Slain Pregnant Woman Was 'Trusting': "Police say the gruesome slaying was the work of 37-year-old Effie Goodson, a woman who knew Simpson and who had convinced her husband and friends that she, too, was pregnant. "

This story is just so horrifying.

So, how's everyone holding up during this, the most wonderful time of the year? Our Christmas was nice and quiet, just the way I like it. The weather has been gorgeous, although a bit warm for this time of year. People should not be walking around outside in shortsleeves in the middle of winter. I'm not really complaining, though - just look at these poor people.

And now comes the New Year. Any exciting plans? Sheila and I are going to head down to Anna Liffey's, a 3- or 4-years-running tradition now. Being the last-minute queens that we are, Sheila will be driving down to AL's tonight to buy the tickets and I will be heading to the mall to try to find something to wear.

FBI Issues Alert Against Almanac Carriers: "The FBI (news - web sites) is warning police nationwide to be alert for people carrying almanacs, cautioning that the popular reference books covering everything from abbreviations to weather trends could be used for terrorist planning. "

I'm sure this alert is based on intelligence indicating terrorists are using almanacs, but it still seems a bit ridiculous to me. "Halt! Federal Officer! Put..the almanac...down!"

Something to smile about in the midst of so much death and devastation. I read this morning that the death toll from the earthquake has reached 28,000. Beyond my comprehension.

Dottie Cleared of Attack on Queen Elizabeth's Dog.

Dottie was framed!

M&M's to lose color during contest: "In a marketing gimmick reminiscent of the gold ticket in 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,' M&M's will run a contest in 2004 which will offer six grand prizes and for a brief period offer the world-famous candy in only black and white. "

Man trapped under mountain of books, papers: "His landlord discovered him Monday after coming to the apartment to give Moore a small loan and heard a strange voice inside. The landlord pried the door open with a crowbar, found Moore trapped and alerted the fire department. "

Sounds like my office here at work. Why won't any firefighters come and rescue me?

Fire victim believed dead, discovered alive in hospital. I feel bad for the man who thought he was visiting his daughter in the hospital, only to find out that she was dead.

Seven killed during police chase. What a freaking waste.

Thieves drive victim home for Christmas: "Despite being armed with guns and wearing balaclavas, the thieves showed some seasonal goodwill when they asked their victim where he lived, explaining 'we don't want you to have too far to walk', according to police sources."

Rhode Island Cat Turns Up in Seattle: "Jefferson, a 5-year-old orange tabby, somehow escaped from his carrier as he was being loaded on a Delta Air Lines flight at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The cat was flying with his kin, McKinley, to the East Coast, while the O'Connors were driving."

"Eddie is a big Lord of the Rings fan, so when our Customer Services Manager, Hugh Clark, offered him the chance to come along and see some of New Zealand's most fantastic scenery and see Lord of the Rings Film locations, Eddie and his tour crew took the chance to have a well earned break. "

Two of my favorite things - Eddie Izzard and LOTR - converge. OK, now I like him even more.

All hail Pottersville!: "There's just one problem: Pottersville rocks! "

Yahoo! Top Picks of 2003: Yahoo!'s 25 favorite websites of the year.

Queen 'devastated' by corgi death: "Pharos the corgi was savaged at Sandringham by Dotty, the same dog which attacked two children in Windsor Great Park, according to newspaper reports. "

Oo, Princess Anne is in trouble now.

An Interview of Namath Comes Under Scrutiny: "'I want to kiss you,' he said. 'I couldn't care less about the team struggling. What we know is we can improve. Chad Pennington, our quarterback, missed the first part of the season and we struggled. We're looking to next season. We're looking to make noise now and I want to kiss you.' "

Step away from the eggnog, Joe.

"RotK EE Rumored 'longer than 4 hours and 50 min'".

Holy SoreBottom!

I saw ROTK last night. Just exquisite. Here's what I wrote in an e-mail last night (easier than thinking of something else to say here, lol): I do not exaggerate when I say I cried for just about the entire last hour. To see the struggles, the defeats, and the victories finally fully realized on the screen - what a payoff. Just stunning. How lucky Tolkien fans are to have had someone like Peter Jackson, who loves the material (and especially the characters) as much as they do, as the creative force behind these movies. I can't wait to see it again. Actually, I can't wait until I can sit and watch all three together, as one complete work.

I have to add that Howard Shore's score was astounding, one of the things that stuck with me after the film was over.

I'm hoping the ROTK EE will have some of the House of Healing and the relationship between Faramir and Eowyn as well as Saruman's final scene. Funny, I found that I didn't miss the scouring of the Shire at all. Which is good, since Jackson never filmed it (it was his least favorite part of the book). How about continuing the discussion in the comments, so as not to spoil? What were your favorite parts?

It's a sad day - Mrs. Muir has died.

Fa La La La La

I finally went Christmas shopping today, and I managed to get all of it done. I even wrote out all of my cards tonight. While doing my laundry. Productivity is exhausting.

Right now I'm watching the most bizarre, revisionist Rankin & Bass Christmas special - I think it's called "Rudolph & Frosty's Christmas in July". There's a very scary Winter king who rides in a sleigh pulled by snakes; Ethel Merman as a wild west ringmaster of the "Circus by the Sea"; Frosty and his wife and kids are about to melt if they don't get out of a seaside town before the last firework goes off (it's the Fourth of July, of all things); and Rudolph has somehow made friends with an ice cream man named Milton who flies around in a hot air balloon. Oh, and there's an evil reindeer named Scratcher, who was living in a rundown hotel (apparently in the skid row section of the North Pole) and not paying his rent according to the sleazy landlord, before the Winter King hired him to corrupt Rudolph. Someone at Rankin & Bass was taking some serious drugs.

"A costumed figure stands in a doorway at Hampton Court Palace in southwest London in this image caught on closed circuit television and released by the Palace Friday, Dec. 19, 2003."

Awesome.

I don't think I will ever tire of looking at photos like these.

Those miserable folks (and I say that affectionately) over at teevee.org have come up with a Celebrity Holiday Playlist, wherein they list the Christmas songs they hate the most, along with a few that they actually like. I have to say, I agree with a lot on the list (although I have a soft spot for the Bowie/der Bingle duet), and one song in particular - The Christmas Shoes :

"When we were driving from Baltimore to Fredericksburg for the Christmas pilgrimage in '00, we were listening to WASH-FM, a local station that plays Christmas music non-stop from mid-November to midnight, December 25. After suffering through any one of the songs listed above, we heard this one: a treacly ditty about some smug yuppie who gets the real meaning of Christmas when the filthy little urchin in front of him requests help buying a pair of shoes for his momma so she'll meet the dress code in Heaven. 'I knew that God had sent that little boy to remind me what Christmas is all about,' the narrator warbles, apparently forgetting that a woman has been sent to an early grave just so he can be reminded to not be such a grump around the holidays. The Lord works in mysterious ways, we guess.

After hearing this song for the first time, we had to pull over to I-95's shoulder, lest our laughter cause us to drive into a tree. Later, when recounting this horrible song to our parents and/or in-laws, we noticed their faces grew ashen -- _they actually liked the song!_ And they weren't alone; apparently, when it comes to hating 'The Christmas Shoes' and all it stands for, we are squarely in the minority."

You are not alone guys. I HATE that song, for all of the reasons they state, and a few more. Down with The Christmas Shoes!

U.S. court nixes Net music subpoenas: "In a surprise setback for the recording industry, a U.S. appeals court said Friday its methods for tracking down those who copy its music over the Internet are not authorized by law. "

Verizon wins one for the little guy.

As Rival Gains, MTV Locks Up New Videos...

...and stores them away in some dusty broom closet and only drags them out to air in the middle of the night. "Music" Television, my ass.

Wanted: Bad sex writing!: "We don't mean writing about bad sex -- although there is probably a lot of that out there. What we mean is wonderfully, marvelously, deliciously terrible writing about sex in published work that is actually trying to be good. "

Well, you know what they say, even bad sex writing is better than no sex writing at all. Unless it's Bill O'Reilly writing about sex. I think I've been seriously traumatized by his excerpt. God, I can't get it out of my head!

You are not going to believe what little ditty has been running through my infantile mind...

The Addams Family started
When Uncle Fester farted
They all became retarded
The A-ddams Fam-i-ly.

