Traveling at the speed of life.

Grand Central Station, originally uploaded by gina64.

Grand Central Station, December 21, 2006

Just In Case You Need It Tonight

For Auld Lang Syne

Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne ?

CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

And surely you’ll buy your pint cup !
And surely I’ll buy mine !
And we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We two have run about the hills,
and pulled the daisies fine ;
But we’ve wandered many a weary foot,
since auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We two have paddled in the stream,
from morning sun till dine (dinner time) ;
But seas between us broad have roared
since auld lang syne.

CHORUS

And there’s a hand my trusty friend !
And give us a hand o’ thine !
And we’ll take a right good-will draught,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

Happy New Year!

Drive Thru Reviews

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - This wasn't quite as good as the first, and the fact that I liked it a lot probably has something to do with how hot Johnny Depp is, but I would still recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the first movie.

The Devil Wears Prada - This was not what I was expecting. Not bitchy enough, perhaps. It was like watching The Princess Diaries set in the fashion world, a very watered-down version of the real thing. Meryl Streep steals the movie and is of course the reason to see it.

Ho. Ho. Ho.

Ho Ho Ho, originally uploaded by gina64.

Apologies to my 3 loyal readers for such a long absence but this holiday has been very...distracting, to say the least. Our Christmas was, let's say, marred by a dysfunctional branch of the family. After getting back home and regrouping later on Christmas Day, I was looking forward to a quiet, lazy week at work. You know, blog a little, Flickr a little, maybe even work a little.

Unfortunately one of my co-workers undermined my slacking plans by having the nerve to fall down some stairs on Christmas Eve and break her leg. And she couldn't just break it normally, oh no, she had to go all the way and suffer a severe compound fracture to her lower leg, requiring the insertion of a metal rod. So now I find myself not only having to actually work, but doing double duty for probably a couple of months. Thanks a lot, Hazel!

Seriously, though, I feel so bad for her and I hope she is up and around sooner rather than later.

In the meantime, I'm a busy girl. I'll try not to let that get in the way of what I do here, but I can't make any promises.

I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season :).

The Cult of Martha

Martha Stewart Show, originally uploaded by gina64.

We went to a taping of the Martha Stewart Show in NYC last Thursday and it was really a lot of fun. I'm not a huge Martha fan, but I really enjoyed the day and we got a couple of free things out of the deal. And we had a nice lunch with a friend who lives in the city.

Check out my Flickr set of photos from the day
.

The Best We Could Do

The Best We Could Do, originally uploaded by gina64.

We wish you all a very happy holiday season and a new year filled with health, happiness and love. :)

Merry Christmas!

Another reason football is bad for you.

Boy hurt by cannon blast feels twice wounded: "According to Karch's medical records, security guards notified police after Karch received disturbing phone calls and visits from parents and students, some of whom threatened to 'break his other leg' or worse, if he didn't keep quiet about the accident. Hospital staff had to move him to a secure room where they monitored visitors. "

How freakin' messed up is THAT?? Oh, it gets better:

"Since his discharge from the hospital on Oct. 23, Karch has had only three visitors -- two of them Mack and Brown. And despite invitations to school friends, not a single person other than family attended his 16th birthday celebration in November, Bissell said."

Those small football towns frighten me. Snohomish has a website for their high school football team and on the right side of the home page is a poll, which asks the question, "How many games will you attend in 2006?" Well, I found this story through Fark, and as you can imagine, those Farkers did a number on the poll results: As of the time of this post, there were 91,478 votes for "None". And only 296 for "all". Ha!

I wonder if this makes the Baby Jesus cry or laugh?

32 baby Jesus dolls found in Ill. yard: "'Don't they look funny?' Pasciak said as residents came to claim their decorations. 'We're putting Christ back into Christmas literally and metaphorically.'"

How Lovely Are Your Branches

Now that the holidays are upon us it seems fitting to revisit this heartwarming Christmas clip:

I wanted to post the video of Kiefer taking down a hotel lobby Christmas tree, but YouTube has removed it. Instead, we'll have to settle for reading the story.

I don't know why but that story just makes me love him more.

You're getting veeerrrry sleeeeepy...

I'm in the mood for some cuteness today.

"Gossip Gangsta"'s Gay Witch Hunt

Salon.com profiles gossip blogger Perez Hilton: "While the average gossipmonger is content to collect his pay and scurry back into the shadows, Perez describes his work as a moral crusade. He portrays himself as a Savonarola in a pink pantsuit, a gay crusader who will use whatever means necessary to achieve his aims. As he told 'Access Hollywood' after Bass came out this summer: 'It upsets me that people think what I'm doing is a bad thing ... I know there is some controversy about outing people, but I also believe the only way we're gonna have change is with visibility. And if I have to drag some people screaming out of the closet, then I will.' "

I freely admit to enjoying my fair share of celebrity gossip, as I'm sure you've noticed, and I grew up in a household where the weekly supermarket trip brought home all the latest editions of People, US and The Enquirer, which were eagerly devoured. But I have to say I draw the line at outing closeted celebrities. Personally, I think they would lead more happy and satisfying lives if they would come out, but certainly no one has the right to force them to do it.

Now, as for other recent celebrity shenanigans, I'm all for building an elite force dedicated to ensuring the proper utilization of what we in the non-celebrity world like to call "underpants".

These things rock.

Mmmmm., originally uploaded by gina64.

Sheila's peanut butter balls.

