. I thinks that's all I have for now.

-The Geek


NBC

Surface
(Monday at 8:00)

This is show is many things. Which things I’m not sure. It’s supposed to be a family oriented alien invasion show. The pilot leads off with middle/high school age kids drinking and wakeboarding at night in Dawson’s Creek… I mean Wilmington, N.C. Actually it doesn’t really matter where they are, just that one kid, sees something in the water he can’t explain. Then there’s a submarine in the Antarctic that is missing it’s crew, and a random Russian Scientist is there to inspect the mysteriously empty vessel for the U.S. Navy. The location then changes again to SoCal where Marine Biologist lady (Lake Bell… yes, that’s her name) is going to be taking a submersible deep to study life around geothermal vents in the ocean floor. She ends up being jostled by a big sea creature rising out of a very deep hole, and no one believes she saw something down there. In the fourth of the increasing implausible and confusing plot threads, a Louisiana scuba diver and his brother are out spear-fishing near an oil platform when his brother shoots another of these sea creatures and is dragged bottomward to his death. Eventually we get back to the Dawson’s River kids, who sneak out late at night and find in the water, what we assume to be either eggs or immature versions of the sea creatures. The one kid ends up putting it his parents aquarium where it eats all the fish and breaks out and hides. I guess this kid is going to befriend it. Anyway, we wind up the show with evidence that these sea creatures are huge and are recent additions to the planet. All in all, it’s entertaining but forgettable, and suffers from technical and societal inconsistencies. One of the most grating things to me was when MB lady was in the submersible, she refers to the seeing something on “RADAR” which is incorrect, underwater you use “SONAR”. That and the multiple, confusing plot threads make the show less enjoyable. I’ll probably watch what episodes I have recorded already, but I may delete them if I need the room.

C+

Season Premieres part 424334.... whatever

So, anyway, I ended up picking up another show to watch. Well, 2. Maybe more, I don't know. I've recorded several episodes of Surface, but have not had the chance to watch any of them. I decided to check it out based on the recommendation of a co-worker. Also, I've been watching Everybody Hates Chris because I have a free slot while The O.C. is off for baseball. I also have ended up watching Related on the WB because I am a 'ho for anything WB. In the midst of this, I also checked out Love, Inc. on UPN after Everybody Hates Chris, because Busy Phillips is on it, I shouldn't have bothered. To paraphrase the J. Geils Band, Love, Inc. Stinks!

UPN

Everybody Hates Chris
(Thurdsay at 8:00)

Everybody Hates Chris is the chronicle of Chris Rock's middle school days. Chris has been transferred to an all-White school, and is socially awkward besides the whole race issue. There's trouble with the school bully, mis-perceptions about his athletic abilities and lots of other things that keep him down. It's a really well done show, very funny, and the actor that plays Chris is excellent. Highly recommended.

A

WB

Related
(Wednesday at 9:00)

4 sisters living in New York. A lawyer, a therapist, an event planner and a student. A father about to remarry. One of them is pregnant, one is getting kicked out of her sublet, one has just broken up, and one has changed majors from pre-med to experimental theater. These are sisters with issues. It's ok, nothing ground breaking or original, family drama at it's normalest. Related is a step up from the schmaltyness of Seventh Heaven plus the actors and actresses can actually emote with some modicum of skill. I may get bored after a while, but it's a worthy diversion if you have nothing else to watch.

C+


P.S. In case you didn't know already, Just Legal and Head Cases were canceled. Ouch.

One More Thing...

Well, I'm checking in regularly on the Steve Jobs live event where apparently there've been a couple of product announcements. New iPods, 20Gb and 60Gb with video out capability. Also iMacs w/built in iSights. Cool. And also an Apple branded remote with neat software. I think there's some more stuff to come, also there's a new version of iTunes Music store where you download videos and even TV shows. Neat.


I was also reading the recap of last week's Smallville episode, and just remembered something. There's a part where Clark and Chloe are driving up to LuthorCorp and in the background is a big ass bridge. Where is there a gigantic bridge in the middle of Kansas! WTF! Stupid filmed in Vancouver show.

-The Geek

A few words...

Oh. My. God. I felt like ass yesterday. I don't know how much I had to drink or even what it was, but I felt lousy. It might have been the tequila. Or any of the other various drinks I had, but I was pretty drunk Saturday. It still was an awesome time. Thanks to Jackie and Sarah for arranging the Limo-bus. I think I might owe them money for that. I promise to post or email some pictures soon also. I won't quite do the blow-by-blow account of the evenings debauchery, but a few bullet points might help.