CNN.com - Shoe plant workers get up to $20,000 bonuses - Dec. 16, 2003: "The company this year awarded its employees with bonuses of $1,000 for every year worked at the company. Even those who had worked less than a year got $500 each. "

Please pass the smeeling salts. I almost passed out while reading about it.

Soldier surprises mom with early holiday gift: "She found her gift -- almost 6 feet tall and wrapped in a desert camouflage uniform -- among the holiday decorations at a local shopping mall."

Sweet.

I feel pretty, oh so pretty, I feel pretty and witty and gaaay!

Cockney rebel: "Michael Caine talks about playing an aging Nazi in 'The Statement,' why he hates nude scenes, what he learned from Laurence Olivier, and whether he'll ever win that best-actor Oscar he wants."

One of my favorite actors talks to Salon.com. (viewing of ad for free day pass required)

Triumph Tinged With Regret

"The Return of the King", which just won the New York Film Critics Circle Best Picture Award, gets a rave review from Elvis Mitchell at The New York Times.

Strom Thurmond's family confirms paternity claim - Dec. 16, 2003: "An attorney for the family of former U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina on Monday confirmed that at the age of 22, Thurmond fathered a child with a teenaged African-American housekeeper in 1925."

Wow, she looks just like him.

Camera Down the Hole, and the World Follows It: "So how did the United States military pull it off? That is, not how did they make that we-got-him video ricochet around the world, but how did they get the shot? Who invaded, with camera, not only Mr. Hussein's spider-hole existence, but also his private lice check? "

U.S. to ’Work With Iraqis’ to Decide How to Bring Justice: "'I've got my own personal views about how he ought to be treated, but that's up to the Iraqi citizens,' Mr. Bush told reporters at a late-morning news conference. And while Mr. Hussein will continue to be questioned by his captors, Mr. Bush said he doubted that the answers would be truthful."

I have not heard more welcome news in a long time. I was up very early on Sunday morning, and I sat down with my cereal and turned on the TV at about 7:00. I do not kid you when I say that I sat blinking at the television screen, not believing what I was hearing. Congratulations and thanks to the soldiers who found him and brought him in successfully.

Along with everyone else, I've been wondering what affect his capture will have on the developing government as well as the violent opposition attacks. Not all of the "insurgents" are pro-Saddam, so his capture will probably not affect their activities at all. Will the certain knowledge that Saddam can no longer hurt them change the way Iraqis view coalition forces? Will things be easier for us now, or will they get worse?

I also wonder if the French, the Russians and the Germans are squirming at the thought of what Saddam might reveal in order to save his own skin. He's a coward, a megalomaniacal coward, so I think he'll let spill certain things he thinks will save his ass. Which is why he didn't kill himself, I think. All the better for us - if he had killed himself during the raid, he would have died a martyr. This way, he will be held accountable for his crimes, and all the world - most importantly the people of Iraq - will be able to see what a despicable and pathetic human being he is.

Poor People Pretty Much Fucked: "Although poor people have never had it particularly sweet, America has long been considered the land of opportunity, where upward class mobility is hard work's reward,' Park said. 'However, our study shows that limited access to quality education and a shortage of employment opportunities in depressed areas all but ensure that, once fucked, an individual tends to stay fucked."

Keiko's long journey has ended.

He Gave Life to Gollum: "Computer-Graphics Supervisor Describes How Team Created `Lord Of The Rings' Character"

A Connecticut connection to LOTR.

'Batman' Bags Bad Guy.

Christian Bale as Batman, Michael Caine as Alfred, and Cillian Murphy as a bad guy? Might this actually be a good Batman movie? And have they moved Gotham City to England?

Ralphie Parker didn't turn out so bad.

CDC to monitor children's flu complications: "Children's Medical Center in Dallas has seen more than 500 kids with the flu since October. One day last week, two dozen more appeared, most with enough lung disease to be put on ventilators, said Dr. Jane Siegel. "

Gosh, this is so scary. I think people tend to forget how truly dangerous influenza is, how dangerous it has always been. A report on All Things Considered last night predicted a possible flu pandemic in the near future, similar to the pandemic earlier last century, in 1918, where a good percentage of the world's population had the flu, and millions died. From the CDC:

The Spanish Influenza pandemic is the catastrophe against which all modern pandemics are measured. It is estimated that approximately 20 to 40 percent of the worldwide population became ill and that over 20 million people died. Between September 1918 and April 1919, approximately 500,000 deaths from the flu occurred in the U.S. alone. Many people died from this very quickly. Some people who felt well in the morning became sick by noon, and were dead by nightfall. Those who did not succumb to the disease within the first few days often died of complications from the flu (such as pneumonia) caused by bacteria.

That's not to say that millions of people would die in this day and age - medicine has advanced quite a bit in almost one hundred years - but it still gives one pause, doesn't it?

Get wound up, '24' fans: devious Sherry will return: "To the delight of 24 fans everywhere, the much-missed Penny Johnson Jerald has returned to work as President Palmer's ex-wife Sherry, the conniver America loves to hate. It's 7 p.m. now on Fox's time-driven hit series; look for Sherry to show up at 10 on Jan. 13. "

Woohoo!

Cannibal 'murder' shown to court: "The two-hour tape showed the 42-year-old ex-soldier stabbing, decapitating and devouring Bernd Juergen Brandes."

Wow, that is about as horrific as anything I've ever read.

Woman 'hasn't slept for eight years'.

Now I can't complain because I had a bad night's sleep! What's left?

Pilot survives 24 hours in subfreezing weather: "After swimming ashore, Strahan battled the frigid conditions -- temperatures ranging between zero and 10 degrees above zero -- and hiked to the trapper's cabin, never able to remove the frozen shoes from his feet. "

Now I feel badly about complaining about this weekend's cold. What a snowstorm! I don't think we ended up with quite as much snow as they had predicted, but the 14 inches we did get is quite enough, thank you. It sure is pretty.

We also put up our Christmas tree yesterday, which only fell over once! Our saving grace: it wasn't decorated at the time.

Jagger knighthood: Richards rages: "Richards' own chances of arising Sir Keith, already thought slim after 59 years of hard living, will have receded even further. "

And I don't think he really cares. He's a nutter, but good for him for speaking his mind. That's what rock stars are supposed to about, right? All that anit-establishment stuff. He's the real thing, that's for sure.

Terrance Martin, Aged 7, Corrects Bush. Cute story.

Alleged cannibal tried for murder: "A German computer technician accused of killing, dismembering and eating the flesh of a man who agreed to the deal over the Internet has gone on trial for murder. "

Read the search warrant application filed after the report of an alleged rape at the current "Real World" house: "Two days after the attack, MTV producer Kevin Lee told cops that, after talking with several cast members, he believed that the woman was attacked in one of the home's two bathrooms. But it does not appear that MTV staff, cast members, or the show's producers, Bunim-Murray, reported their rape suspicions to police. In fact, after the incident, the entire production traveled to Mexico to film there. "

I found a virus on my computer last night - the W32.Welchia.Worm. I'm embarrassed to say that the reason I contracted this virus was that I practicing unsafe computing. I had completely forgotten to reinstall Norton AntiVirus after I upgraded to XP. You play with fire, you're gonna get burned.

Portly dates popular in Portland: "Are you chubby and looking for love? A good destination might be Portland, Oregon, where, more than any other place in the United States, men and women state a preference for going out with someone who carries 'a few extra pounds.' "

Packing my bags as we speak.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

'Master' and 'slave' computer labels unacceptable, officials say: "Los Angeles officials have asked that manufacturers, suppliers and contractors stop using the terms 'master' and 'slave' on computer equipment, saying such terms are unacceptable and offensive. "

Absurd. Just plain absurd.

"It wants to be found."

I have a silver ring that I wear on my left ring finger. It's nothing special, has no real sentimental value - I just like it. It's one of those rings that look like the handle of a spoon that's been bent.

Anyway, I went shopping on Friday night for birthday presents for my niece and my father. I tried on black leather gloves (for myself, of course), found a pair I liked, threw them in the carriage and went on with my shopping. I went to 2 more stores after that, and then home.

When I took off my jewelry before getting into bed I realized that the ring was gone. My precious was lost. Oh well, I thought, it must be in the ring finger of one of those gloves I tried on.