Progress

Progress, originally uploaded by gina64.

One year, five months and counting. I have under a year left, I can't believe how quickly it went by!

A lot of people comment on how much the shape of my face has changed. While I'm sure it has, I don't notice that so much as how different my bite is. It's different today, in fact, than it was only a week ago.

What you can't see in this photo is the Christmas spirit - I had green and red bands put on this month. But I went with the B&W because it made me look better :).

Fido's Faves

Fido's Faves, originally uploaded by gina64.

Mickey the Superstar

Mr. Boyle as the Monster

Merry Christmas to Me.

I am now the proud owner of a Dell Inspiron 1505. Now there's nothing that can stop me from watching TV!

Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose

Actor Peter Boyle has died. He was a funny guy, and I thank him for all the laughs he provided, whether it was in Young Frankenstein, The X-Files (the only guest actor to win an Emmy, btw) or as Frank Barone.

RIP, Mr. Boyle. You were a funny guy.

Drive Thru Review

Superman Returns - I liked it. If you liked the first 2 Superman movies, then I think you'll like this one. Not as much comedy - Spacey plays Luthor pretty straight and Parker Posey is no Miss Teschmacher - but I thought Routh was a believable Superman. The one bad thing about the movie: Kate Bosworth's wig. It's horrible, to the point of distraction.

Well that was fun.

Not.

I've had major problems with Blogger publishing since last Friday, so while you were able to comment on posts, none of them were actually being published to thisisgina. Same thing went for my posts. They were saved at my Blogger account but publishing to thisisgina failed every time.

I think I've found a temporary workaround, but don't be surprised if things get wonky around here again. Blogger is pushing its Beta version and sort of giving us old timers the cold shoulder. I would move to BetaBlogger but they aren't taking large blogs right now and I have over 3,500 posts! Can you believe that? Holy smokes.

So anyway, I have a lot of catching up to do. Thanks for hanging in there.

Scary Mary

(thanks, Colleen)

You Know You're Getting Old When

Prince is considered a "safe" choice for the Super Bowl halftime show: "For a third consecutive year, the network hosting the Super Bowl has gone with Safe, Old and For Gawdsake No Breasts! in its search for a halftime performer."

Pepper Berries

Pepper Berries, originally uploaded by gina64.

Our Tree 2006

Our Tree 2006, originally uploaded by gina64.

This is a bit dark, but I like it because it conveys what it's like to sit in the living room and watch TV with nothing but the tree lights on. Nice and cosy.

"Fra-jeelay"

"Fra-jeelay", originally uploaded by gina64.

Guess what we were watching while trimming the tree? Well, we didn't watch it so much as recite it.

Another Friday, Another New Episode of the Best Show on TV

EOnline's Kristen chats with BSG's Ron Moore about upcoming storylines and whether or not Moore knows how this story will end. Only slightly spoilery. And apologies for the formatting of the "artivel" (I think it's a chat transcript)

Another List of Christmas Favorites

This time it's a list of my favorite Christmas movies. The first batch are the classics, the second are the more recent favorites.

White Christmas - Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney...A classic, if a bit too show-bizzy. I love the "Sisters" bit.
A Christmas Story - The Christmas morning scenes really feel like Christmas.
It's a Wonderful Life - I like it more now that they don't play it as often.
Christmas in Connecticut - This one is never on. It stars Barbara Stanwyck as a sort of Martha Stewart of the 40s, who in real life can't cook, keep house or do anything that she gives advice on. Screwball comedy ensues when she has to entertain a returning WWII hero at her home in Connecticut.
Scrooge - This 1951 version of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, starring Alistair Sim is the best.

For more modern - and funnier - holiday movies, I like these:

Christmas Vacation - For the squirrel scene alone, I love this movie. That, and for introducing me to the Hawaiian Christmas Song, "Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii's way To say "Merry Christmas to you."
The Ref - Dennis Leary is a thief caught on Christmas Eve at the dysfunctional home of Kevin Spacey and Judy Davis. Very funny.
Love, Actually - Romantic, corny, sweet, unrealistic, sad and funny. I love it for Emma Thompson, Bill Nighy and the great closing montage of people hugging the ones they love in an airport.
Die Hard - I don't care what you say, this is a Christmas movie and it's the best of the Die Hard movies.
Bad Santa - The funniest Christmas movie ever made, with Billy Bob Thornton as the worst department store Santa, EVER.

And you know what? I just realized that I have seen any of these yet this year! I'd better get crackin'.

James Kim: 1971-2006

CNET News.com: "'He wouldn't even sneak away for a few hours once in a while to play nine holes,' Zemlicka said. 'The truth is that it wasn't that big of a sacrifice--hanging out with a bunch of guys. James had more important things to tend to. He taught me to be a dedicated husband. He's always putting his wife and kids first.' "

How dare they?

Mixed reaction to Cheney's daughter's pregnancy: "Conservative leaders voiced dismay Wednesday at news that Mary Cheney, the lesbian daughter of Dick Cheney, is pregnant, while a gay-rights group said the vice president faces 'a lifetime of sleepless nights' for serving in an administration that has opposed recognition of same-sex couples."

Now, I am by no means a Dick Cheney fan, but I don't see how his daughter's sex life and/or pregnancy is anyone's business but hers. And when I say "anyone" I mean both right wing Christian and liberal gay crusaders. How dare they? God, sometimes I wish they would all just shut the hell up and let us all live our lives in peace.