• Pre-party with snacks


• Bus ride w/Pucker


• Tiki Bob's


• Longest Bus Ride Ever back to Jackie and Sarah's


• Passing out on the loveseat (but not the ottoman)


• Throwing up at 7 in the morning


• Tim Horton's for donuts and coffee on the way home

Sunday evening I went to my parent's for dinner, although their kitchen is still not done. They're supposed to have at least some of the counter done today though, even if the sink won't be working. After that I came home and just watched TV, and went to bed reasonably early. I still didn't wake up on time this morning though. Oh well, shit happens.

It's my Birthday!

It's not that important a birthday. Or at least not psychologically, not like turning 30 will be next year. But that's a different thing altogether. For that I have actual plans. I think for the last couple years I've been talking about going to Hawaii for my 30th, so I guess I have to buckle down a little bit and save some money for the trip.

Of course yesterday, I went and bought myself a GameBoy Advance SP for my birthday. I have a GameBoy already, but it doesn't have the backlit screen, so it's hard to see. The new one is much better. I got this poker game a couple weeks ago for it and have been playing that alot. I also bought the new Franz Ferndinand and My Morning Jacket albums. I'm listening to them now. I like it/them.

Last night I also ended up going out with Austin for a beer and some food. I didn't really have any dinner at the normal time, and so after Austin got off work, I gave him a call because he mentioned he might be doing something after work. He wasn't but then suggested the Redcoat Tavern to get some food and a beer, because their kitchen is open until close. Awesome. Austin's friend Alex also came by and hung out. I had a good corned beef sandwich and Alex got this calamari dish which was good that I had a taste of. It was a good time, pretty low-key.

I guess that really all for now.

-The Geek

Share my pain...

I watched Smallville last night. I'm not sure why I continue to torture myself with it. I think it was fine when Dan was around so we could bitch about it together, but now, I have no one to share the pain with. I'm not sure what's worst, the bad acting, the barely veiled homo-sexual tension between Lex and Clark, the continuing presense of Lois, the non-chemistry between Clark and Lana or just the lame-itude of the FotWs(Freak of the Week). It's torturous. I think the only reason I watch it now, is because of TWoP.

Moving on, I also watched Alias. That was at least good. Actually it was very good, even though they totally stole the plane boarding gag from some other movie (and I'm totally blanking on it, it's not Air Force One, but I'm not sure what it is, wait, looked it up, it's Executive Decision, just needed to remember that it had Steven Seagal in it). Other than that though I thought the rest was good. I totally thought that evil dude would totally say it was Sloane that giving orders, but he thought he'd be better off pulling a Daedelus.

One more thing, check this out Lost fans... The Hanso Foundation. Awesomeness.

-The Geek

The Highlight of the Scientific Calendar!

It's that time of the year again. The winners of the 2005 Ig Noble Awards were announced last night. Highlights are the results of research into whether people swim faster in water or syrup and also what the internal pressures are when a penguin poops. Awesome.

-The Dork

A long time ago, we used to be friends... / Mis-"Orientation"

Watched Veronica Mars last night. And Lost. Awesome. Or rather, Emosewa (it's a TWoP thing).

I was reading the forums at TWoP last night on Veronica Mars, and they were going crazy, much of the postings just commenting on lines, looks, VMs fashion choices, and of course there was much of the conspiracy-type talk. Interesting, but as much as a fan of the show that I am, I don't know that I could devote that much time discussing it. Maybe I'm just a fan of too many shows, and if I obsessed on only one show it'd be different.

Speaking of other shows, Lost was freakin' sweet. I knew something was up with Michelle Rodriguez's character. The Locke flashbacks were cool also. It's kind of funny that they can make his face look younger, but when you see his hands, you know he's an old guy. Kate Segal was also really good. I just about didn't recognize her even though I'd seen her name in the credits.
Sometimes suspending your disbelief is a "leap of faith" for this show.
I hope somebody else noticed the polar bears in the orientation movie. Also cool was that the scientists who founded it were U of M professors. I wonder if any of the staff for Lost went to U of M?
Anyway, very good episode.

-The Geek

I am cold and precise

ISTP - "Engineer". Values freedom of action and following interests and impulses. Independent, concise in speech, master of tools. 5.4% of total population.