So, last night I was dusting the baker's rack in the kitchen. I stopped to shake out the dust rag when I heard a distinctive clink as something fell from the rag onto the floor. My ring! We founds it!

And no, I have no idea how it got there; I have no memory of putting it on the baker's rack and the dust towel I used was taken from the back of one of the kitchen drawers that we never go into.

I'm just happy to have it back on my finger, so pretty, so perfect, so preciooouusssss.

Gig cancelled after bassist saws himself out of tree: "The accident occurred when, in Harold Lloyd style, the bass man sawed through the branch he was hanging onto. The fall resulted in a badly-sprained wrist, which made playing impossible."

I bet he feels stupid. If he doesn't, he should!

CNN.com - Participant at KKK initiation wounded after shots fired into sky - Nov. 25, 2003: "About 10 people, including two children, had gathered for the ceremony. The man who was being initiated was blindfolded, tied with a noose to a tree and shot with paintball guns as Freeman fired a pistol in the air to provide the sound of real gunfire, Sheriff Fred Phillips said. "

This really does go without saying, but I'll say it anyway. What a bunch of morons. Maybe they'll do the world a favor and get rid of themselves.

Women plagued by 200 orgasms a day: "Office manager Jean said: 'I looked at him in the face and said: 'How would you like to walk around on the verge of an orgasm every second?' "

I just want to say, if I hear another word about JFK or Michael Jackson, somebody's gonna get hurt.

Aragorn Leads the Dead.

This is an incredibly spoilery photo, but it's awesome, and since it's going to be on the cover of Newsweek, you'll probably end up seeing it whether you want to or not. You can read the Newsweek article here. It's not too spoilery (if you've read the book - if not, you might want to stay away), and raves about ROTK.

Male enlargement ads prompt spam rage: "Booher threatened to send a 'package full of Anthrax spores' to the company, to 'disable' an employee with a bullet and torture him with a power drill and ice pick; and to hunt down and castrate the employees unless they removed him from their e-mail list, prosecutors said."

I can't say I blame the guy. And today I've been getting some particularly sickening porn spam. I didn't open any of the messages, the subject lines were gross enough. Sorry, no examples - I don't need any weirdos googling their way here.

$6 million hidden with dinner rolls: "Authorities found boxes filled with millions of dollars when they searched an 18-wheeler because its paperwork “didn’t add up” during a routine inspection."

That alone is strange, but the cryptic statement at the end that "he or his relatives could be in danger" sort ups the offbeat quotient.

Michael Jackson mugshot: "On Thursday, November 20, 2003, Michael Jackson arrived by private jet at Santa Barbara Airport around noon. He was taken into custody by Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department personnel by prearrangement at the airport and transported to the Main Jail to be booked on the arrest warrant. "

Five foot eleven and 120 pounds? It's all just so sad and scary. This is going to be such a circus.

It's Official.

From TPTB at savefarscape.com

Savefarscape.com is now free to confirm that the rumors swirling have their basis in fact. Farscape, cancelled last year by the SCI FI Channel, will return as a 4 hour mini-series. While we can't currently name the source of this information, please know that we wouldn't post this news without a trustworthy and solid source. Also, please note that the Jim Henson Company has made no official announcement as of yet.
Filming will begin in December and the mini-series is expected to air next year. There is no current word on distribution. Ben Browder and Claudia Black will reprise their roles as Commander John Crichton and Officer Aeryn Sun.

A Jim Henson Company production, Farscape was aired for four seasons on the SCI FI Channel before being cancelled in September 2002. The fourth season finale and last new episode aired at the end of March 2003.

The fans reacted immediately to news of the cancellation and began one of the most impressive fan campaigns in television history. Through a strength of spirit and ideals of community and family, the fans of Farscape have created something fabulous and achieved something that should have been impossible.

Take a bow Scapers, you did it. You saved Farscape and don't let anybody tell you differently. This is all yours. You kept the hope alive, you kept Farscape alive, until the people behind Farscape could get back to work on telling us the rest of the tale again.

Breaking News from CNN:

"Authorities issue arrest warrant for Michael Jackson, source close to investigation says. Details soon."

Oo.

NPR : Remembering Jonestown: "The Jonestown massacre began later that day. NPR's Melissa Block talks with survivor Laura Johnston Kohl, who was in the Guyanese capital, Georgetown, the day of the mass suicide. In her interview with Block, Kohl looks back on what went wrong, and the pain and regret she lives with. "

I listened to this interview on the way home last night, and I recommend it to you. It's incredible how near to the surface this woman's pain, regret and sorrow remain, even after 25 years.

The Frellin' Suspense is Killing Me.

Could it be true? Oh please, can it please be true? According to tvguide.com:

SO NEAR, SO FARSCAPE: Frellin' awesome!! As reported in next week's TV Guide magazine, the Jim Henson Company is producing a four-hour Farscape miniseries that will tie up the loose ends left dangling when the cult hit was prematurely axed last year by Sci Fi Channel. "It's an epic conclusion to the series," confides a source. The project — which will reunite leads Ben Browder and Claudia Black — will start shooting in December in Australia. Since the telefilm is unlikely to air on Sci Fi, word is it may be sold into syndication. So there!

However, there has been no official announcement from
The Jim Henson Company, and this is what the folks at savefarscape.com have to say, for now:

Savefarscape.com can't confirm this or any other rumor at this time, as there has not yet been any sort of official announcement from The Jim Henson Company. I ask, once again, for your patience and I thank you for your continued support of our site and of Farscape.

I'll honestly and truly believe it when I hear it from them. In the meantime, appendages will be crossed.

Released today!

I learned something new today. I already knew that the Los Angeles Dodgers used to be the Brooklyn Dodgers, as most people do. What I learned this morning was that the Brooklyn Dodgers were orginally called the Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers, because of the abundance of trolleys on the streets of Brooklyn at the time (late 1880s).

I did a little research when I got to work and found that before Trolly Dodgers, they were called Bridegrooms, because so many had gotten married that year. Trolley Dodgers was a better choice, I think.

Uh, okay.

I went out to walk Petie at 8:30 last night. It was chilly, and fully dark. As I walked to the field beyond our backyard, my peripheral vision caught something off to the right. The kid from next door, about 14 or 15 years old, was lying sprawled on his back in his backyard. I stopped, ready to go over to check on him, when he moved his arm, lifted his head (to look at me, I think), and put his head back down. "He's alive, go about your business," I thought.

Another 5 minutes went by and he was still lying there, in the exact same position, when I got back inside. I decided I needed to go check on him - what if the kid was diabetic or something? I went back out, worked my way across the yard, and when I got to the point where our yards met I asked, "Are you alright?" He sat straight up and said, "Yeah, I'm resting, thanks. Sorry." He then got up off the ground and went inside his house.

Just resting. Sprawled like a chalk outline on the cold ground, in the dark. O-K.

Spy vs. spy: "'Alias' never pretends to reality as it joyously celebrates the genre that brought us James Bond, Honey West, and, yes, Austin Powers. It's a comic-book explosion of global fashion, cloned villains, kickboxing babes, and fierce emotionality."

I think he's a little harsh on "24", but I am in complete agreement with his assessment of "Alias". Watch out for spoilers for season 3 (which I have yet to see) - they're scattered throughout the article like little mines.

Overheard on the radio yesterday afternoon:

"It's extremely windy out there today. So windy that a woman gave birth to the same baby twice."

The Onion | Mom Finds Out About Blog: "'I know enough not to tell Mom that I'm seeing a girl until it's serious,' Widmar said. 'Now, she's going to know exactly who I hang out with, where I go, and what I spend my time doing on a daily basis. I am so in hell right now.'"

What should you do if your mother discovers your blog? Blogger Support has the answer.

Fla. Woman Crashes Into DMV Building: "A 69-year-old woman crashed her car into the Department of Motor Vehicles building where she intended to renew her driver's license. "

I'm surprised that doesn't happen more often down there.

Dice Clay Craps Out in Blowup at CNNfn: "While being interviewed on CNNfn, Clay went into a rage, cursed out the anchorman and stormed off the set. He went into his tirade when anchor Allan Chernoff asked him about his experience working in a gym while he was out of the comic circuit. "

Am I the only one who wonders what the hell he was doing on CNNfn??

Chic, Power Station drummer dead at 48. John and Andy had better watch their backs.

