12.30.2008

The end draws near.




The final episodes of Battlestar Galactica will premiere on SciFi on Friday, January 16.  I cannot wait for it to start back up again, but like with a good book, I almost don't want it to end.  I want to leave this last chapter unread until I just can't bear it any longer. I've said it here before - this really is one of the best television shows I have ever watched, and I am really going to miss it.

Hulu has Webisodes 4, 5 and 6:


If you have absolutely nothing to do and no life for the next 2 weeks, you can still catch up on all 3 and a half seasons before the new episodes start!

12.29.2008

The Christmas That Almost Wasn't


12-26-2008 027, originally uploaded by gina64.

I hope that you all enjoyed your holiday, and that Santa was good to you. Sadly, our Christmas had a bit of a rocky start. The morning was just beginning to dawn, when outside the window we heard such a clatter, we sprang from our beds to see what was the matter.

Nothing could have prepared us for what we saw: Santa Claus, lying on our front porch in a very unnatural position. We're still not sure how it happened, but something caused him to veer off course and crash right into our house! (I suspect Santa of partaking of a bit too much holiday cheer, but I have no proof save the unmistakable aroma of spiked eggnog that he gave off)

Not to fear, however - as it happens, Santa Claus is a lot more flexible than one would think, and after helping him up and brushing him off, we filled him with some hot coffee and Christmas cookies and sent him on his way.

And that's how we saved Christmas.

href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gina64/3147466962/" title="12-26-2008 028 by gina64, on Flickr">12-26-2008 028

12-26-2008 026

12.26.2008

Wow.

Bomb explodes in car used by suspected 'Santa' shooter:

"Police said the holiday party was attended by about 25 people. The gunman, dressed in a full Santa Claus outfit, came in the front door and then moved through the house, firing two semi-automatic handguns and using an apparently homemade pressurized device to spread some kind of accelerant.

The first victim was an 8-year-old girl who ran to the door after hearing a knock, police said. She was shot in the face but survived."

I just can't believe how horrible this story is. And it just keep getting worse with every update. That poor child.

12.24.2008

Happy Huludays




This is a little late, but there might be a recipe or a cocktail you could throw together at the last minute.  The Snowtini sounds interesting!  You can always count on Sandra Lee to come up with some good booze recipes.

ThisisGina's Advent Calendar: Day 24

Santa's already on his way! He seems to have delivered to just about all of Asia and Australia and he's making his way west towards Europe.

Like they do every year, NORAD is tracking Santa Claus as spans the globe (Right now he's in Buxoro, Uzbekistan), and kids, this is a very handy tool for those times when your parents are trying to make you go to bed because "Santa will be here any minute!" If you find yourself in that situation, just head on over to NORAD, and arm yourself with the truth! "Santa's in New Foundland, DAD.  He won't be in Chicago for hours yet!"

I hope all of my readers have a wonderful holiday.  I am going to try to post a special Christmas photo tomorrow, so please check back.  Have a good one :-).

PS  I can't believe I managed to post something for every day!

12.23.2008

Fly Ajira Airways



You know those LOST postcards I told you about yesterday? Look closely at the one with the airplane...see the logo for Ajira Airways? Yeah? Well guess, what...there's a website! I haven't had time to check it out yet, but I see that they ask for your e-mail for "future updates". I have no idea what that entails, but I think it's cool!

ThisisGina's Advent Calendar: Day 23

ThisisGina's Advent Calendar: Day 22



Happy Hanukkah to all of my Jewish friends - you know who you are! - and Happy Birthday, Holly!

12.22.2008

ThisisGina's Advent Calendar: Day 21

Unbearably cute, outrageously blasphemous, or the work of an insane person? You decide:

Send a LOST postcard to someone you love.

Or someone you hope never to see again.

LOST e-cards.

ThisisGina's Advent Calendar: Day 20

The Office: Original Recipe ended with a 2 hour Christmas special in which Tim and Dawn finally got together:

ThisisGina's Advent Calendar: Day 19


We got a lot of snow!, originally uploaded by gina64.