Take Free Jung Personality Test
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Main type	Variant

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Enneagram Test Results Type 1 Perfectionism |||||||||||| 46% Type 2 Helpfulness |||||||||| 33% Type 3 Image Awareness |||||||||| 36% Type 4 Sensitivity |||| 16% Type 5 Detachment |||||||||| 33% Type 6 Anxiety |||||||||||| 43% Type 7 Adventurousness |||||||||| 33% Type 8 Aggressiveness |||| 20% Type 9 Calmness |||||||||||| 50% Your main type is 9 Your variant is social

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A few kind words for my friend Veronica

I watched the season premiere of Veronica Mars last night (because it didn't get recorded until Sunday when they showed the repeat) and yeah, it's like, wow, like, totally awesome. Some surprises, but still the same Veronica Mars. Though most of the episode was a flashback of events from the summer, it was pretty good, until the end when I had a total "WTF!" moment. This is going to be a very interesting season.

BTW, Charisma Carpenter as Dick and Beav's former-Laker-girl step-mom, awesome!

Also. I must buy the first season DVDs of Veronica Mars. Hmm. Maybe as a birthday present to myself.

-The Geek

Very Sleepy

Well, I am tired.

I went out last night with Jessica and Beckie and went to the Necto in A2 for Ryan's birthday. It was a good time, we finally met the mysterious "The Colleague". The Gays were very nice to us, although I think "The Colleague's" (boy?)friend was a little scared of Jeff. I can't remember who else I met, I think there was a Tim and there were some girls, and lesbians and drag queens and Long Islands and Denny's. I can only assume that Beckie and Jessica made it home safe, judging from Jessica's blog.

Then today, I went over to Al's place to watch the Wolverines triumph over the Spartans. Al is this guy I met last week at Karla's party who brought the luge. Anyways, I watched the game, ate some food, had some beers and played horseshoes. I am a horrible horseshoe player. Whoever said close counts in horseshoes was wrong. You have to be pretty damn accurate from a long distance to score any points. Chris is over now, catching up on some TV. I'm just tired. And kind of hungry, I didn't really have any dinner.

Yay! Showgirls is #1 at something!

Well, it's official.* Showgirls has the #1 Worst Sex Scene Ever. Awesome. I don't think I could describe it any better than The Register has. Read on here.

Linky

*According to Empire magazine.

Just to clarify

I watched the season premieres of Alias, Smallville and Everwood, and a relatively boring episode of The O.C. and also Joey. I love my Tee-Faux.

A couple words about Alias. First, Why is there now another Rambaldi-esque manuscript that is the freakin' McGuffin? Second, nobody is ever dead (except Lauren, but that's 'cause she's all frozen up). Third, the parachute FX shot was totally fake looking (in HD at least). Fourth, do they only show us how to get into APO at the beginning of the season, because they don't feel like putting together that set all the time? Fifth, there was no credits sequence, not even a little 2 second boom-chicka boom-chicka. Overall, I thought the episode was decent, but ultimately rang a little hollow.

B

Quickie riff on Smallville

I was so excited when at one point in tonight's Smallville episode, Lois almost dies. I was then sorely disappointed when she didn't. Also, Lex is eeeevil, with extra e's and there's lots of lame Clark/Lana B.S.

P.S. When did lower back tattoos get so cool? Cause all the hot alien ladies are sporting them this year.

TV Series Premieres Part V (Five, the last, maybe)

Well, this is the last of my series premiere reviews, unless there's something else I feel like watching and writing about. Whew. That was a lot of work.

ABC

Commander in Chief
(Tuesday at 9:00)

Mackenzie Allen (Geena Davis; Beetlejuice) is the Vice-President of the USA, an independent, and a woman. This becomes a problem when the Republican President has a stroke and later dies. She is asked to resign by both the President before he dies and by the Speaker of the House, Nathan Templeton (Donald Sutherland; Animal House) who would then step in as President. Templeton believes that Mac was only given the running mate slot as a campaign gimmick to increase support from women voters, and that her policies would not concur with the former president's. She is about to hand in her resignation when she get a speech from Templeton telling her that it's best that she resign because women just wouldn't be able to do the job. This basically convinces her to take over as President, and sets up the major conflict between her and Templeton.
It seems that this will be underlying plot, with Templeton trying to undermine her authority and prove that she is not capable of handling the responsibility and power that comes with being President. There are also other smaller conflicts with her children and husband. I thought the show was pretty good, though heavy-handed at times with it's agenda. Geena Davis is as usual, good, and Donald Sutherland plays the duplicitous Templeton with appropriate evilness. I wasn't immediately struck with a sense of "this is really good" but it did draw me in and make me want to continue watching. It has a lot of room to explore much of the same territory as The West Wing, but with a different perspective. I like it.

A-

Geeks unite!