Remember the "Bambi" Bembenek murder case? She was a former police officer/Playboy model who was accused of killing her ex-husband's wife, and during her imprisonment she escaped and ran away to Canada? There was a TV movie, I remember, and the story's been covered over and over on shows like American Justice and Investigative Reports. Well, she's back in the news - she's suing the Dr. Phil Show, claiming they are responsible for the amputation of her leg.

You can't make up stuff like this.

Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lands in New York. And it's from my state.

From the back of my bite-size Snickers wrapper:

Silly Science Fact:

The only mammal with four knees is also the only mammal that cannot jump...the elephant.

Awful Plastic Surgery: Jocelyn Wildenstein. I know she did that to herself, but my God, the poor woman. She looks like The Beast!

This is a fun site - take the time to check out all of your favorite modified celebritites - Melanie Griffith, Bruce Jenner, Mary Tyler Moore, among others - and decide for yourself whether they went under the knife or not. Personally, I don't think Sarah Jessica Parker had anything done. And I'm surprised I didn't seen anything about Sting - he looks completely different!

Man Crashes Big Rig While Changing Clothes: "A witness told investigators she found Gilmore naked when she went to check on him right after the accident. "

Hello, ball!

Goodbye, Art.

CNN.com's front page had this blurb for tonight's Anderson Cooper 360°:

Sleepless in America: We look at a new technique that could possibly keep soldiers up for days at a time.

Sound familiar, guys?

N.Y. millionaire Durst not guilty of murder: "A jury found eccentric New York millionaire Robert Durst innocent Tuesday of murdering an elderly neighbor, whose dismembered body was thrown into Galveston Bay. "

Wow. I can't believe it. I don't think, in all the annals of crime, there has ever been anyone who acted as suspiciously as this guy. And the fact that he is under suspicion for the murders of his wife in 1982 and of a woman who was a witness against him in that case? I wonder if prosecutors were allowed to present that information during the trial, or if it would have been considered prejudicial? How many people have to die at his hands before he actually gets punished?

South Africa socialite killed on way to murder trial: "Hazel Crane, who regularly appeared in South African society pages and was known as a close friend of Nelson Mandela's ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, was clearly targeted for assassination, police spokesman Chris Wilken said. "

Madikizela-Mandela is a bit of a shady character herself, and I find it interesting that she just happened to not be there that day.

How about a caption for this one?

Caption this photo.

Two 'Partridge' Series Hatched for VH1: "An updated version of the 1970s sitcom favorite 'The Partridge Family' is being hatched at VH1."

Leave my childhood shows alone and think up something for yourself, you lazy gits!

Jury set to deliberate child decapitation case.

Just when I think I've heard everything.

'I killed so many women'

The Green River Killer confessed today.

What the bloody hell happened on MI-5 last night?? I can't believe Tom shot Harry!. And I can't believe how easily Danny and eventually Zoe, turned on Tom. I'm still hoping that Christine is behind this frameup of Tom - I've never liked her. Although we last saw Tom floating in the sea, it's just not possible that he actually killed himself - he's the star of the show, and still has to prove that he was framed. Which is how I suppose they will spend the next few episodes, with Tom on the run, out to prove his innocence. Even thought it'll break his heart, I hope Christine is implicated; if not then maybe she'll die saving him. Yeah, that'll do.

Fox cancels 'Skin' after three airings: "Fox has canceled prolific producer Jerry Bruckheimer's new series 'Skin' after three low-rated airings. "

Wow, I really thought this show was going to be a hit, a la "Nip/Tuck" and "The O.C.", but I don't watch either of those shows so what do I know? Personally, I don't think networks should be allowed to cancel a show so early - give it at least 13 episodes to find an audience for crying out loud. Imagine if we had never had "Cheers", "Seinfeld" or "The X-Files" - these shows were all very low-rated but were given an entire season to prove themselves. Sometimes more. If we used today's criteria back then, they wouldn't have lasted the 3 airings that "Skin" was given.

It sounds like it's a nut house over there at FOX, doesn't it? Good luck finding a FOX show you like this month. Like a little greased pig, right when you think you've got a hold of one, it'll slip right through your fingers.

U.N. workers say thousands raped in Congo: "'These are women and girls from 5 to 80 years old who have been systematically raped a number of times, tortured and shot.'"

Not many news items bring me to tears, but this short article did. We stick our noses into so many places in the world, whether we are welcome or not, in order to protect our own interests. We claim that when we insinuate ourselves into the affairs of another nation, we are protecting and promoting democracy, human rights and freedom. Well, if that was really the case, we would have intervened, without or without the UN, in the Congo a long time ago. Instead, these people have suffered unimaginable atrocities and we hear very little about it. I wonder if that would be the case if the area in question was rich in some sort of natural resource? Or, dare I say, if its inhabitants were a little less dark-skinned? I am not naive, and I know that the world of foreign policy is delicate and complex one, but I would love for someone to explain to me the moral justification for not helping those who have suffered so greatly.

Oops.

I was mistaken in an ealier post when I stated that "24" was not going to be shown in November. It was the 8:00 slot that FOX was needing to fill, not 9:00. So, the season premiere of "24" will be repeated at 8:00 tonight, followed immediately by episode 2 (brand new).

Now's your chance!

Attack of the Killer Guinea Pigs

On Saturday morning, I dreamt I was driving down the road, chased by a black and white guinea pig.

Rambling

So, I finally went to the doctor today. I was feeling pretty crappy on Friday afternoon, but spent much of Saturday either sleeping in my bed or reclined on the couch (when I wasn't chasing a wild goose, but more on that later), and thus felt much better yesterday. No coughing, a relatively clear head - I finally beat this thing. Or so I thought, until I woke up this morning and was back to crappy. I don't think the P.A. I saw really knew for sure whether this is viral or bacterial, but he put me on a Z-Pack, just in case. Hopefully, I'll be done with this soon.

The party on Friday night was fun. This was Mike and Dana's 15th annual costume party. The crowd was pretty small this year, though, I think because they've moved to a town that's fairly far from most of their friends in the big city. Sheila and I were a big hit (photos forthcoming), especially our big blue hair. Liza and David Gest were there, but David didn't have bruises about the head, as I thought he should. Dana was Anna Nicole Smith and Mike was Roy, complete with gaping wound on the neck and a tiger beanie baby clipped to his collar; ironically, Sigfreid couldn't make it to the party because he cut off a portion of his finger the day before, while chopping carrots.

Saturday was a comedy of errors. When I got home early Saturday morning from the party (2:00), I realized I had left my purse at M&D's. I called them at 12:00 and said I would come and get it; Dana said she could drop it off for me, since she was going to be in our general area later in the day. First, though, she said they were going to a tag sale. I told her she didn't have to do that, she said she would call me when they got back from the tag sale, but also that if I decided to come and get it in the meantime, her doors were unlocked. I decided to go and get it in the meantime.

I called their house at about 3:00 and there was no answer. I left a message on their answering machine, telling them I was coming, and headed out. They live about a half hour away. I got there and still no one was home, so I found my way in and, much to my disappointment, my pocketbook was not there. Back home. A little while later, Dana calls to say she is 15 minutes away and will be dropping off my bag. Cool, since I needed my wallet and debit card to do a little shopping. Finally, I get my bag and head back out. My first stop: the video store. I pick out "Hollywood Homicide", "Hulk" and "28 Days Later". At the register, I realize that my debit card is not in my wallet, never had been, as a matter of fact; all along it had been in the pocket of the pants I wore the day before, which of course were in the dirty clothes in my room. Back home again.

I was ultimately able to get all that I needed, but oy! What a day.

Take away the green light, and this is pretty much what I saw last night.

God bless all the men and women who have been fighting the fires in California. And may God watch over all of those who lost so much this week.

Man stuck in toilet looking for phone: "Passengers on a New York commuter train had extra reason to be unhappy with a fellow passenger with a cell phone. "

What was I just saying about cell phones on public transportation? What a moron.

U.S. Officials See Hussein’s Hand in Attacks on Americans in Iraq: "Saddam Hussein may be playing a significant role in coordinating and directing attacks by his loyalists against American forces in Iraq, senior American officials said Thursday."

Yes, yes, we know. He's living in Tikrit. Will you catch him, for the love of God??

Top 5 Worst LOTR Halloween Costumes: "So, you've beaten the odds and got yourself invited to a costume party tonight eh? Want to show off your uber-geekness for all things Rings? Well here is a list of ideas NOT to use....because too much geek can be a bad thing."