Is John Stewart writing for CNN now?

According to a "Breaking News" alert currently on CNN's homepage, "President Bush's policy in Iraq 'is not working'."

I wonder how many dollars and hours were spent to have James Baker point out the obvious?

Not afraid of Santa? You will be.

Tis the season to be scared witless, a gallery of photos of kids sitting on Santa's lap and NOT LIKING IT AT ALL. Funniest thing I've seen in a long time!

Santa is a Lineman for the County

Don't forget, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, tonight on ABC at 8:00 PM.

OK, confession time: If someone were to walk up to me out of nowhere and ask me who did the voiceover for Kris Kringle/Santa in this special, the first name that would jump to my mind would not be Mickey Rooney (who did it). It's Glen Campbell. And you know why? Because when Kris grows his beard but still has his red hair he totally looks like Campbell did when he had a beard. Check him out:



Doesn't he look just like Kris Kringle? I can't find an image online of Kris Kringle from the special so you'll just have to watch it tonight and see what I mean. It's Glen Campbell!

Great-a Scot-a!

Six Months Ago

A few quick thoughts on last week's Heroes episode, before the fall season finale airs tonight.

It was cool for me to see Sylar as a watchmaker and hearing all that ticking - I knew that the music for him in previous eps incorporated a ticking sound and now I know why. I'm still not sure how he 'absorbed' the telekinesis from Brian what's his name. Sylar's ability is to be able to see into and understand the inner workings of a complex mechanism, so he was able to see into Brian's brain and see that he had a power, but what did he mean when he said he was "broken"? I'm still thinking he ate the guy's brain. That makes Sylar scarier, imo.

I think that (for some of the Heroes at least), there was some strong emotional event that brought out their power (like the mutants in X-Men):

~ the car crash was the first time that Nathan flew and he didn't really know how he ended up in the air
~ Nikki's bad side came out when her father came back into her life and showed aggression towards her son
~ Claire's healing ability came to light after a fight with the other cheerleader (can't remember her name)
~ Matt failed the detective's test for the third time and then heard his wife's thoughts

Did Eden "push" Sylar to kill Suresh? Bennett sent her back to get Claire's name off of Suresh's list - why? And if Sylar knew about Claire, then it seems that Eden, in spite of getting chummy with Suresh, never did get her hands on the list. Am I right?

Finally, I've been thinking all along that Nikki's power is her bad side, but what if her power is simply superhuman strength? It manifests itself as the ability to kick the absolute sh*t out
people because she was unable to protect herself from her father's beatings when she was younger? And she can only do those things when she takes on the tougher, protector personality that was her sister (who was killed by her father)?

I'm pretty certain that tonight's episode, "Fallout", is the final episode of the 'fall season'. It picks up right where "Homecoming" left off. Here's the Yahoo TV description:

The tragic events in Texas have serious repercussions for many of the heroes, their families and friends; shocking details about the moments leading up to Isaac's predicted New York nuclear bombing.

Have fun watching tonight!

And to you your wassail too.

For some reason I can't explain, I'm really into listening to Christmas music this year. Normally, I'm irritated as hell that radio stations start playing it way too early in the season, but this year I find myself seeking it out already. Huh.

Whatever the reason may be, listening to all of these holiday songs got me to thinking about what songs I consider favorites. If I had to list my top 5 favorites, they would be:

1. Andy Williams' "Most Wonderful Time of the Year"
2. Judy Garland's "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"
3. "Sleigh Ride" the intrumental version with all the horse noises
4. The Carpenters' "Merry Christmas Darling"
5. Bruce Springsteen's "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town"

There are so many more that I like, but if I had to name them, those would be my top five. Today.

Do you have any favorite Christmas song?

I see London, I see France, I see Britney's...oh, dear.

Company offers to make Britney's knickers: "A lingerie company is offering to make Britney Spears underwear after reports the singer has 'gone commando' in a public fashion."

Have you seen the photos? Be warned, they are absolutely Not Safe For Work. They are also highly embarrassing and cringeworthy. What in the world was going through her mind? I'm sorry, there is no way she didn't know that her skirt was hiked up to her armpits. Even her new buddy Paris knew better and tried to keep her from getting out of the car by holding her legs together. Paris! Showing some decorum! You know your life is spinning out of control if Paris Hilton appears demure when standing next to you.

Way to start a new post-Fed life and career, Britney.

PS Here's an ABCNews article about the "panty-less menace". Seems all this coochie-flashing is intentional. I have no words. Look at the picture accompanying the article. Yipe!

Thrilla on the Hilla

I know that this is no way to run a government, but wouldn't it be awesome to see maybe Nancy Pelosi and Trent Lott go mano-a-mano on the podium while the rest of Congress got caught up in a free-for-all? Just once is all I ask.

It's time to play the music.

Rockefeller Center, NYC., originally uploaded by gina64.

It's time to light the lights.

The Christmas Tree in Rockefeller Center will be lit tonight and you can watch the festivities on NBC at 8:00 PM (or if you're local like we are you can tune to the NY NBC affiliate and get a jump on things at 7:00 PM). The tree, by the way, comes from Ridgefield, CT, just a couple of towns over from where I work.

There will be all sorts of stars singing holiday favorites - Christina Aguilera, Sting, Sara McLaughlan - but the one that has me most interested is my old buddy Taylor Hicks. I thought he fell off the face of the earth, and after that horrifying Ford ad, his disappearance might not have been such a bad thing. But I know he can sing, so I'm thinking I'll probably check him out tonight and see how he's doing.