I'm dreaming of a White Christmas, and it looks like we're going to get one!

Birdies



12.18.2008

ThisisGina's Advent Calendar: Day 18

It's a Very X-Filey Christmas, as today we have the season 6 episode "How the Ghosts Stole Christmas" condensed into a 10 minute video. Enjoy!

Heroes: "Villains" Finale

I was able to watch it on Hulu last night (yay, Hulu!), and I have to say, it was entertaining. That's mostly because they kept things moving at a quick pace, not really giving me time to think about what each character was actually doing or saying. Heh.

I mean, when Claire shot the phone?  I was like, "Claire!  Nice!  Use one of your 6 bullets to shoot a phone.  You could have accomplished the same thing by unplugging it from the wall."  And when Noah and Meredith had the Puppet Master, et al held at gunpoint, well, that really shouldn't have worked.  Hello! He can physically control people with his mind!

The thing I have the hugest problem with, however, is Nathan's turn to the dark side.  I know he's been walking the line between good and evil since the beginning, but his love for his brother has always led him to do the right thing.  Not anymore, I guess.  He was willing to leave Peter to burn to death in the Pinehearst fire.  Contrast that with him willing to die as he flew away from NYC with Peter-the-Nuclear-Bomb at the end of the first season, and that's quite the turnaround.  Yes, since that happened Peter did shoot and in fact kill him, so I can maybe understand the shift, but they didn't show us.  Imagine how much more sense it would make if we heard Nathan saying something like, "Because you love me?  Did you shoot me at that press conference and kill me because you loved me?  I'm done, Peter.  I'm done with you, with all of this.  People with abilities are too powerful and cause too much damage in the world, and I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen anymore."  That's all I would have needed, just a couple of sentences.  I'm sure he will make a great Big Bad in the next chapter, and I'll be happy to see Adrian Pasdar featured more prominently, but I just wish it was written better.

Worf as the President, however?  Cool beans!  Also great: "Out of my way, Pikachu."  Hee!

Another cool thing:  Ando has a power!  Uncool: His crummy power is to make everyone else's  powers better.  Once a sidekick, always a sidekick, I guess.

The only people I believe are truly dead: Knox, Blue Fire Hands Man, Puppet Master and his fellow prison posse guys.  I am not convinced that we have seen the last of Sylar - in fact, I'm sure that we haven't - or Meredith, and maybe not even Arthur Petrelli (although I think he may actually be dead).  I hope that Hiro cannot time travel again for a LONG time, possibly never.  And I hope Tracy comes to her senses and ditches Mohinder at the first opportunity!

I am SO glad this chapter is finished. Do I think the next one will be better? No, not really.  Will I tune in again, at the risk of being bitterly disappointed, AGAIN? Probably.  But there is still a glimmer of hope and I'm not ready to let go completely.

Just be forewarned: If I am disappointed, I will not hesitate to complain, and complain loudly!

12.17.2008

BSG Webisode 3

ThisisGina's Advent Calendar: Day 17

Merry Fringemas to all!

I had no idea they were making this movie.

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan: "The events of The Plan are the events that you've seen ... in the show, from the miniseries to almost the end of season two," Espenson said in an exclusive interview. "So it's that chunk of time, but sort of seen with the Cylon perspective. So you're going to see a lot of stuff that was going on that you weren't aware of at the time: on Caprica, in the fleet. ... This was the time when the Cylons, as depicted in the original show, ... were very mysterious, enemies that would come out of the darkness and retreat. And this is ... what were they really doing all that time: What was the internal stuff. ... A lot of loose ends are tied up, a lot of questions are asked that you don't even know you have."

That sounds awesome!

12.16.2008

ThisisGina's Advent Calendar: Day 16

Lily and Mommy and the Crazy Spinning Gazebo of Christmas!

These photos were all taken at the Watertown Tree Lighting.