You have to be pretty darn geeky to get some of the joke, but then...I am.

A Little Less 'Joe Millionaire' to Love: "By airing the show only once each week during the sweeps, Fox is cutting its ratings losses. Next Tuesday, Fox will repeat the season debut of Kiefer Sutherland's series '24' for the third time; two repeats of 'That '70s Show' will fill in on Nov. 11, and another 'That '70s Show' rerun paired with 'The Simpsons' will substitute on Nov. 18. "

I guess the new Joe Millionaire is so bad that FOX has pulled it from Tuesday nights during November sweeps. I'm glad I read this article. I would have tuned in on Tuesday night for 24 and been bananas when I found that JM was on instead. FOX put all their eggs in one basket, apparently. So, if any of you want to try to catch the 24 season premiere, it'll be on on Tuesday, November 4. I can't believe, however, that they won't be airing any new 24 episodes until December. Repeats of That 70s Show and The Simpsons draw more viewers than new episodes of 24? I find that hard to believe.

Red Skies At Night

A note from the Weather Center: "The northern lights were seen around 7 pm in Connecticut and it featured bright reds. "

I saw the northern lights in my own freakin' backyard last night. I had to stop at the grocery store on the way home, so I didn't pull into my driveway until about 6:45 P.M. I live in a rural area, at the top of hill, so there is very little interference from city lights when stargazing. When I looked up to admire the sky full of stars (as I am wont to do, being the geek that I am), I was rendered breathless by what I saw - virtually the entire sky was red, even though it was long past sunset (and besides, I was looking east). I thought, "This looks like the aurora borealis, or at least what I think it would look like." When I told my mother what I saw, she told me that she just heard on the news that it was viewable. So, I scrambled to get my cameras out and set them for night photography, which took some browsing through manuals. By the time I got outside, though, it had already vanished.

However, I don't think even I could forget what I saw. Magnificent.

Cell phone etiquette 101: "There's a fair chance that anyone reading this column has been annoyed by a cell phone at least once. My personal pet peeves are ringing phones in movie theaters and people who insist on sharing their lives with the entire public transportation system. I ignore my phone on the bus. It feels strange to have a conversation with half the city listening in. Yes, I keep it on, but it's always on 'vibrate' or in 'silent mode.' "

Oh, my blood is boiling just thinking about the customers who would come into Tommy K's with their headsets on, fully involved in a conversation. They would roam around the store, speaking very loudly; then they would approach the register, still on the phone, completely immersed in their conversation, at full volume, never once acknowledging that I was even standing there. Why can't people understand how rude that is? Whatever happened to polite society? I got to the point where I would just stand there at the register after they put their items on the counter, and wait until they actually looked me in the eye and acknowledged my existence before I would even ring up the first item. I just recently took a train ride from Newark to New Haven, and there was at least one person talking on their phone for the entire 2.5 hour ride, sometimes more than one at a time. II can't read, I can't snooze, and I don't really care to hear about their day.

Personally, I don' think cell phones should be allowed in public buildings or transportation at all. Gotta make a call? Go outside. Waiting for a call? Too bad, let them leave a message. No one is that indispensable.

Rant complete.

Dean Cain to play Scott Peterson in movie.

Perfect.

The New Jersey child abuse case, the one in which the adoptive parents are accused of starving 4 adopted boys, just baffles me. If they were indeed starving these children to death, why in the world would they have a family portrait taken? It is clear from the photo that there is something seriously physically wrong with them, especially when seen next to the Jacksons' 7 other obviously robust children. I just don't get it.

A pugkin.

Jack Smack

Last night's season premiere of 24 was notable, for a few reasons. It was presented without commercial interruption by Ford and its F-150 truck - instead of commercials, the episode was bookended by the first and second halves of a short film called "The Donation", a cheeky homage to 24, starring the F-150.

What the series has lacked in character development (due to its single day format - how much can one person change in a day?) it has always made up for in thrills. Now, it seems, we are finally getting some character payback, now that we know them all a little bit. And by advancing the story three years from the end of last season, the characters can be in places in their lives that are drastically different from before. Spawn now works at CTU, in some sort of junior technical capacity, and she seems to know what she's doing. Maybe she went to the local community college in the intervening years. And she's dating Jack's new partner, the very appealing Jay (or is it Jason?). I already have crushes on 2 men on this show (Palmer and Kiefer) - I don't think I can find room in my heart for another. Well, maybe it won't be my heart that will be pre-occupied with him.

Anyway, I may be mistaken, but I think Tony and Michelle, who had their first kiss/makeout session last season, are now married. President Palmer, last seen lying on a sidewalk after contracting an especially virulent virus (that's redundant, isn't it?) from an intentionally infected handshake, has recovered from the assassination attempt, although he seems to still suffer some physical effects of the virus - I don't think he was ever completley cured, just brought into remission. He's also been a busy boy in the romance department since we last saw him - he shared a kiss last night with his physician (a woman, yes) that was much more than platonic. Lucky girl.

Then there's Jack. Poor Jack. His love life is in a shambles, apparently. It seems that in the three years since we last saw him, he entered into a relationship with Kate Warner (last year's femme fatale) that did not last. (The relationship is in fact still in the process of ending - she called him last night to tell him that she found a leather jacket he left behind) It seems that his work put an end to the relationship, especially the part where he spent the past year deep undercover with a Colombian drug lord, Salazar. So deep, in fact, that he's now a drug addict!! This was revealed at the very end of the episode, when it finally became clear why Kiefer was all sweaty and irritable during the show - he got his kit out of his office closet, tied off his arm and was ready to shoot up when good old Spawn called him on the phone and prevented him from getting his fix. Kiefer was fantastic, throughout the entire episode.

All this and a deadly virus about to be unleashed on the population. Bring it on.

Anderson Coooper: "This CNN anchorman has a range. He is as conversant in whom Beyonce is dating as in what's going on in Baghdad. "

Homeless gnomes gather dust in France: "'In wanting to set them free, the Liberation Front has virtually imprisoned them,' policeman Sylvain Brucker told Reuters, adding the local prosecutor could decide to sell the kitsch garden ornaments in a police auction. "

How sadly ironic.

Tonight, 9:00 P.M. EST, on FOX.

Adults are taking back Halloween: "“The notion that Halloween is simply for kids is a misconception based on the centrality of trick-or-treating in the 1950s, when there was an attempt to take the mischief out of Halloween and ‘infantilize’ it,” says Nick Rogers, a history professor at York University in Toronto and author of “Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night.”"

I don't think I ever stopped celebrating Halloween. We have a party to go to on Friday night, and Sheila and are going as Thing 1 and Thing 2, from Dr. Seuss' Cat in the Hat. We are going to look so awesome. I made my goldfish last night and he's sitting in his fish bowl at home, as we speak. All I have left to do is spray my wig blue tonight. I wonder if we're going to drive to the party with the wigs on, or put them on in the car when we get there. I think it would be pretty funny if we rode around with them on.

Crossover Act: "'I can do a gig in a dress or not. When I came down the East Coast last time I had a beard and I was in blokey mode, as I call it. And when I went down the West Coast I was in girlie mode. Just like a woman can wear pants or she can wear a skirt. It's her choice, and it's my choice. It's got nothing to do with the comedy. If you look at the comedy, I'm just talking crap about history. Does it matter if I have lipstick on? If I take it off, does the comedy change?' "

Great article from the Washington Post on Eddie Izzard, with nice accompanying blokey photo.

I don't recall details of cutting up friend.

You'd think that would be something one would remember.

360°

Aha!! And I didn't cheat.

Reichen & Chip: Reality sets in: "After Arndt had helped Lehmkuhl, a former Air Force captain, through the difficult years of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” closet; after Lehmkuhl supported Arndt when his online entertainment company was swept away in the flood of dot-com failures; and after the couple beat 11 other teams in a race around the world, they decided to break up."

That's a shame. They both seemed dumber than a box of rocks, but they were very supportive of each other and that is what I think won them the race. Too bad it's not enough to make it work in real life.