Really, really, really cool interview from Time Magazine, of Joss Whedon and Neil Gaiman. Very good read.

Linky

From Slashdot

-The Geek

Fall TV Series Premieres Part 4 (IV, Four)

All I’ve got to say is “Suit Up!”

I still have to write up a review of Commander In Chief, which I should have done as soon as I get a chance to watch it.

CBS

How I Met Your Mother
(Monday at 8:30)

How I Met Your Mother is a story told through flashback of Ted (Josh Radnor) and how he met his wife. Ted is an architect who lives with his newly-engaged friend Marshall (Jason Segel; Freaks and Geeks) and Marshall’s fiancée, Lily (Alyson Hannigan; BtVS). He is spurred to find a mate by the engagement and receives sometimes unwanted dating help from Barney (Neil Patrick Harris; Doogie Houser, MD), although it is because of Barney’s prodding that he meets Robin (Cobie Smulders; Veritas). Ted instantly falls for her, but she is reluctant to return his affections because of her own insecurities.
So far, the show has been pretty funny, and especially, Barney gets the most outrageous lines. Robin is the girl you’d fall in love with at first sight, and Ted is your basic “Ross”-type. I like Alyson Hannigan (*tiny* BtVS obsession), but both her and Jason Segel are a bit underutilized, although I’m sure their characters can be fleshed out a bit more as the series goes on.

B+

Out of Practice
(Monday at 9:30)

Ben (Christopher Gorham; Popular) is a marriage counselor, who’s own marriage has just imploded, and he has to deal with his meddling mother (doctor [Stockard Channing]), wacky father (doctor [Henry Winkler]), pompous brother (plastic surgeon [Ty Burrell]) and a lesbian sister (ER doctor [Paula Marshall]). It’s your basic family sitcom, and it’s good. Henry Winkler is great, and I’m not sure if she’s just a recurring character or what, but look for Jennifer Tilly as his secretary/girlfriend. I’ve enjoyed the 2 episodes I’ve seen so far.

A-

Threshold
(Friday at 9:00 before NUMB3RS)

Dr. Molly Anne Caffrey (Carla Gugino; Spy Kids, Karen Sisco) specializes in creating plans for “worst-case scenarios.” Unfortunately for her, one of her scenarios has become reality, one involving possible alien first-contact. She’s called in to investigate, pulling together a team of a biologist (Brent Spiner; ST:NG), a “rocket scientist” (Robert Patrick Benedict; Felicity) and a linguist (Peter Dinklage; “an angry elf”: Elf). She also has crew of black ops military personnel to assist with “problems.” They head out to a ship that was in the area that the alien spacecraft landed and find that almost all of the crew is either missing or dead. There, they discover that there are aliens, and that they’re almost certainly hostile. Also the transmissions from the spacecraft were somehow able to mutate the DNA of any life in the area. It was even able to affect Dr. Caffrey, the aero-engineer and the head of the security team who watched a videotape of the spacecraft. It also seems that everyone affected by the spacecraft are now linked somehow. Creepy. I thought the show was pretty creepy, it had some humor (especially from the “civilians” in the team), and has a compelling mystery. It’s unfortunate it’s in a Friday night “death slot” because it had some excellent X-Files-style sci-fi goodness.
Recommended (for those that mourn the good-ole days of the X-Files)

A

[Soapbox]: I find it unfortunate that even though some sci-fi shows have arguably better writing, acting and direction than "regular" TV they tend to be overlooked because they have the sci-fi element. True, a lot of sci-fi TV tends to be crap, but so does a lot of regular TV. Do we really need 64535342 C.S.I.s and 45242523 Law & Orders? [/Soapbox]

*For British Eyes Only*

Last night's Arrested Development had me cracking up almost the entire time. George Sr., Lucille and Lindsay all doing their chicken dances... I was dying. Wee Britain... Rolling on the floor. So funny. I think I'll have to watch it again.

Weekend of weariness

A bit of a recaplet of this weekend.

Friday after work I went to Big Buck with co-workers as someone else was leaving the company. As usual I drank maybe one too many, but when you are getting others to buy your beers, a free beer is a beer I'm going to drink. After that, Jim (another former co-worker) and I headed into Pontiac for some food. We went to a place called Jalapenos, and had some very tasty Mexican food. They had some very interesting dips for the chips there. The tamales were good, and everything else I had was good to. After that I just went home and watched TV, and fell asleep fairly early.