Santa's Gazebo

In this one, Santa ducks the paparazzi:

Who knew Santa was so elusive?

And here Lily admires the tree:

Taking it all in

Lily and Mommy

Sunset on Mars

Yeah, I'm a geek, but tell me that is not amazing.

See more amazing Mars landscape photos at National Geographic's "Vision of Mars" gallery.

ThisisGina's Advent Calendar: Day 15

I'm sorry about the back log, but I had a busy weekend!

Today's item is for the grownups:

TV Talk: Is it January yet?


ABC has released a whole bunch of promotional photos for the new season of LOST (which begins in January) and, well, they kind of suck. This one of John Locke isn't so bad, but my TV boyfriend Desmond? EW! Look at his hair! It's way too "done". Why is he in a room with vines growing on the walls? Why is there furniture in Sawyer's boat? And why are there pine trees on the land behind John?

I finished season 1 of HBO's True Blood this weekend (thank God for On Demand!), and I'm not sure I can wait for next summer for the new season. I want to know what happened to Lafayette! And why Sam has all that money in his safe and who Maryann really is! The show really is a great combination of horror, romance, comedy and drama, with a dash of murder mystery. And Bill Compton is totally my alternate TV boyfriend, for those lonely times between new seasons of LOST.

I DVR'd Heroes last night, but when I sat down to watch it I found that the recording was corrupted, all garbled and pixelated and unwatchable. That's not as huge a loss as it would have been in earlier days, but last night's episode was the finale for this chapter and I was kind of looking forward to seeing how they wrapped things up. I'll have to see if I can catch it online, and I'll post about it here when I do.

Finally, some Battlestar Galactica items of interest:

1) Mo Ryan has been writing about her "Battlestart Galactica-thon", her re-watch of all of BSG in the lead up to the final episodes, which begin airing in January: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

2) SciFi has begun airing the new webisodes! If you missed the first two, I got your back:





3)Lastly, if you're still confused about what the frak is going on in this show, you should watch this clip and catch the frak up:

12.15.2008

ThisisGina's Advent Calendar: Day 14

Really effed-up christmas videos!











ThisisGina's Advent Calendar: Day 13



The very awesome annual "Scared of Santa" photo gallery from the Chicago Tribune.

Cat-like reflexes - who knew?

An Iraqi reporter acts as a conduit for 8 years of the American press' collective frustration:



It's a shame his mind isn't as quick.

12.12.2008

ThisisGina's Advent Calendar: Day 12

Jack Skellington discovers Christmas:

12.11.2008

ThisisGina's Advent Calendar: Day 11

Which Christmas Character Are You?

Mrs. Claus

That's right — your unwavering support, hospitality, and comforting touch have landed you the important role of Mrs. Claus. You know how to take good cheer and deliver it wherever you go, spreading warmth even on the coldest winter days.

Personality Test Results

Click Here to Take This Quiz

quiz
Quizzes and Personality Tests

12.10.2008

Dead Sexy

I just found this hilarious fan video in tribute to Bill Compton's sexiness. He is so sexy, in fact, that despite the awful hair and the borderline dorky wardrobe, I'd do him in a heartbeat. Even if he doesn't have one.

ThisisGina's Advent Calendar: Day 10

Iris and Fern, "Feline Decorating Enthusiasts", have graciously offered their expertise in instructing us on the proper way to decorate a Christmas Tree.

Thanks, girls!

12.09.2008

Is anyone still watching Heroes?

I am, although I'm not sure why. It's still a really stupid show, but last night? I actually enjoyed a couple of parts, namely Hiro and Claire's stories. Which is really weird because I haven't been enjoying those characters at all this season.

Oh well, the final episode of this chapter airs next week, and that's when I'll pull the plug and delete my season pass.

You know, the really crappy thing about the end of Pushing Daisies is that Bryan Fuller will now be free to write for Heroes again. The show could very well improve drastically with him behind the scenes again (look at the turn-around the LOST writers pulled off). However, as cool as that would be, I'm not sure I want to even give it a chance after this season. For me, an improved Heroes is just not worth the loss of Pushing Daisies. Let Heroes die and bring back the pie maker, I say!