Neanderthals, Fire Poles and Medusa

Eddie Izzard was fabulous. Over the past couple of days I've caught myself smiling as a bit from the show popped into my mind. He covered his usual dizzying array of topics - seeing-eye dogs, Greek Mythology, customs agents, the invention of fire, Christopher Walken - in his brilliant circuitous fashion. If you've seen any of his shows, you know his performances are almost impossible to describe (and if you haven't, you should) - as Eddie says, he basically gets on stage and "talks bollocks" for a couple of hours.

Things got off to a shaky start for us, though. Sheila and I arrived at Holly's at about 5:00, which gave us plenty of time to eat some Chinese take-out and get to the Shubert in Boston for an 8:00 show. Unfortunately, due to an unknown traffic catastrophe beyond our control, it took us an hour and a half to get to the theater, putting us in our seats a good half hour after the show started. I could hear his voice and the audience laughing as we climbed the stairs to our section. I'll never forget seeing him standing there on stage as the usher opened the door: the long, military style blue satin coat, the red corset top, the micro-mini black skirt, the fishnet stockings and the black stiletto boots. Just gorgeous. As if all that glamour wasn't enough, Mr. Izzard has acquired his very own set of breasts ("down at the shop," as he told Charlie Rose), which filled out his corset tops nicely, but interfered with his microphone at times.

A selection of the very appropriate Tom Jones was played during intermission, after which Eddie emerged in a slinky, spaghetti-strapped black number, slit way the hell up to here. I love the way he struts/swaggers onto the stage, looking not so much like a woman, but very much like a bloke who likes to wear makeup and women's clothes. (Eddie, however, would take exception to that - he says he doesn't wear women's clothes, he wears his own clothes. To paraphrase him from the Charlie Rose appearance, he crosses no boundaries because he doesn't believe in those boundaries and is therefore simply a "vestite", since there is no "trans-ing" involved).

Much of the show is a blur to me, partly because I spent the first half hour or so decompressing from the traffic nightmare and partly because most of what I do soon becomes a blur to me. (I'll be snatching up the DVD as soon as it becomes available, especially since we missed the first half hour - he refers back constantly to the earlier parts of his show, and there were some jokes I know I missed). Some of the highlights, though, would include Medusa at the beauty parlor, the failed seeing-eye dog pushing its master into traffic, the Doppler cats, the Sirens, the child-wearing horses and the Christopher Walken impersonation. The stage decoration was also memorable, with military-style camouflage netting on either side of the stage, showcasing the masculine/feminine juxtaposition that is Eddie Izzard.

Take away the skirts, heels and makeup, though, and what you're left with is a very funny, intelligent man. Or, a Sexie bloke who talks bollocks.

Jim Carrey to play Six Million Dollar Man

Oh no no no no nooooo! Hollywood is bound and determined to destroy all the heroes of my youth.

At first glance, I thought this photo was a macabre new mobile for a baby's crib.

I'm still not feeling all that well. I don't think I have a sinus infection - I've had enough of them to know one when I see one. This must be some sort of stubborn virus. I'm seriously considering going home early today, getting some good sleep. I need to be snuggled under a big puffy blanket with my sound machine set to Ocean Waves. Or even just prone on the couch, under that same puffy blanket, of course. Just not here.

Unbelievable: "One of the paper's reporters saw the judge 'making unambiguous gestures after discretely lifting his judicial robe and opening his trousers,' it said. "

I'm sorry, but someone has to say it...Here comes da judge!

Bored to Tears, Woman Hurls TV Out Window.

My hero!!! Too bad there wasn't a network programming executive strolling by just as she chucked it out the window.

The velvety-smooth Kiefer is back: 24 Season Premiere - Tuesday, October 28 9pm/8c. That's a week from tonight, folks. And it looks like Spawn will be with us for another season of incredibly stupid decisions as she unnecessarily distracts her father as he tries to save the world yet again. She did get a new haircut, though.

I'm up to 3 shows now.

The Anderson Cooper Fan Club. Did you know that Cooper's mother is Gloria Vanderbilt? I did not know that. Or that he can speak Vietnamese. I love his approach to the news. He has a sense of humor about things he should have a sense of humor about and is serious when he needs to be. Try to watch his CNN show, 360 degrees (I don't know how to insert a degree character!), weeknights at 7:00 P.M. EST, to see what I'm talking about.

Even more gray-goodness can be found here, an Anderson Cooper fan listing.

"And that never happened."

Have you seen this?: "In the clip, from a QVC home shopping channel telecast, a caller from California identified only as Renee had just begun extolling the virtues of QVC Item 17183, the Telesteps 12.5 foot aluminum telescoping ladder, when the incident occurred."

If not, click here (or right-click and "Save Target As..." to download to your computer first). And they say there's nothing good on television these days.

Diana letter 'warned of car plot': "'XXXX is planning 'an accident' in my car, brake failure and serious head injury in order to make the path clear for Charles to marry.' "

Could it be that she was murdered, and Mohamed al Fayed is not a paranoid crackpot? Or was she the paranoid crackpot and this all just a tragic coincidence? My guess: we will never know.

Monday Monday

I've been MIA these past few days as a result of getting hit with some sort of cold/virus which has had me basically on the couch. I've still got a bit of a cough and some congestion, but I am better, even if I do feel really tired.

I managed to get out on Saturday and buy some mums and pumpkins. It was a beautiful autumn day, just perfect for that kind of thing, including baking an apple pie, which I did in the afternoon.

I had Marty for the weekend, while Sheila went to New Hampshire with friends. Petie and he were happy to have each other to play with, and I got to have some cuddle time with Marty Moon.

Now I'm preparing for the big night, Friday, when we see the fabulous Eddie Izzard at the Wang Center in Boston. I still can't quite believe I'm going to see him. I better damn well feel better by then!

Flash of 70's Sequins: "His limbs twirling like the blades of a windmill, Mr. Jackman channels the energy that was Allen with a rejuvenating life force all his own. And you don't feel — as you so often do with such interpretations — that your memories of the prototype have been blurred. This is a performance that, against the odds, holds on to its integrity."

His Hughness gets rave reviews from the NYTimes, while the show itself gets panned. In general, I'd have to agree with the reviewer's assessment. Not only that the show is mediocre, but that Hugh Jackman, by sheer force of will and talent, makes it worth the price of admission.

SpyDaddy is a Song and Dance Man

'Alias' Dad: "As the seemingly honorable but still questionable agent and father on 'Alias,' Garber makes the family drama as tense and gut-wrenching as the espionage. In addition, he is playing a character even he doesn't know the entire truth about, and he wouldn't have it any other way. "

Can I tell you how tempted I am to watch the shows I've taped so far this season?? December 2 can't come soon enough! (thanks to Colleen for the link)

Weekend in NY

New Jersey and New York, actually. I had a wonderful visit with Colleen and her sister and brother-in-law. They live at Liberty Point, Jersey City, with a to-die-for view of the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline. Pulling onto the Liberty Point access road and seeing the Statue of Liberty for the first time was incredible.

We weren't able to get tickets to Eddie Izzard. Colleen and I went into town on Friday afternoon and headed for City Center box office immediately, to no avail. So, we decided to check on ticket availability for various shows at the discount booth in Times Square. "The Boy From Oz", Hugh Jackman's show in previews, was on the board, so we got in line. An hour later, as we approached the ticket window, TBFO was no longer listed; we decided to go for "Gypsy", with Bernadette Peters. At the last minute, though, I asked the guy behind the window if TBFO was indeed sold out, and he said he'd check. Came back with 2 tickets. Yippee! Colleen and I were both very pleased with the show, especially Mr. Jackman. What a stage presence, and what a voice.

We had already started drinking before the show - actually, we started at the Pig & Whistle even earlier, before we got in line for tickets, and then at McHale's at 8th and 46th streets. It was about a half a block from the theater. I just read today that it was a hangout for Dorothy Parker and has been voted "best hamburger in the city". I knew I liked that place. We continued after the show, taking a train into Hoboken and the Whiskey Bar. We drank, did a little dancing and sweated our asses off.

We went back into the City on Saturday, this time for some eats and some sightseeing. We ate at a bistro in SoHo, then walked through Little Italy and Chinatown. Then we took the subway uptown, sat on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and watched a pretty bad mime. Then into Central Park for a long but leisurely stroll.

We were too tired (or at least I was) to do much more than hang out on Saturday night, so we stayed in and watched a couple of episode commentaries on the Alias DVDs. And eat some chocolate chip cookies.

All in all, a great weekend. Thanks, Coll!

