5.29.2009

Pushing Daisies Alert!

This almost got by me, and I'm probably too late in letting you know: ABC will start burning off the final three episodes of Pushing Daisies tomorrow night at 10:00 PM.

I'm setting my DVR as we speak...

New Poll

TV Talk: Summer TV Possibility?

Maybe, maybe not.

SciFi has a new show beginning on July 7 called Warehouse 13, and this is how they describe it:

After saving the life of the President, two Secret Service agents find themselves abruptly transferred to Warehouse 13 — a massive, top-secret storage facility in windswept South Dakota that houses every strange artifact, mysterious relic, fantastical object and supernatural souvenir ever collected by the U.S. government.

The Warehouse's caretaker Artie (Saul Rubinek) assigns Pete (Eddie McClintock) and Myka (Joanne Kelly) the challenge of chasing down reports of supernatural and paranormal activity in search of new objects to store at the Warehouse. The two agents are also commissioned to help Artie control the Warehouse itself, which proves to be a task beyond what either of them could have ever imagined.

Warehouse 13 is an action-packed exploration where the unlikely, becomes what's possible and reality is a limitless phenomenon filled with wonder.


Sounds kind of good. But after watching the preview, I get the sense that this will end up being like The X-Files if it was written by the people who gave us Monk. There's obviously an audience for that - I'm just not sure that I'm a part of it.

I am interested enough to check it out, however, especially since I read this casting news from Ausiello at TV Guide:

Former Battlestar Galactica toasters Tricia Helfer and Michael Hogan are staying in Sci Fi's orbit, signing on to guest star on the net's new paranormal dramedy Warehouse 13 (premiering July 7). Helfer will play a Chicago-based FBI agent, while Hogan has been cast as the father of Warehouse heroine Myka (Joanne Kelly). In a fun little twist, Hogan's real-life wife, Susan, will play the role of Myka's mom. And if that's not enough BSG for you, Mark Sheppard (who portrayed the Fleet's morally flexible lawyer, Romo Lampkin) will appear as enigmatic figure who represents the organization that controls the Warehouse.


That's enough to get me to the TV!

I think Mr. Potato Head's voice is different.

I can't think of a title that is the least bit original.



Of all the answers there could be to the question "Why did the chicken cross the road?", "To get a donut" is probably the best. A donut is totally worth the effort.

However, Ivan Henry might want to think about a donut delivery because I think he's tempted fate one too many times by crossing that busy road every day.

You can never feed a pug fast enough.



Marty's the loud one.

All in all, this was pretty low-key. I'll see if I can catch them when they're REALLY hysterical.

5.28.2009

Best Pug Meetup EVER.



In Honolulu. I would very much like to go.

What if Nathan Fillion was cast as The Green Lantern?



Amazing fan made trailer.

Season 8 won't be the same.



I miss you already, Bill!

5.27.2009

Another upcoming project to look forward to...

According to Movieline:

"Paul", the new sci-fi comedy written by and starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, has pieced together its supporting cast: Jason Bateman, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader and Jane Lynch have all signed on, in addition to Seth Rogen, who voices the alien the two leads stumble upon on a road trip to the Nevada desert. Greg Mottola directs.

No way. No. Freaking. Way. A movie with Simon Pegg, Jason Bateman, Kristen Wiig and Jane Lynch is like, I don't know, the Perfect Storm of comedies or something. I am PSYCHED!

This may be enough to make me a fan of the theater.



Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig to star in a Broadway play:

The drama, "A Steady Rain" by Keith Huff, is about two Chicago cops whose lifelong friendship is put to the test when they become involved in a domestic dispute in a poor neighborhood.

Holy Hormone Overload. They'll be carrying the women out of there on stretchers.

See you at the hospital!

5.26.2009

Food Network gossip for my sister and J:

Giada De Laurentiis says Rachel Ray feud is all smoke and no flame.

A feud? But who will you root for?

(Notice how I completely ignore her denial...)

Week 20/52


Week 20/52, originally uploaded by gina64.

There's never anything good on the Internet anymore.

Back!

Just a quick note to say I'm back and trying to catch up on everything. I'm hoping to get some photos from the trip posted tonight. We had beautiful weather, but no bears.

5.20.2009

I'm heading north.


The Cold River, originally uploaded by gina64.

Memorial Day is here, and that means friends and I will be making out our (our! we will not be making out!) annual trip to the Mohawk Trail State Forest for some relaxing outdoor fun.

It also means that I'll be away from tomorrow until Monday. I'll be up in the Berkshire Mountains, with limited cell phone access and no Internet, but I'll try to upload something at some point.

The weather is supposed to be really nice around these parts, so this should be a great trip. I hope you have a good weekend, too.

5.19.2009

Half off with the purchase of Zubaz pants.

You can get this kick-ass t-shirt for only $9.14 if you click here now.

Check out the "Customers Who Viewed This Item Also Viewed" section and, especially, the comments. A sample:

I accidentally spilled a glass of Tuscan Whole Milk down the front of this shirt, and my soul was torn from my body and thrown into heaven by a jealous God.