I'm really starting to feel the need to get back into the city, especially this time of year. And now that I have so many friends/family who live there - 2 friends in Manhattan, a cousin in Brooklyn and another cousin on 5th - there's really no excuse for me to not visit more often.

A Charlie Brown Christmas

It's on tonight, at 8:00 PM, on ABC.

The king of all snugglers in his new polar bear sweater

The king of all snugglers in his new polar bear sweater, originally uploaded by gina64.

Marty knows how to bring the cute.

Sun Worshipper

Sun Worshipper, originally uploaded by gina64.

Mickey does love the sun.

Family

Family, originally uploaded by gina64.

The boys on the bed.

The boys on the bed., originally uploaded by gina64.

Mmmm.

Mmmm., originally uploaded by gina64.

I cooked the bird and I must say it tasted divine.

All we are saying...

...is give Peace a chance: "A homeowners association in southwestern Colorado has threatened to fine a resident $25 a day until she removes a Christmas wreath with a peace sign that some say is an anti-Iraq war protest or a symbol of Satan."

Someone please tell me how this



can be considered inappropriate at Christmastime, a time where we wish for peace on earth and goodwill toward man? Astounding.

Big Rock Head

, originally uploaded by gina64.

This was a statue in Waterfront Park in North Vancouver. I just like his face.

Heading home.

Heading home., originally uploaded by gina64.

Another photo from thr Vancouver trip, this was taken on the ferry on the way back from our day on Vancouver Island.

"Q"

Lonsdale Quay Market, originally uploaded by gina64.

This wasn't taken this weekend, but is among a few photos from my trip to Vancouver this summer that I never got around to posting at Flickr.

This is the sign at the Lonsdale Quay Market in North Vancouver.

Drive Thru Reviews

The Matador - I've had this Netflix DVD at home for over 2 months and I'm sorry that it took me so long to get around to watching it. It works well as a dark comedy, a mystery and even as a sort of love story, in the platonic sense, of course. Pierce Brosnan and Greg Kinnear have great chemistry.

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada - Tommy Lee Jones won for Best Actor at Cannes for his potrayal of Pete Perkins in this wonderful movie about friendship, loyalty and redemption. He also did a fine job of directing it. See it if you get the chance.

It was the tryptophan, I swear.

I spent the entire weekend in a turkey coma and that's why I've been neglecting you. Honest.

Actually, I had an extremely stressful 2 weeks prior to Thanksgiving and the 4-day holiday was a much needed opportunity to decompress. The stress culminated in a couple of meetings on Wednesday and then *poof*, it was done (and all's well that ends well). Wednesday night and Thursday were spent cooking Thanksgiving dinner and the rest was spent either eating, sleeping or watching TV. I did manage to take a couple of nice, long walks over the weekend and clean my mother's apartment, so it wasn't a total slug-fest. I took some pictures, too, and I'll be uploading them later on tonight.

So anyway, I'm back and I hope you all had a wonderful holiday, whatever it is you got yourself up to. And yes, that LOST recap is coming, and may even get done before the show returns in February!

On what would have been his 66th birthday.

On what would have been his 65th birthday., originally uploaded by gina64.

Happy Birthday, Daddy. We miss you.

FOX comes to its senses.

O.J. Simpson book, TV special canceled: "'I and senior management agree with the American public that this was an ill-considered project,' said Rupert Murdoch, News Corp. chairman. 'We are sorry for any pain that this has caused the families of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson.'"

So please don't sue us.

TV Talk

First thing first: Sincere apologies for the lateness of the LOST fall season finale recap. Those recaps take me about 4-5 hours to complete and I just haven't had the opportunity or the time to devote to it. But I won't let it fall through the cracks and I will have it posted here some time this week. Really. I swear.

On to other things...Battlestar Galactica continues to be one of the most thought-provoking and entertaining shows on TV. And I'm still amazed that I am the only person I know who watches it! Let's try this: If you are someone that I know and you watch BSG, please tell me so. Don't be embarrassed or ashamed, I won't tell anyone, I promise. I would love to be able to talk to someone about it.

Sheila and I watched VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 80s on Saturday night and it was totally awesome. No really, it was. I usually hate those "list" shows and so-called "experts/comics" they bring in to comment on the list items, but it was fun to try to figure out where our favorites would land and oh the memories they brought back! And most of those memories revolved around Toad's Place, a New Haven landmark where I spent many of my college nights. Ah, those were the salad days.

The "Final Act" of Prime Suspect aired last night on Masterpiece Theater and it was so very good. It was a bittersweet and fitting ending to the series. I had heard that the writers had originally wanted to kill Tennison off but Mirren objected. Thank God. What they gave us was heartbreaking enough. And if you haven't seen any of the Prime Suspect series, well, you know what I'm going to say. It's on DVD, alright?

Don't forget, there's a new episode of Heroes on tonight!

Take it to the bridge, Jean Luc!

Seen at shouldveaskedme - thanks, Mike!

And you think OJ is classy?

K-Fed Communicates With Britney Through Shower Door

No, I am not shitting you. Ladies, look out!

"If I Did It"

O.J.'s latest: 'If I Did It, Here's How It Happened': "'O.J. Simpson, in his own words, tells for the first time how he would have committed the murders if he were the one responsible for the crimes,' the network said in a statement. 'In the two-part event, Simpson describes how he would have carried out the murders he has vehemently denied committing for over a decade.'"