(photo by me on Colleen's camera)

TeeVee Reviews Carnivale: "Apparently the show is about some struggle between Good and Evil, played respectively -- I think -- by Stahl and Brown, and I only figured out that much because Anderson helpfully comes on at the beginning of the very first show and pretty much says that's what the show's about. Good thing, too, because otherwise I'd be hopelessly lost."

I really really wanted to like this show. Really. But the writers are not making it easy. I know more about the inside workings of a carnival at this point than I do about any of the characters or their motivations. And nothing ever happens! Sure, they move from town to town, but nothing about the central plot has been revealed; so Ben found a photo of his mother and father? That was 3 episodes ago and nothing has been explained. Ben speaks only about 10 words per episode, and I'm pretty sure they are the same 10 words every episode.

While I would be completely justified in dropping Carnivale from my viewing roster, I know I won't. I'm going to ride this one out until I find out who the hell these people are supposed to be, even if I wind up choking on the show's excessive dust.

Off to NJ and NY, maybe a show, maybe Eddie, maybe not, but a good time anyway. Have a great weekend I'll be back on Sunday.

A Male Lesbian Whose Appeal Is Mainly Cerebral: "Mr. Izzard is undoubtedly seductive, but his brand of seduction aims directly at the head, not below the belt. After a couple of hours in his company, your mind is likely to be so crammed with the odds and ends — mostly odds — of what he's been saying, that you have no room left for your own thoughts."

Wouldn't it be cool if we could get in to see him tomorrow or Saturday night?

BOCKAA!!!

I just got an e-mail from a co-worker, claiming to contain "possibly the very best chicken joke ever." I may have to agree with that assessment:

A chicken and an egg are lying in bed. The chicken is leaning against the
headboard smoking a cigarette with a satisfied smile on its face.

The egg, looking a bit pissed off, grabs the sheet, rolls over and
says;"Well, I guess we finally answered THAT question."

I finished reading "Mystic River" last night. It's a superlative piece of crime fiction, but it's also more than that, I think, almost a Shakespearean tragedy. Cannot wait to see the movie.

Angry Moroccan teacher throws pupils out of window: "'They did not listen. They should have listened."

While this is certainly taking punishment a bit too far, I wonder how many teachers around the world have wanted at some point to do exactly what that woman did?

Will Eddie Izzard be the new Dr Who? I don't know about him in a leading role. I think he works better with a low-movie-profile, playing supporting characters.

Speaking of Eddie, his tour hits NYC this week, starting tomorrow night. I tried to get tickets to Friday night's show, but they were sold out long ago. (I've already got tickets to see him in Boston on the 24th of this month - yay!) I called and the ticket sales agent said that there were some on hold and I might want to call some time this week in case they are released. In any event, I'll be heading to NYC anyway on Friday, for a night out on the town with Colleen, and staying with her for the weekend. We're going to try to see a show that night, if not Eddie then maybe Hugh Jackman in "The Boy From Oz". Whatever we do, I'm sure we'll have a great time.

Reading, Writing, and Rocking: "The new comedy School of Rock (Paramount) is uncut bliss: It had me buzzing, bopping up and down in my seat, practically pogoing out of the theater playing air guitar. I scribbled superlatives in my notebook; I heard myself tell a colleague, 'Dude, that movie rocked.' I wonder, now that the ecstasy has dissipated a bit (but only a bit), how a formulaic farce-heart-warmer about a fake teacher and a bunch of 10-year-olds could be such a mystical experience—one of the biggest highs I've had at the movies in years. "

Yet another must-see-movie on my list. Jack Black teaching a bunch of middle-schoolers how to rock? Talk about a sure thing.

Elderly farmers' wives shown erotic film by mistake: "'We found it very interesting to see men can hold on for such a long time."

Cat saves drowning lamb: "Gardeners Adrian Bunton and Karen Lewis knew something was wrong when they found their cat in an agitated state, miaowing and trying to communicate something."

Frog eggs fell from sky in hurricane: "Hurricane Isabel brought unholy high winds and lashing rain to the East Coast. It also dumped something almost biblical on Connecticut. "

Mulder, frogs just fell from the sky!

Conn. Woman Convicted in Son's Suicide: "A woman was convicted Monday of contributing to the suicide of her 12-year-old son, who hanged himself in his closet with a necktie after being picked on for months at school over his bad breath and body odor."

What a sad story. If she did indeed try to get him to clean himself up, is she guilty of contributing to his death? Could she in reality have forced him to bathe? I suppose the answer is different, depending on the kid. And, based only on what they said in the article, I'd have to say that she should have made more of an effort to get him some kind of counseling. Soiling your pants in the morning so you won't have to go to school? The alarm bells should have been clanging.

Celebrities Urge 'No' Vote on Recall.

Or, "Celebrities Who Will Never Work on a Schwarzenegger Project".

Dark Parable of Violence Avenged: "'Mystic River' is the rare American movie that aspires to — and achieves — the full weight and darkness of tragedy."

Damn, I can't finish reading this soon enough! I can only read the intro to reviews because I don't want to be spoiled, but all that I have read has been glowing. I'm a big fan of Eastwood-directed movies, and I think Sean Penn puts most of today's actors to shame, and to think of the 2 of them putting this heartbreak on screen, God I can't wait. I must finish the book this weekend.

Oh, and BTW, I recommend the book (see link on left).

Tale of the Clooney conwoman: "“Now the mother supposedly has a sister who supposedly killed herself — she did it on George’s answering machine,” says Rosenfield. “And the mother is suing George for wrongful death. But the woman and the daughter and the sister are all the same person.”"

Man charged in cathedral sex stunt dies: "A man who was to appear in court Tuesday on charges of having sex with his girlfriend inside St. Patrick's Cathedral as part of a radio show stunt has died at his home in Virginia, his lawyer said. "

Police are reporting eyewitness accounts of a mysterious man with long white hair and beard, dressed in white robes and wearing sandals, seen in the vicinity of the victim's home near to the time of his death.

Washington Insiders' New Firm Consults on Contracts in Iraq: "A group of businessmen linked by their close ties to President Bush, his family and his administration have set up a consulting firm to advise companies that want to do business in Iraq, including those seeking pieces of taxpayer-financed reconstruction projects."

My God, this stinks to high heaven. Why didn't Mr. Bush just ask us all to write a personal check to his friends and dispense with the war itself?

I Spy

I jumped headlong into Alias this weekend. We had recently been lamenting the extremely sad state of television and I was mourning my loss of quality TV programs - no more Buffy, no more Farscape, no more X-Files; Six Feet Under and The Sopranos are on hiatus until early next year. What's a girl to do? I really like MI-5, but one decent show is not enough. So, I decided to give Alias a try.

If Alias was on any other night and time besides Sunday at 9:00 P.M., I would have likely watched it from its beginning. As it was, though, I was already juggling 3 shows in that particular time slot and there just wasn't room for a fourth. Now, however, there is room. So, I went out and rented all the Alias season 1 DVDs this weekend and I am hooked. I have one disc left, which I'll watch tonight.

I think the show works because its infrastructure is so solid: once you accept the fairly ridiculous premise, everything works because the acting and, especially, the writing is so good. The show has a breathless pace (the cliffhangers are actually cliffhangers - I mean, Sydney is usually hanging from something while being shot at when the show suddenly ends and leaves you scrambling for the skip button on the remote so you can get to the next episode sooner. Too bad that doesn't work in real time), but occasionally slows down long enough for the characters to relate to one another. Or to not relate to one another, as the case may be; Sydeny's relationship with her father is the heart of the show for me, or at least that's where it lies for me in the first 16 episodes. Where the show went in the second season, I'm hoping to find that out soon.

Anyway, so that's where I've been for the past few days.

Smoking Ban Begins Tomorrow: "Connecticut joins four other states - California, Delaware, New York and Maine - in enacting statewide bans aimed at protecting workers from secondhand smoke."

While I am a smoker, this probably won't affect me too much. I never smoke in restaurants, or any other public place, except for bars, and I hardly ever go to those anymore. Anna Liffey's is notoriously smoky - a basement bar filled with Irish, English and Scottish customers, historically heavy smokers. They may have to add an outdoor patio just to keep the majority of their patrons. Or have the whole pace empty out every 30 minutes or so.