Saturday, after watching some more TV, I went to my parents house to help install the laminate floor they had gotten for the kitchen remodel. We got about halfway done and as my dad was getting tired, we stopped for the night.
I went home after that and tried calling people to see if they were going to Tiki, I didn't get any answers until later, but as I was heading in my house, my next door neighbor calls me over to tell me the neighbor across the street was having a party, and I was invited. I had seen a bunch of cars, so I figured something was going on. I showered and whatnot and then headed over to Karla's to party. I brought some beer from my fridge. There were a couple people watching the UofM game, so I caught the end of it. Pathetic. Bah.
After that I started to drink more heavily. In the backyard they had set up "the luge" which is a chunk of ice with grooves cut in it down which you pour liqour, cooling it on the way to your mouth. That was awesome. I chatted with lots of Karla's friends and co-workers and had a good time.
I think I left sometime just before 2 as I was tired and I had to help my dad with the rest of the floor in the morning.

Sunday, I went over to my parent's house and we finished the floor. We had to finish it because the new appliances were being delivered today, and then the counter people can come in and finish things up in there.
I watched the seaon premieres of Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy, although I was interrupted in the middle of Grey's Anatomy by a call from Dan in the City, but I didn't mind as we hadn't talked in a bit and as such were catching up on things.

So, that's about it for my weekend. Not that it matters. Cool.

-The Geek

P.S. I don't know why I've never been to a party where they have an ice luge... supposedly they're huge at colleges... must not have known the right people.

Fall TV Series Premieres Pt. 3

Here's part 3 of my TV premieres reviews. I just saw that Head Cases has already been canceled, so I can see that there is still plenty of time for others to canceled. I'm also working on writeups for CBS shows, and I will hopefully have those a bit later.


WB

Supernatural
(Tuesday at 9:00 after Gilmore Girls)

Supernatural is the story of two brothers, 1* (Jensen Ackles; Smallville) and 2** (Jared Padalecki; Gilmore Girls), trying to track down their father who’s disappeared. Their father’s pursuit has been the “demon” that killed their mother when they were boys, and they have often joined him on these quests, fighting other spirits and monsters over the years. However, this time he’s gone alone and hasn’t checked in for a while, and 1 needs help. 2 gave up chasing ghosts to live a normal life, is about to go to law school, and lives with a serious girlfriend. 1 convinces 2 to join him for just this one time, and after that 2 can get back in time for his law school interview. They investigate the last case their father was working on, solving it’s mystery while tangling with the local law enforcement and nearly getting killed like 3 times. They also find a clue their father has left, coordinates (“an old Marine trick”), and set back to fulfill the promise of 2’s impending interview. When 2 gets home, he can not find serious girlfriend, and to his horror, finds she has been killed by the same demon that killed his mother. This steels his resolve to find his father and help him defeat the demon.

I really didn’t want to like this show, I thought it was going to be really gimmicky and cheesy, but instead, it was genuinely scary, and had a pretty decent plot. The acting is good by WB standards, and the effects are really cool.

B+

Twins
(Friday at 8:30 after What I Like About You)
Mitchee (Sara Gilbert;Roseanne) and Farrah (Molly Stanton) are “twins” who are taking over as Co-Presidents the company their parents, Cousin Larry, er, Alan (Mark Linn-Baker; Perfect Strangers) and Lee (Melanie Griffith) founded. Their parents are retiring, but that doesn’t mean they can’t interfere. And even thought they’re twins, the girls couldn’t be more different, Farrah, blond, pretty and shallow; Mitchee, smart and “not-pretty”. Haha! Not. It’s just not that funny, I like Sara Gilbert, but neither her nor Cousin Larry can save the show from the lame plot, unfunny jokes, and generally sloppy, lazy and just bad writing.

D+ (plus for Sara Gilbert)

Just Legal
(Monday at 9:00 after The Show That Shall Not Be Named Because On It If You Have Premarital Sex You Will Get Pregnant)

David “Skip” Ross (Jay Baruchel; Undeclared) is a prodigy who at 18 has just graduated law school and passed the bar. He cannot find a job at any law firms because he is so young. Drunky McDrunkard aka Grant Cooper (Don Johnson; Miami Vice, Nash Bridges) is a former hot-shot defense attorney who now works as a public defender and also works insurance cases that the “friendly” local police force passes along to him. He is cynical and jaded. Skip is naïve and idealistic. Drunky lets Skip do some work with him, and even lets him try a case in court, but only because the judge forced him to bring along someone else. Meanwhile, the defendant says she’s not guilty, and Skip enters this plea, against the wishes of Drunky, forcing them to investigate the case and find evidence to prove her innocence. There’s a lot of blah-blah, but in the end, the girl gets acquitted and Drunky realizes the error of his ways and rediscovers his idealism. Skip will continue to work with Grant and we’re left with Grant putting on his sunglasses on the boardwalk outside their hip, beachfront office in a shot reminiscent of Nash Bridges. Generally the show is pretty decent, I like Jay Baruchel, the writing is good, but I think there’s only so far they can take the 2-dimensional-ness of the characters before it gets stale. I’m going to keep watching, and hopefully it develops into something even better.