Does anyone besides me think this is the height of absurdity? How much of an attention whore is this man?? "I am 100% innocent. I didn't do it...but if I did this is how I would murder my wife." No one can tell me that this man is not batshit crazy because no one in their right mind would do something like this. No one.

Spaceballs.

Princess Leia and Mini-Darth, originally uploaded by gina64.

He looks taller onscreen, doesn't he?

Zachary and Hannah as Darth Vader and Princess Leia, this Halloween. Unfortunately, a moment later Vader killed the Princess and quashed the rebellion. (Zachary's idea)

Seven Minutes to Midnight

Heroes was good again last night.

1. I really like Charlie, the new Hero who was introduced last night only to be claimed as the next Sylar victim. And I really hope that Hiro is successful in traveling back in time to save her - she is far more interesting than the achingly dull Mohinder. He is gorgeous but God is he BORING. How appropriate that he's being harassed by someone in his sleep.

2. The interrogation of Nuclear Ted was cool, but I could care less about Matt's marriage and wife. I also thought the suspension thing was handled sort of clumsily - Audrey was overreacting to something that in the end went nowhere. They should never have mentioned it. Unless it becomes important that he's out of work for a month with no pay, which is possible, I suppose. Any ideas what those marks are on Ted's and Matt's necks? I thought at first that they were part of the hero symbol we've been seeing, but they looked different last night.

3. It's so awesome the way this show, while keeping things secret, still manages to hand out so much information every week. From last night I would assume now that Mr. Bennett is actually a good guy, or at least he seemed that way to me. Willing to go to whatever lengths to achieve his goal, yes, but I think his ultimate goal is not the destruction of the heroes, like I thought it was. I'm not sure what his goal is yet, but I don't think it's bad. It seems as though Matt's and Ted's abilities were heightened after their abduction by Bennett and the Haitian, not diminished. Also, if Isaac's new painting will help Mr. Bennett prevent Claire's death at the hands of Sylar, then I wonder what's on the painting that Linderman has? And what do you think Eden's power is? Is she like Pusher?

4. One more question: How did Hiro and Ando end up in Midland, TX if they are trying to get from Las Vegas to New York City? I guess they're taking the scenic route.

5. Oops, one more: What's the significance of the title?

Brought to you by the word "irrelevant".

"Grace" in THE OTHERSYou're one tightly wound babe. Time to open all your curtains and let some light in. Once you're eyes have adjusted you could even try leaving the house. Forgive yourself and move on, already!
Take this quiz!

Def Spam Jam

Spam poetry I received this morning:

Smoked six packs a day.

eight spider bites and hair loss,
A kid who sat in front of me
and there won't be no more tests.
so the teachers cannot write.
I wasted through the night.
We have torn up all the math books
Rocky Mountain spotted fever,
There won't be no more homework
I think that's pretty cool.
I had nosebleeds, measles, heat rash,
I did a lousy job.
I felt it on my ear.
I'm sure my heart will break.
They said, "Today's St. Patrick's Day
with some very painful sneezing,
We have broken all the blackboards
School is closed now, what's it to ya?
I feel so very guilty.
malaria and toothaches,
I think that's pretty cool.
And when he's done I give him
I felt it on my ear.
I think that's pretty cool.

From the Funyun.

Frito-Lay Angrily Introduces Line Of Healthy Snacks: "Oh, they're definitely going in the vending machines,' Carey said. 'Everyone's going to share in this misery, not just a handful of Naderites with spastic colons or loser kids with no taste buds whose parents want them to grow up to be boring milquetoasts afraid to have any fun. And don't think we haven't forgotten you either, office workers on snack breaks and anyone who wants to serve a big bowl of disappointment at a cocktail party.' "

Hee!

Tennison Says Goodbye

The final act of the Prime Suspect series (no. 7) will air in 2 parts on PBS' Masterpiece Theater starting this Sunday night. Helen Mirren plays Detective Tennison for the very last time, and if you're a fan of hers, you won't want to miss it.

(Warning: the article linked above is pretty damn spoilery, considering this is a murder mystery series, so beware!)

"You know you're in trouble when you've ceded the moral high ground to a drug-dealing prostitute."

What a week.

First Britney finally scrapes that piece of human poop off the bottom of her shoe, then the Democrats win back Congress, and now Rumsfeld is actually stepping down!

It's only Wednesday. Imagine what the rest of the week will bring!

Autumn

Autumn, originally uploaded by gina64.

The mums are dying and I noticed this morning that the pumpkin is squishy, so I figured I'd better get a picture before it was too late.

Our (former) Congresswoman

Our (former) Congresswoman, originally uploaded by gina64.

Immature? Of course.

Funny? Hell yeah!

LibERty or DEAth

LibERty or DEAth, originally uploaded by gina64.

This was hanging in the hallway outside the Tinker School gym, where I voted yesterday. There's so much about it that I love - the intermittent caps, the cryptic language - but I mostly love the drawing. Nice job, Michael F., whoever you are!

Vote Joe

Vote Joe, originally uploaded by gina64.

Congratulations, Senator Lieberman.

Juicy Gossip!!

Britney Spears Files for Divorce: "As for money, sources tell TMZ the couple, who married in Oct. 2004, has an iron-clad prenup. Not surprisingly, Spears is waiving her right to spousal support. She's also asking the judge to make each party pay their own attorney's fees. "

Bye-bye manpris!!