Facing Death for Adultery, Nigerian Woman Is Acquitted: "The panel also cited more substantive grounds. The police officers who arrested Ms. Lawal produced no witnesses to fornication, the court said. The court also gave a nod to what defense lawyers had called the 'sleeping embryo' theory: under some interpretations of Shariah, an embryo can be in gestation for up to five years, meaning that Ms. Lawal's baby could have been fathered by her former husband."

Alright class, now who can tell me what century this event took place in?

Man binds bear bites with duct tape: "Murphy grabbed his rifle but before he could raise it, the mother bear pinned him face-down.

It then clamped her jaws around his right shoulder and started shaking him like a rag. He said he felt teeth pressing against his skin, then a pop as they sliced through."

The couple who moved in downstairs earlier this year (was it earlier this year?), are no longer a couple. She left him in the beginning of August and a friend of his moved in. A huge, beefy, weight-lifting, no-shirt-wearing, jar-headed friend. I swear to you that, other than when he's pulling out of the driveway in the morning on his way to work, I have yet to see this guys with a shirt on. Sheila caught a glimpse of him shaving his chest in the bathroom one day. He looked like the kind of guy who might still have trouble tying his shoes, but I don't like to make snap judgments about people. Ahem.

I came to the conclusion last night, however, that this ape is actually an ape. Or maybe mildly retarded.

A VERY loud bang woke me up at about 2:30 this morning. When I say loud, I mean LOUD, like shaking the walls loud. A minute later, again. Another minute later, again. Magilla's bedroom is below mine, and I'm about to go downstairs when I hear Dave come to his room and tell him to knock it off: "I gotta go to work in a few hours, man." So, I go to the bathroom and pee because now I'm wide awake. When I get back to my room I see my cat Winnie perched on my pillow looking intently out the window at something. Then I hear the BANG again, but a bit muffled. I look out the window and see shadows from their deck on the lawn; the lights in the backyard are blazing. One of the shadows is moving (which is what Winnie was watching), and from the movement and the sound, I deduce that this Olympic-size moron is lifting weights. In the middle of the fucking night. The sound was him dropping them. He must have moved outside after Dave came to his room and thought that would be better. I'm about to go downstairs when I hear Dave again. No noise after that, except for the door slamming as Magilla came back inside.

Long-gone microchipped cat finds owner: "Call it Ted's excellent adventure, with a high-tech twist: A cat with an ID microchip implanted under his skin was returned to his owner 10 years after he jumped out a window and vanished. "

Singer Robert Palmer dies at 54 - Sep. 26, 2003.

Okay, people! You can all stop dying now, alright?? And I think CNN could have used a better photo than one that looks like it was taken while he was having the heart attack.

A few screencaps from the ROTK trailer, which will be available on the net on Monday, September 29.

I got chills.

Subway's New Campaign: "'Though Jared's story was compelling, how do you make it ongoing?' Mr. Altschul asked, adding playfully, 'Do you make him get fat again?'"

Oh please, yes!

MSN to close chat rooms: "Will Doherty, from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told CNN the decision would contribute to the 'digital divide' and create online 'gated communities' where only people who can afford to pay can chat on the Internet. "

That's complete bullshit. MSN is not the only portal to chatting, not by a long shot. Let Microsoft close their chat rooms - it's within their rights to do so. People who really want to chat will find a way to do it. And there will be fewer children roaming, unsupervised, through the chat rooms of the world.

One simple rule: Don't support ABC's cruelty. I could not agree more. What in the world are they thinking?? The only reason I can see for continuing the show is greed, pure and simple.

I rented a few movies this weekend:

The Hunted - Tommy Lee Jones, Benicio del Toro. Directed by William Friedkin (French Connection). With all the talent involved, you'd think this would have been a decent movie. It wasn't. Bad editing, ambiguous writing and del Toro's way off-the-mark performance made this one a big disappointment. Tommy Lee Jones looks awesome with a beard, though.

Bring Down the House - Steve Martin, Queen Latifah, Eugene Levy. Liked this one, laughed out loud in a few spots. This movie has been made a million times before, but the leads make it fresh.

The Kid Stays in the Picture - Fascinating and funny ego trip/"documentary" on Hollywood producer Robert Evans, narrated by Robert Evans. If you have any interest in behind-the-scenes Hollywood stuff, and can understand Evans' mumble, it's worth watching. Evans is the producer responsible for such films as Love Story, Chinatown, The Godfather, Marathon Man, and, if you believe him, for the resurrection of the flagging Paramount Studios. It has a sort of a Sunset Boulevard feel to it.

I also rented Rabbit Proof Fence, but I had a killer headache last night and just couldn't stay up late enough to watch it. I'm keeping it for an extra day, and hope to be able to watch it tonight, after MI-5.

Cheeseburger Fries - processed cheese and beef compound that has been breaded and deep fried. And we wonder why most Americans are overweight.

Casting call for the new Stepford Wives movie being filmed nearby. Too bad I'm not 5'8" or taller, slim and pretty.

Oh my God, the recall vote is back on for Oct 7. I would really really love it if, after all this, the recall was voted down and Davis remained governor.

Does the Bennifer live? This is not something I would usually post about, but if they indeed fooled the press and in fact never broke up, well, cool beans for them.

Bodybuilder arrested for offering to kill Kobe Bryant's rape accuser.

Wha?? Talk about a circus.

Site Work

I'm working on changing the layout and look of this page, finally tackling CSS. Access may be unreliable over the next day or so, or formatting will be wonky, but I'll hopefully be able to get this place in shape fairly soon. Thanks!

Ian McKellen has updated the White Book. He writes about his last day of filming in New Zealand.

Hurricane Isabel Pounds East Coast: "But a few thousand hardy — or foolhardy — souls ignored evacuation orders. Virginia Beach police suggested they write their names in permanent marker on their forearms so they can be identified if they are injured or killed.

At Howard's Pub on the Outer Banks' isolated Ocracoke Island, bartender James Tucker said he and five other employees resolved early Thursday to 'hang out and drink beer until the cable runs out.' "

We won't see much from Isabel here in Connecticut. We are supposed to get some high winds and heavy rain, though, so we're shutting down the computers here at work. Speaking of wind, I need to get home and bring the deck furniture inside before it gets blown all over the neighborhood.

This is a very cute story, but I can't help thinking there are some people out there who could use a little help.

Anyone else think Anderson Cooper is the most adorable thing on television? He's young, yet serious, without being an overblown gasbag. And he's got those dreamy eyes. ;)

Hands down, the best thing you'll read all day. No additional commentary is needed.

Read about and listen to NPR's story about Fortune's Bones, a skeleton literally discovered in a closet here in Waterbury, CT.

Woman Gets $150, 000 for Bad Hair Job. If she does end up with premature hair loss, then I think they were right to give her that much money. I won't be going to any Regis salons any time soon.

The man can't tax our Internet access anymore. Long live the people!

"Klaatu, barada nikto." I've always wondered where that phrase came from, and being, in the grand scheme of things, only semi-geeky, I had never seen "The Day the Earth Stood Still." I saw it tonight, on AMC, and I actually let out an "A-ha!" when he said it. Cool movie, elevated above others of its time and genre by good acting, a good score and some timeless social commentary. What "Klaatu, barada nikto" means, however, I leave to the truly geeky.

Appeals court blocks California recall, at least until March, and if an appeal is denied.

I fart in your general direction!!

So XF fans aren't the only freaks out there, huh? If we ever do get to England, Castle Doune should be on our itinerary.

I had a weekend overcrowded with get-togethers. Dinner on Friday night with friends; an engagement party on Saturday; and Zachary's 4th birthday party in Rhode Island yesterday. I am wiped out! It's just as well that I was out of the house for most of the time, though. When I was home and watching TV, there was no place on the dial where you were safe from mourning someone, or something. If it wasn't John Ritter, it was Johnny Cash, and if it wasn't either of them, it was a look back at the 11th of September. I caught the end of The Amrican Experience: New York on PBS last night. Former Mayor Ed Koch was crying as he told the story of a parent he met at the first annual memorial, and so was I. Mario Cuomo spoke eloquently, as usual, and his words offer hope. But my tears surprised me. I suppose it shows how close to the surface it all still is.

It's a bad week for Johns. John Ritter, Johnny Cash, and, possibly next, Pope John Paul II?

Letterman reportedly to become dad. It's about damn time. I was about to place my bet on him.