ThisisGina's Advent Calendar: Day 9

Siskel & Ebert review a new movie called, "A Christmas Story":

Pug vs. Baby



I love how the dog stands and waits, as if it's taunting the baby, until the child is just about to grab it, and then slowly walks away.

I can imagine scenes like this in our house very soon!

12.08.2008

GWB begins the long goodbye.

I'm Really Gonna Miss Systematically Destroying This Place: "The worst part about leaving is knowing I can never screw up anything this big again. Don't get me wrong, I'm only 62. I could still bankrupt an oil company, or become the next MLB commissioner and ruin baseball. But I'll never get the opportunity to fuck up on this massive of a scale again. Even if you put me back in charge for another term, I could only take the U.S. from a rapidly declining world power to not a world power at all. I don't mean to gloat, but I think it's safe to say that no one can ever unseat the American empire like I unseated the American empire."

ThisisGina's Advent Calendar: Day 8

Let there be light!!





And this one's actually quite pretty:

12.07.2008

ThisisGina's Advent Calendar: Day 7


This year's tree, originally uploaded by gina64.

Today is a busy day, with 2 parties, so I don't have time to do more than post a few photos.

This is our tree this year. It pretty much looks the same every year, but I still love to look at it. We always get a Fraser Fir. Helpful tip: pour boiling hot water into the tree stand the first time you water it. It helps to clear any sap that might be blocking the water from seeping into the trunk.

If you look closely at this photo, you can see the reflection of our living room in the silver ball (click through for a larger version at Flickr).

If you look closely, you can almost see me.

A Very Frawnch Christmas

Add the 2 inches of snow we got overnight, the Christmas music on the TV and the cup of hot chocolate I just had, and I'm feeling pretty damn festive this morning.

12.05.2008

ThisisGina's Advent Calendar: Day 5



Click the link below to play!



Games at Miniclip.com - Snowmen Invaders
Snowmen Invaders

Throw the biggest snowballs to defeat the evil snow creatures!

Play this free game now!!

Who's going to look for Ron and Nicole's 'real' killer now?

O.J. Simpson gets at least 15 years in prison: "A Las Vegas judge sentenced fallen gridiron great O.J. Simpson to at least 15 years in prison for leading an armed confrontation last year at a Las Vegas hotel room over sports memorabilia. Simpson could become eligible for parole in about nine years. Grimacing, Simpson was escorted from the courtroom in shackles."

I feel bad for the kids.

TV Talk: Sex, Pies and Cellophane Tape (for wrapping presents, get it?)

HBO's vampire series True Blood was on my list of new shows to watch this fall, but it somehow got dropped along the way. I think I felt as though my TV plate was full at the time, which is funny because it really wasn't. And then I heard that the show had a slow start and maybe it wasn't that great so I thought, "OK, now I don't feel so bad about not checking it out."

Then I started to hear good things. And then my friends started watching the episodes On Demand and raving about it. So I watched the first two episodes last night and I LOVED it. I could do without the somewhat excessive and borderline pornographic sex that was sprinkled about in these two episodes, and I'm hoping they either tone it down or it's not quite as gratuitous as it seems and there's some greater meaning underlying the speed humping, but everything else? Love! The main vampire character, Bill (that's him in the picture), is just dead sexy, pun intended, and he doesn't engage in any speed humping, thank God. He and Anna Paquin, who plays Sookie, have blazing hot chemistry, and they've barely kissed.

The first season is only available On Demand until December 22. I have 10 episodesleft to watch before then. I think I can do it!

What else have I been watching? Lots of Christmas specials, that's what! So far this season I've managed to see A Christmas Story, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Shrek's Christmas and Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Only a bazillion more to go...