B-

*Haven’t bothered yet to look up the character’s name
**Ditto above, plus it’s easier to write. And funnier.

Ooo ooo aaah aaah!

You Are A: Monkey!

Monkeys are intelligent and agile, well-adapted for jungle life as they swing happily from tree to tree. As a monkey, you are a social animal who prefers a warm climate, eats a wide range of food and is quick to learn new things. A monkey's tiny primate features are irresistable, as is his gregarious personality!

You were almost a: Bear Cub or a Lamb
You are least like a: Squirrel or a BunnyDiscover What Cute Animal You Are!

Chip on my shoulder, chip in my windshield

Well,it's happened again. On my way to work this morning, I got another chip in my windshield. The only good thing is that's it's not nearly as big as the previous chip nor is it in a view-obscuring position, thus not necessitating a new windshield. It's still annoying though. I guess I'm not following close enough for the rocks to go completely over or far enough back where they fall harmlessly to the ground.

See this post for details of the first windshield cracking.

More TV for your reading pleasure

OK. Here are a few more new series reviews. Also, I realized I was somewhat incorrect in my assertion that there at 18 hours of primetime network TV on every night, when in fact there are only 15. Fox, WB and UPN each only have 2 hours of programming.

NBC

My Name Is Earl
(Tuesday at 9:00 before The Office)

My Name Is Earl stars Jason Lee (Mallrats, Chasing Amy) as Earl, a white-trash loser with an unfaithful wife (Jaime Pressley), and a drunk of a brother (Ethan Suplee; Mallrats). Earl wins a $100,000 Lotto scratch-off and in the process of celebrating gets hit by a car. In a morphine-induced haze at the hospital, he takes note of Carson Daly talking about Karma and has an epiphany of sorts. This you might have all gotten from the promos, but what doesn’t come through is how likable a loser Earl is. As awful a person as he is, you get the feeling he means well. So, Earl begins to make up for all the bad things he’s done, and we’re along for the ride. The characters are quirky, but believable, the dialogue is witty and the voiceover never gets in the way or annoying. I, of course, have liked Jason Lee since Mallrats, but here he seems to have room to really stretch out and just go for it. Jaime Pressley is great as the stereotypical W-T gum-snapping, hot-pant-wearing, super-big-haired, cheating, ex-wife. Very funny.
Recommended.

A

ABC

Invasion
(Wednesday at 10:00 after Lost)

Here’s how it breaks down. There’s a hurricane coming and everyone is getting ready for it, including Blah (Russell), a park ranger in the Everglades, his kids, Rose and Blah-Jr.(Jesse). Blah’s new wife, Larkin (huh?) is a TV reporter and also pregnant. Her brother, Dave (Tyler Labine) is a conspiracy theorist, and irresponsible. Blah’s ex-wife, Mariel is a control-freak doctor and married to the town’s sheriff, Sheriff (Tom) Underlay (William Fichtner; Go, Black Hawk Down). Sheriff Tom, also has a daughter, Kira. This hurricane wreaks havoc in the town, and somehow Mariel ends up lost and is found naked in the swamp, alive but somehow different. Sheriff Tom puts the town under quarantine for no particular reason. Rose, who ran off to look for the McGuffin, I mean, her cat, saw lights in the sky land in the water when the hurricane was happening all around her and she tells this to Dave, who has to investigate as all conspiracy nuts must. He finds something mysterious, and things just get more mysterious. Unfortunately, these must be the dumbest aliens ever, as even a 5-year-old, Rose, can tell that something’s amiss. Good thing for the aliens that the townspeople are even dumber than a 5-year-old. It’s all very Pod-people-y. I don’t think I’ll watch it regularly.

D

Lost for words

Well, the Lost premiere was not what I expected. It was creepy and weird, and there's stuff that doesn't make sense and of course it plays up the dichotomy of Jack and Locke's philosophies even a bit more than before. It was a very Jack-centric episode, and the flashbacks of him are kind of funny because of the wig they put him in makes him look like Greg from Dharma and Greg. I'm just glad they had the review episode before though, because it definately helped get me caught back up. Ok. That's probably almost too much if you haven't seen the episode yet. Sorry. Back to your normal activities.