Hee!

5.18.2009

What would you like to hear first: the good news or the bad news?

The good news? Fringe has been renewed! Yay!

The bad news? FOX is moving it to Thursday nights opposite 30 Rock, The Office, Grey's Anatomy and CSI.

F*ckers.

52 Weeks Project slideshow



I wasn't aware that Flickr allowed users to embed slideshows in blog posts. Hopefully this works...

Week 19/52


Week 19/52, originally uploaded by gina64.

Watching television in our house can be an unsettling experience. You see, Mickey barks at animals he sees on the TV. Not just dogs. Every animal. Horses, cats...anything with four legs. Even animated animals. He comes running from the other room when he hears the opening notes of Lady GaGa's "Poker Face" video because he knows there are two Great Danes in the beginning who need to be reminded of who the boss is around here.

Here we see Mickey watching Elvis' "Blue Hawaii", looking for the dog he just heard barking.

We haven't been able to watch Animal Planet in over 2 years.

Saturday night.


05-16-2009 034, originally uploaded by gina64.

I'm done.

Dreams come true, in Blue Hawaii...

5.14.2009

Gorgeous Man Staring Contest

LOST: Episodes 5.16 and 5.17

The Incident

Dude, that statue has, like, a dinosaur face! WTF?!

I know that should be the least of my concerns after last night's fantastic finale, but I did some reading around and found out that the statue is probably the Egyptian god Sobek. From Wikipedia: Sobek's ambiguous nature led some Egyptians to believe that he was a repairer of evil that had been done, rather than a force for good in itself, for example, going to Duat to restore damage done to the dead as a result of their form of death.

Sound familiar? Fixing dead people?

Anyway, despite a little impatience that I felt with the whole love quadrangle - and the unforgivable absence of Desmond and Penny - I was very satisfied with the episode. They piled on the mythology, ramped up the violence (like they really needed to!) and really delivered on the quieter character moments. And then they ended on a patented LOST WTF moment. Actually, more than one.

There is a lot to process, but here are some quick thoughts.
  • I am reminded of BSG's "All of this has happened before, and all of it will happen again."  I think Jacob and the man in the dark shirt (let's call him Titus, which is the actor's name) have been locked in some kind of struggle for a very long time - good v. evil, dark v. light - but I'm still not clear about who the good guy is.  Jacob "brings" people to the Island as part of a test, or something, to see how they will interact when faced with the properties of the Island.  Perhaps?  First he brought the Black Rock there, and then Flight 815.  Titus wants him to stop (why? Is he the Island?) but can't kill Jacob himself for some reason.  So titus does everything he can to position the Losties where he can use them to kill Jacob.
  • Locke is really dead.  Dead is dead, as Ben said.  Oo, a rhyme!  How tragic and touching it will be if this is the last that we will see of our Locke.  Maybe he's in there somehow - he does have Locke's memories...
  • Ben Linus as the "manipulatee" is fascinating to watch.  Michael Emerson is the king of acting!
  • So raise your hand if you think "Ricardus" came to the Island on the Black Rock?  I found a translation to how he answered the question, "What lies in the shadow of the statue":  It's a latin phrase - "Ille qui nos omnes servabit" - which means "He who will protect (or save) us all."
  • I'm feeling now like maybe the excessive violence - does anyone on this Island NOT have a gun or knife? - was intentional, there to prove Titus' point that people always bring"destruction and corruption" when they come to the Island, and that it always ends the same.  I wonder what he means about the way it ends?
  • Vincent!  Rose and Bernard!  I would be very happy if that's the last we see of them.  Their decision to "retire" makes perfect sense and I think they've been able to lead a peaceful existence on the Island because they're not caught up in the "destruction and corruption" that surrounds the rest of the Losties and the Island chooses to leave them be.
  • I started to get a lump in my throat as soon as Juliet got pulled into the well.  The tears came when she and Sawyer were ripped apart.  I can only hope that Juliet somehow survives.  If the detonation of the bomb killed her, then it would have also killed everyone else. If, on the other hand, the detonation caused an "incident" that "white-flashed" them all to 2007 ( which is what I think happened), then she could still be alive. Hurtin' real bad, but still alive. Same goes for Sayid.

I honestly don't think the bomb undid anything as far as the 2004 plane crash goes. I think it just caused the incident because it was meant to cause it - whatever happened, happened. And I think that the "they" that Jacob said were coming are Jack, Sawyer, et al, coming back to 2007 from the past.  I am really uneasy about the idea of this being a giant reset and when we pick the story up in January they will all be landing at LAX.  This story needs to be finished on the Island, in my opinion, and 16 or 17 episodes just isn't enough to get them all back there.

5.13.2009

Excuse me while I throw up.

Mickey Rourke wrestles Victoria's Secret model 32 years his junior into submission.

I don't think that guy has washed his hair since 1992.

My two favorite characters from LOST.



This is the last LOST Spaghetti Day until probably January 2010!