Oh, I've also been watching what are the final few episodes of one of the most imaginative shows ever made: Pushing Daisies. After I watch this week's episode, there will only be 4 left. Not a lot of time, but perhaps just enough to end things somewhat satisfactorily. I will miss it.

12.04.2008

ThisisGina's Advent Calendar: Day 4

Another Christmas movie clip for you: The Prime Minister of England and his driver sing a carol for 3 little girls.

From "Love, Actually", a fantastic movie.

New LOST Cast Photo!



Click on the photo for a much larger version, perfect for some obsessively geeky analysis!

A few observations:

Why do they insist on photo-shopping everyone to the point where they have the same, plastic-y skin color?

What's the significance of the cityscape outside the window? Is it New York?

Did Hurley lose weight?

I miss Desmond's blue shirt. And I hope he loses his brush next season - I much prefer him all mussed up.

It's like they know.

Live streaming video by Ustream

It's about 10:45 AM and all six of the puppies have piled into the crate in a giant sleeping pile of fluff. A couple of the puppies are going to their new homes this weekend. It's like they're getting as much togetherness in as possible.

Oh, my poor, poor sappy heart.

12.03.2008

ThisisGina's Advent Calendar: Day 3

Today, a clip from one of my most favorite Christmas movies (which is also a highly underrated comedy), The Ref:



More holiday movie clips in the days to come!

Migrant Mother

Girl from iconic Great Depression photo: 'We were ashamed':"She was the backbone of our family," McIntosh says. "We never had a lot, but she always made sure we had something. She didn't eat sometimes, but she made sure us children ate. That's one thing she did do."

A very moving, and timely, article.

12.02.2008

This whole Vampire craze has gone TOO far.

Just look what it has wrought:



Available at your local Target store this holiday season!

Yes, and I have the entire season of "Life on Mars' to prove it.

Are you afflicted with 'TiVo guilt'?: "More and more people are becoming turned off by their TiVos. Digital video recorders (DVRs) revolutionized television for many viewers, freeing them from endless VCR programming and buying and keeping track of tapes. But it turns out that very ease is providing users with more than they can watch -- and turning a joy into drudgery."

This is one of the main reasons why, despite having a DVR, I try to watch a show on the night it first airs, using the DVR to skip commercials. Otherwise, time gets away from me and things tend to sit. I still haven't watched the season finale of Sons of Anarchy that aired a week ago, and now I have to find 90 minutes - minus ads - where I can fit it in.

And don't get me started on the entire season thus far of Life on Mars that I have sitting there, waiting, begging me to watch it every time I have to scroll through the list to get to something else.

I'm not ready to delete it just yet. My DVR guilt won't let me.

ThisisGina's Advent Caledar: Day 2



Click here to play Buddy the Elf's Snowball fight. Be careful not to hit Santa!

Thank you for the link, Holly!

12.01.2008

ThisisGina's Advent Calendar: Day 1

My friend Jill is beginning a neat project today over at her NY Odyssey Livejournal: She is going to try to post at least one photo per day through Christmas that relates to the holiday. She lives in Manhattan, so I bet she'll come up with some really great images. Check her site out when you get the chance!

When she told me what she was planning, I thought that I'd like to maybe do something like that here, too, and perhaps change it up a bit with links to videos, news stories, etc. Since inspiration strikes me so rarely, I asked if she minded that I borrow her idea. She said she didn't, and so with Jill's gracious permission to steal from her, I give you the First Annual ThisisGina Advent Calendar.

Every day, from today through Christmas Day, I will post something related to the holidays, something that I hope you guys will enjoy. Today, I give you this video from A Colbert Christmas:

This is what a good boss does.

Ill. family thanks employees with surprise bonuses: On the day the checks were distributed, Valentin Dima watched as co-workers broke down in tears over their bonus checks. He drove home first, then opened his envelope: $33,000. His wife received a check for a smaller amount, and the two Romanian immigrants have since taken a Caribbean cruise to celebrate.

What if there was no bee?



Oh my God, it's like an alternate X-Files universe.