-The Geek

Mike’s Fall TV New Series Reviews

For those not able to watch all 18 hours of primetime television that are on every night, I’m doing a public service, taking the bullet and watching as much as I can and letting you guys know what’s good and what’s crap. Some things I decided were crap and haven’t even bothered with, but what I’ve watched so far of new series, I’ll give you the scoop. (This may be several parts)

FOX

Reunion
(Thursday at 9 after The OC)

Reunion is about six close friends and their stories from 20 years in the past when they graduated high school up to the present where one of them is murdered and one of the others did it. Each episode is supposed to be a year, so it starts back in 1986 with a party. I basically got bored and annoyed by the predictable plot after 10 minutes and turned to something else.

C-

Kitchen Confidential
(Monday at 8:30 after Arrested Development which you should be watching anyways)

Jack Bourdain (Bradley Cooper; Will on Alias) was a hotshot chef who let women, drugs and booze ruin his career. We catch up with him when he’s working at an Olive-Garden-type restaurant. He then gets a call from the owner of an upscale restaurant that recently fired the head chef. He takes the job and has to assemble a stereotypically motley crew of assistants. There’s the Seafood Specialist (John Cho; Harold of Harold and Kumar), the Pastry Genius (Nicholas Brendon; Xander from BtVS), the wild Sous Chef (Owain Yeoman) and the incompetent newbie (John F. Daley of Freaks and Geeks). Then there’s the front of house staff, the girl that put the ho’ in hostess (Jaime King), and the house manager (Bonnie Somerville; lawyer Rachel from The OC). Despite the tension and disorder of the opening night, the crew manage to get a good review of the restaurant and it seems that Jack is back on his way up, at least as far as his career is concerned. The same cannot be said for his person life, as his reputation precedes him and causes many comic misunderstandings. That’s not to say the show is slapstick or stupid. Actually it’s well written, and very genuinely funny. The ensemble cast all fulfills their roles well, and Jack is very likable and sympathetic. I really enjoyed it and was almost immediately thinking that it was a really great show, as opposed to having to warm up to it.

Highly recommended.

A


Head Cases
(Wednesday at 9:00)

Jason Payne (Chris O’Donnell) is a high-priced lawyer, who ignores his family and when he gets kicked out of his house, the stress of his job and the pressures of family finally get to him and he has a breakdown, one where the TV talks to him. (My TV talks to me, but I don’t usually answer back) After spending 2 months in a “wellness center” he is declared ready to reenter society, but his doc makes him have a buddy, kind of like a sponsor in AA. Unfortunately his buddy Shultz is also a lawyer, and one with a “small anger management” problem (described as Explosive Disorder). Shultz also is the stereotypical bottom feeder type of lawyer whose typical clientele consist of prostitutes and anyone else that nobody would defend. Jason loses his job at the high-power firm, is still not able to be back with his family, and ends up having to work with Shultz. They help each other with their cases, in typical buddy-comedy fashion. Adam Goldberg keeps it just shy of annoying, and there is enough chemistry between him and Chris O’Donnell to make it interesting. I’m going to keep watching, but hopefully this doesn’t turn into an Ally-McBeal-parade of goofy clients.

B-

Bones
(Tuesday at 8:00)

Temperance Brennan (Emily Deschanel) is a forensic anthropologist and not a people person. Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz of Angel) is an FBI agent and detractor of science. See, comedy gold of the "Odd Couple" variety. Grudgingly Brennan (a.k.a the titularily nicknamed "Bones") works with Booth to solve crimes when ever they find bodies that need explaining. To help discover the identities of victims Bones and her (once again) motley crew of scientists and computer geniuses use "sophisticated" computerized scanners and other science-y stuff to recreate in a C.S.I.-like holographic chamber the victims and methods of their demises. I seriously think the writers just wrote "science stuff" in the script wherever they needed explanations and let researchers fill it in. There was even a montage of Bones hard at work, reassembling the skull of a victim. ‘Cause science is hard. In the end, both Bones and Booth find that they need each others strengths to solve cases. The first episode was a bit cheesy, and the dialogue is kind of lame at times (no need to be so self-referential as to refer to yourselves as "Mulder and Scully") but I think the show can and should improve.

B

More pirate-y-ness

My pirate name is:

Dirty William Bonney

You're the pirate everyone else wants to throw in the ocean -- not to get rid of you, you understand; just to get rid of the smell. You can be a little bit unpredictable, but a pirate's life is far from full of certainties, so that fits in pretty well. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from fidius.org.