Goodbye, Mr. Eko.

The Cost of Living

This week we start out with a flashback of the young Eko and Yemi, breaking into a storage shed to steal food (the actor who plays Eko as a boy is perfect). Every Catholic child's nightmare of a nun catches them and brings them into the village church to confess. Eko argues that he stole to feed Yemi and he shouldn't have to confess, but the militant nun says that hunger is no excuse and demands that he confess.

Island: It's night, and Eko is lying unconscious in a hut on the beach, with Sayid, Hurley and Charlie looking over him. His rest is uneasy and he's clearly dreaming. He's been like this for a couple of days, since John rescued him from the polar bear. His dream is basically an abbreviated version an old flashback, when Eko had Yemi outfit him as a priest and help him to smuggle the Virgin Mary Heroin out of the country. It's also when Yemi was killed.

Through the dream he hears someone tell him to wake up. He opens his eyes and sees Yemi sitting in the hut with him, holding a lit cigarette lighter. Sayid, Charlie and Hurley have left. Yemi tells him, "It is time to confess, to be judged, brother. I will be waiting. You know where to find me." Suddenly, the hut is on fire and Yemi is gone. Charlie pulls Eko to safety, as Eko mumbles, "My brother, my brother..." Locke runs up to the fire, asks Charlie where Eko is, and when Charlie points to where he left him, Eko is gone.

Jack's Cell. He's doing chin-ups. You know, I'm so lazy - I would totally be sleeping. Anyway, Benry comes in, wearing a very cultish white tunic top and white pants, and he appears to be carrying another set of the same clothes. He asks Jack to join him for a walk and tells him to put the shirt on. As he walks to the door, Jack asks him, "Does it hurt?" He tells Benry he knows about the spinal tumor, and that he doesn't have long to live. Benry plays it cool, but his face clearly says, "Oh, shit."



Benry tells Jack that he has no idea what he's talking about.

Jack follows Benry down to a beach where Others are gathered, all in white, for Colleen's Viking-style funeral pyre. Benry goes down to the group, telling Jack to stay where he is. Juliet then joins the group (stopping briefly to tell Jack she hates funerals), and as they light the pyre a song begins to play over the loudspeaker behind Jack. I'm not sure what song it is, but it's reminiscent of an old Patsy Cline song. Benry, still shaken up, asks Juliet why she showed Jack his x-rays and she tells him that she didn't tell Jack they were Benry's - but obviously Benry has by his reaction.

It's daylight now, so I assume it's the next day. Locke, Desmond and Sayid are on the beach, brainstorming on the Jack/Sawyer/Kate rescue mission. Locke wants to go to the Pearl Station to use the computer there to contact the Others. Charlie and Hurley come up to the group and say they've looked but they can't find Eko. When Charlie tells Locke that Eko mentioned his brother right before he disappeared, Locke deduces that Eko is heading in the same direction as them. (if you remember, the plane that carried Yemi's body crashed right near the Pearl Station)

Eko's in a world of hurt, wandering deliriously through the jungle. He collapses into a flashback: this one picks up right where the dream one left off, with Eko dressed as a priest and being returned to the village church after the shootout at the airfield. He is mistaken for a new priest by everyone, including a young woman who works at the clinic and her son Daniel, an altar boy. He says he is there to replace Yemi, who was called away suddenly. While in the church, he picks up Yemi's old bible and finds a worn black and white photograph of him and Yemi together as boys. I almost cry.

Back in the jungle, Eko awakens and as he's dragging himself upright, a puff of black smoke flits across the background, accompanied by the chittering sound. He starts walking again and is suddenly confronted by 3 African men, all covered in blood, one missing an arm. Eko takes the machete from one of them and is about to strike a man who is on his knees, begging for mercy, when the man turns into Daniel in his altar boy outfit. Daniel puts his finger on his lips, shushes Eko, and tells him to "Confess." Eko drops the machete and they all disappear.

Beach Camp Kitchen. Locke announces to the group assembled that they (him, Sayid and Desmond) are heading to the Pearl Station to try to use the computer there to find Jack/Kate/Sawyer and invites anyone who wants to to come along. Hurley comments that Jack used to do that sort of stuff alone, to which Locke replies, "I'm not Jack." The new girl and new guy decide to join the group. I don't think anyone has spoken their names on the show yet, but since I know them, for the sake of my sanity I'm going to use them - Nikki and Paolo.

As they are filling bottles of water, Locke tells Desmond that Eko's plane crashed right near the Pearl Station, so they can kill 2 birds with one stone. Desmond cracks wise that it's quite the coincidence. Locke tells him not to mistake coincidence for fate. Now that's the fate-loving Locke I've missed so much!

Eko finds a stream and falls down to drink. And flashback. Eko and Daniel are in the church when they hear machine gun fire outside. They go out to see armed thugs drive up in a pickup truck. Their leader steps out of the truck and I'll be damned if he doesn't look like P.Diddy. Diddy asks for Father Yemi, and Eko asks who's asking for him. The clinic woman explains to Eko that when vaccine shipments come in, the clinic keeps 20% and the rest gets handed over to Diddy, "in exchange for protection." The current shipment has not yet arrived. Diddy says that he hopes Father Eko will honor the agreement, but Eko says he is not afraid of him. So Diddy pulls out a pistol and shoots and kills some poor woman standing nearby. He tells Eko he will be back in a few days for the vaccine.