Arrr. This post be full of puns.

Arrr. Know me not that this be International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Avast me hearties, blow the man down, hang 'em from the yardarm, run out the mizzen, walk the plank, yo ho ho and a bottle of rum. Aye. Me thinks this be not discouraging thee from lookin' fer pirate jokes here. X marks the spot. I be drivin' me favorite car, the Subaru W-Arrr-X. My favorite subject in school, if I went, be Arrrrt. Heave to, and check it out. Arrr.

"Professor, what's another name for pirate treasure?"
"Why, that would be booty."

I am a celebrity-news ho'

I don't even know why I'm bothering, but I'm going to mention it for those 2 people in the jungle of French Guiana who have probably not heard it yet, but Britney and professional sperm donor K-Fed finally had their kid. Preston. Preston? Ugh.
That and Rene Zellweger and Kenny Chesney are getting an annulment. What I heard on the radio this morning was that there had been no consumation of the marriage. Kenny must like wearing chaps for reasons other than he sings country music if you know what I mean.
I also saw something about the Olsen twins and how they're getting the kids that played the kid in Big Daddy to be a 'tween boys brand, similar to the Olsen twins for 'tween girls. Ridiculous.
Oh, and if there had been any Paris Hilton news I probably would have included that too. I am so ashamed of myself.

I did not know that.

Interesting post about what The Chief Justice of the United States actually is responsible for. I don't remember how I came across this blog, but I read it on and off.

What does the Chief Justice do anyways?

Dancing days are here again...

"...I told your mama I get you home, but I didn't say I got no car..."

It's on the radio right now, so I felt like including in this.

Anyways, nothing really important to report, weekend was fun, Friday Coronado came over and we watched TV, Iron Chef was Battle Crayfish, and that was amusing. Saturday was Austin's housewarming, and I had some leftovers from his family dinner, which were pretty tasty. Chris2 showed up and we had to explain the concept of 'blogging to him because of some reason or another. Also Saturday, I bought the first season of Lost. Suanday, I watched BSG, and some other stuff and then went to dinner at this good Mexican restaurant in Westland with Austin and Coronado. Then we went to see Red Eye at the Livonia 20. It was a fun movie, Cillian Murphy was appropriately creepy. Rachel McAdams was also really good. Haha! She was in Mean Girls. *Happy Dance of trivial superiority*

Ok, I guess that's all I feel like writing about now. Must return to actual work. Blah.

My heart is filled with lust...

Technolust! Behold, my precious, my beauteous, the loveliest, the iPod Nano. Mmmmm. Droooool.

I so want one. But that is silly. I already have an iPod. But I want this one too! Oh, the humanity!

Not about me...

Came across this article this morning about Burning Man. Pretty interesting. OK, that's it.

Read Me!

Guess I should post something...

Geez. I feel like I haven't done anything this weekend, but it was still busy. I have to go back to work tomorrow, but hmmm, it will already be Wednesday! Excellent. I will post more maybe tomorrow, as I have wanted to do little but catch up on TV all weekend. And there's still more to go. And season premieres coming also. Oy!

Jessica'd love this place

DSC00616.JPG
Originally uploaded by M Kawamoto.

Well, finally getting a picture up from my trek to NYC with Dan. This picture I took when we were wandering around the East Village. We walked past some place serving brunch, saw the sign, and thought of Jessica. See, there are things to like about New York.

I should have a permanent link to this...

Pure Geek 30 % Nerd, 82% Geek, 39% Dork

For The Record: A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia. A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one. A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions. You scored better than half in Geek, earning you the title of: Pure Geek. It's not that you're a school junkie, like the nerd, and you don't really stand out in a crowd, like the dork, you just have some interests that aren't quite mainstream. Perhaps it's anime, perhaps it's computers, perhaps it's bottlecaps, perhaps it's all of those and more. Your interests take you to events and gatherings that are filled with people you find unusual and beyond-the-pale, but you don't quite consider yourself "of that crowd." Instead, you consider yourself to be fairly normal. Which, you are. Congratulations! You're the one on the RIGHT! Also, you might want to check out some of my other tests if you're interested in either of the following: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Professional Wrestling Love & Sexuality Thanks Again! -- THE NERD? GEEK? OR DORK? TEST

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 7% on nerdiness You scored higher than 99% on geekosity You scored higher than 68% on dork points

Link: The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test written by donathos on Ok Cupid