Back at the stream, Eko nurses his wounds. He hears that chittering sound and sees in the water's reflection the shadow of the smoke monster right behind him. He turns around quickly, but it pulls out of sight as Locke and his group approach on the opposite bank.

Juliet enters Jack's cell with lunch. She's carrying one of those dishes that I've only ever seen in cartoons, the kind with the silver dome on top that's usually lifted to reveal Tom or Jerry or someone with an apple in his mouth. Juliet lifts this dome to reveal a cheeseburger and fries. They flirt back and forth a little bit until Benry comes in. He wants to talk to Jack privately and Juliet leaves. As Jack eats the burger, Benry tells him how they had a wonderful plan to "break him", to get him to trust them, especially since they hoped he would become "invested" because Juliet looks so much like his ex-wife, Sarah. They wanted him to want to save Benry's life, but it's too late for that now, now that Jack has figured out that Benry's dying. All Benry can do now is ask Jack to think about it. As he's leaving the cell, Benry asks Jack if he believes in God. When Jack throws the question back at him, Benry says that 2 days after finding out he had a fatal tumor on his spine, a spinal surgeon falls from the sky, and "If that's not proof of God, I don't know what is." Ah, don't mistake coincidence for fate, Benry.

Locke, Eko, et al are all walking to the Pearl Station/plane crash site, and Locke innocently asks Eko if he's looking for Yemi. Eko freaks and puts a knife to Locke's throat, telling him to never speak Yemi's name again. Because it triggers flashbacks, apparently: Eko is at the village clinic, asking the young woman about the timing of the vaccine shipment, about the black market, etc. She warns him not to go behind Diddy's back. Next we see Eko, dressed in civvies, meeting a man at a roadside bar to talk about some vaccine he wants to sell.

Our group has reached the crash site. Locke and Eko go to the plane and the others head down into the Pearl Station hatch. As they remove the rocks that were placed in front of the plane door, Locke asks Eko what he saw when confronted by the smoke monster. He explains to Eko that he saw the same thing, a "very bright light", and it was beautiful. Eko tells him that is not what he saw. They roll the boulder away from the doorway and find that Yemi's body is not there (*cough* resurrection *cough*). Dismayed, Eko pulls out the old photo of him and Yemi, sits down and tells Locke that he will wait there while Locke goes down the hatch with the others. Locke gives him Yemi's crucifix, which he had found last episode.

FB. Eko is in church, dressed as a priest and looking up at the crucifix on the wall when Diddy and his thugs walk in behind him. They have found out that Eko is trying to steal the vaccine himself and as punishment they are going to cut his hands off with a machete. Before they can, Eko attacks them, taking the machete and using it to kill all of them, including cutting off one of their arms. These were the men that Eko saw in the jungle earlier. He walks out of the church, covered in blood and carrying the machete, and the villagers look at him in horror.

Pearl Station. Nikki is watching the Pearl DHARMA film while Locke and Sayid work on the computers. After Sayid figures out that the computers are not networked, Nikki wonders if any of the 6 video monitors is connected to any of the other stations. Just then a toilet flushes and Paolo comes out of a small room, closing the door behind him, thankfully. Heh! Sayid gets one of the video feeds to work, and it seems to show a room with one of those antiquated computer systems with reel-to-reel tape. As they peer at the image onscreen, a man with a black eye patch comes into view, his creepy face filling the screen.



He reaches his hand up, covers the lens and the screen goes blank. John smiles and says, "I guess he'll be expecting us." I think you're setting yourself up for another huge disappointment, John...

Jack's Cell. Juliet enters the room that's on the other side of the plexiglass divider and explains to Jack that she's brought a movie ("To Kill a Mockingbird") for him to watch. He doesn't want to watch but she insists and pops in a tape, saying she'll keep the sound turned down. As the movie begins, she tells Jack that she's sorry for bringing him there and for everything that's been done to him and his friends. He looks down at the TV, and it's not "To Kill a Mockingbird" showing but a video of Juliet holding up a board with the message, "Ignore everything I'm saying."



As she continues to tell Jack about how great a man Benry is and how his life is worth saving, on the video she is doing the Bob Dylan thing and flipping cards with these mesages on them:

Ben is a liar.

And he is very dangerous

Some of us want a change

But it has to look like an accident

It has to look like we tried to save him

And that's up to you, Jack

It's a complicated surgery. None one would ever know

And I would protect you

Now tell me to turn off the movie.

He tells her to turn off the movie. Juliet takes the tape and as she leaves she asks Jack to think about what she's said.

Flashback. Daniel is sweeping the church and as Eko walks out with his suitcase, he asks Eko if he is a bad man. Eko replies, "Only God knows." As the full vaccine order is delievered to the clinic, the young woman asks Eko if he expects her to be grateful. She says that someone will take Diddy's place and it will start all over again. Men are boarding up the church, since Eko has defiled it. She tells him that he will be judged for what he has done, and that he owes Yemi a church. Aha.

Eko sits by the plane wreck. Yemi appears to him and starts to walk away. Eko follows him to a beautiful clearing. Yemi asks him if he is ready, and Eko says yes. As he holds out the crucifix for Yemi to take, Eko says, "I ask for no forgiveness, Father, for I have not sinned. I have only done what I needed to do to survive." Yemi does not look happy at this development. Eko goes on to say that he is not sorry for killing a man to save his brother's life when he was a boy - in fact he's proud of it. He gets on his knees in front of Yemi and says that he did not ask for the life he was given, but he did the best he could. Cleary very unhappy, Yemi says to him, "You speak to me as if I were your brother," and walks away. Really confused (join the club, Eko!), Eko runs after him, demanding to know who (or what?) he is. The smoke monster reappears then, and grabs Eko, lifting him high in the air, throwing him against trees, beating him horribly and finally dropping him onto his face from a great height. It's horrible to watch.

The group from the Pearl hears something and runs out to investigate. The smoke monster has retreated by the time they reach Eko, who is dying. Locke cradles poor Eko's head, Eko whispers something in Locke's ear and then he dies. Damn. A brief scene of Eko and Yemi as boys is shown. They are walking arm in arm, together, again.

Sayid asks Locke what Eko said to him. He said, "we're next." Dun-dun-dun-DUN!!

Wednesday night: The Fall Season Finale!

Nothing to Hide

A few thought on last night's "Heroes" episode:

1. I had been on the fence about Micah - he's very cute, but on TV, cute can very quickly get on my nerves. Well, after last night, I think Micah is the coolest little pay-phone-fixin', bad-Mommy-recognizin' little super-hero boy there is. The cherry on top: If I close my eyes he sounds just like my niece, Hannah.

2. Speaking of the Bad Mommy, "Jessica" is a really lame name for her. It just makes me think of Murder, She Wrote. Something really bitchy-glamorous like Alexis or women's prison scary like Louise or Margo would have been better.

3. I was a little bored with the Petrellis last night. I still can barely stand Peter - I just don't think he's that great an actor, and his hair drives me crazy - and evil or not, I love Nathan. Any ideas as to why Nathan would tell Peter that Linderman wouldn't cough up the painting when it was clear from his phone call with Linderman that he did?

4. We have a new Hero in Radiation Man (Ted Sprague). I wonder what connection he has to the upcoming nuking of NYC? I think he accidentally caused his wife's cancer.

5. What do you think those two dashes were on Matt and Radiation Man's skin? I think they're part of the symbol we've been seeing all along (and Jessica's tattoo), but why don't they have the complete symbol? Is it because they haven't learned to control their powers?

6. I hope Jessica stays as Jessica. She's far more interesting than Niki.

This is definitely turning into the best new show this season.

What's in a name?

Trial opens for N.C. wife accused of killing husband, scattering his remains along parkway: "They eventually found her four days later, wrapped in a blanket and lying in a crawl space under a neighbor's shed, appearing 'disheveled.' She was taken to a local hospital, where police later served her with a warrant for the murder of her 48-year-old husband."

Adding to the gruesomeness of this story: The couple's last name is Gash.

I spent the weekend with Wes Craven.

Well, not the weekend, just a few hours on Saturday night. "Scream" was on one of the pay channels and then I watched "Red Eye" on demand.

We've all seen Scream a bunch of times so I won't go there, but I did want to mention how much I enjoyed Red Eye. It was a clever, fast-paced (1 hr 25 min!) thriller that had me on the edge of my seat for most of it. Cillian Murphy is perfect as the charming creep and Rachel McAdams is a much better actress than I would have thought (as well as being really stunningly beautiful). I highly recommend it (and it's rated PG-13 so some of you can probably watch it with your kids).

Vote.

Please do your part and cast your vote tomorrow. I haven't been this revved up about politics since the last national election, and even though my heart was broken then, I'm going to hope for a real change this time.

If you're still on the fence about who to vote for, you might want to read "Inside the Worst Congress Ever". It's a long read but it's worth it.

Throw the bums out, I say.

Halloween wears a puppy out.

Halloween wears a puppy out., originally uploaded by gina64.

Thomas the Lion.

Thomas the Lion, originally uploaded by gina64.

My nephew.

Any more kids coming, Marty?

Any more kids coming, Marty?, originally uploaded by gina64.

Marty secures the perimeter on Halloween night.

Kanye West doesn't care about European people.

Astounded that he didn't win the award for Best Video at the MTV Europe Music Video Awards, Kanye West dragged his enormous ego onstage, walked in front of the actual winners and told the audience that the award means nothing unless he wins it.

Uh, yeah, why don't you go back to saving the world or healing the sick or bringing joy and meaning to us all, or whatever it is you think you do, Kanye, and let the poor little French guys enjoy their award.

Click here to see the video at MTV.

God is in the details.

Take a moment to check out this awe-inspiring gallery of the Hubble Telescope's Top 100 Images. Gives me goosebumps.


(thanks, bunchofnerds)

Methinks he doth protest too much.

Evangelical leader resigns over sex scandal: "Mike Jones, who said he was a male escort, told KUSA on Wednesday he had had a three-year sexual 'business relationship' with Haggard."

I love how, at the end of the article, Jerry Falwell wastes absolutely no time in distancing himself from Haggard.

Dude, being gay isn't catchy.

Fan-fuggin-tastic.

J Fug: "He is the teeeeny pequenito stick of celery in my giant Bloody Mary and he LOVES when I say that because it gets him all hot and bothered and he has to go suck on a tomato for two hours, which is what he usually does when he gets excited.

Heroes Auction

Beginning November 6th, you can place bids for autographed Heroes drawings, in an auction to benefit Pediatric Epilepsy Project. PEP was founded by Greg Grunberg, who plays Matt Parkman on the show, and has a son with epilepsy.

Check it out.