As if you don't know already, the 2-hour season 5 finale of LOST is on tonight at 9:00. ABC is also airing something called "LOST: A Journey in Time" at 8:00, which I believe is a recap show. It might be worth watching for a refresher before the finale insanity begins.

For another excellent refresher, Sky.com (British broadcasting) has posted a pictorial review of the entire season, featuring 300 episode stills in an easy to browse flash screen. You should check it out!

I'm trying to wrap my head around what I think might happen tonight, and I'm finding that doing that really hurts. Ha! Will Jack actually succeed in setting off the bomb? I don't think that's possible. A successful detonation of a hydrogen bomb would almost certainly result in the deaths of everyone on the Island, and we know that doesn't happen in 1977. And we all know you can't change what happened, right?

Why did Richard tell Jin that he saw her friends die? Perhaps whatever "event" occurs, whether it's the bomb or the digging at The Swan, perhaps that incident causes Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Juliet, Jin, Hurley and Miles to be sent back to the present day, and in the confusion Richard assumes they are killed?

My one big hope is that this finale will bring this chapter of the story to an end, that we will stop having to straddle 3 decades between the two groups and that everyone will wind up in the same time and space for the final season.

Oh, and I'd like to see Desmond back on my screen, thank you!

5.12.2009

I cannot explain why, but this is one of my favorite Looney Tunes cartoons.

Watch more My Video videos on AOL Video



They are adorable, and so GAY! (something that went WAY over my head when I was little)

I love them.

5.11.2009

A list of things I really like right now.

1. Friendly's Black Raspberry ice cream



I could eat this every single night.

2. Boots Original Formula Body Cream (available at Target!)


I love the blend of lavender and patchouli.

3. Anvil: The Story of Anvil Trailer



I could watch this over and over and over. That's dedication, pal.

TV Talk: Finale Week

I am totally jazzed for the Fringe and LOST season finales this week! Please accept my apology for not doing full recaps of the past two episodes of LOST, I just couldn't manage it. I'm hoping to post a complete recap of the finale within a couple of days of its airing, but I will also post a preliminary discussion post, in case you come here looking to talk.

Has anyone besides us been watching Harper's Island? The fifth episode was on Saturday night, and it was one of their best. That's good news for them, since we were becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the show, for many reasons. Among them: The cast is way too large and indistinguishable; the pace can be sluggish; characters die and no one misses them; and a criminal over-use of the "fake scare" horror cliche. However, Saturday's episode seemed to be a course correction, and from what I've read, things really begin to pick up from here on out. I hope so.

I just found out the other day that PBS' latest installment of Masterpiece Mystery is a series called Wallander, that stars Kenneth Branagh. The first episode was on last night and I recorded it. It looks intriguing. I'll let you know what I think. (If you want to check it out, you can watch the first episode online at the link above)

As this post's title points out, this is finale week for a big chunk of television, so I thought I'd re-post the finale schedule I gave you last week.

24 - Two hour finale, Monday, May 18
30 Rock - Thursday, May 14
The Amazing Race - Sunday, May 10
Big Bang Theory - Monday, May 11
The Biggest Loser - Two hour finale, Tuesday, May 12
Bones - Thursday, May 14
Castle - Monday, May 11
Criminal Minds - Two hour finale, Wednesday, May 20
CSI Orginal Recipe - Thursday, May 14
Fringe - Tuesday, May 12
Law & Order: SVU - Tuesday, June 2
LOST - Two hour finale, Wednesday, May 13


The Castle finale is tonight, and I wonder if they'll do anything special for it. I haven't heard yet if ABC renewed the show, but I hope they do, if only so that Nathan Fillion doesn't have to add another show that lasted only one season to his resume!

Wow, that was a very rambly post.

5.10.2009

Week 18/52


Week 18/52, originally uploaded by gina64.

5.07.2009

This story would be so much less confusing if the other guy wasn't named Jack.

Will Kiefer Sutherland head-butt delay '24'?

The action-drama is set to start production on its eighth season at the end of the month, but star Kiefer Sutherland is caught up in an action-drama of his own that threatens to interfere with production.

Sutherland allegedly noggin-knocked clothing designer Jack McCollough at a New York club on Monday night. No charges have been filed, though The New York Daily News and The New York Post are reporting that prosecutors plan to charge the actor with minor assault and that Sutherland intends to surrender as early as tomorrow. Fox, 24 producer 20th TV and Sutherland's publicist had no comment.


While this made for a fun blog post yesterday, it really isn't very funny if he was drunk when it happened. And I really don't care if 24 is delayed, as long as he gets his sh*t together. There were times when I was watching 24 this season where I swore he was drunk. I wonder if the writers exposed Jack to the bio-toxin in order to disguise the slurring? I hope not.

LOST: Episode 5.15

Follow the Leader

Ah, but which one do you follow? John Locke? Jack Shepard? Ben Linus? Richard Alpert? Jacob? Charles Widmore? Eloise Hawking? Who's good? Who's evil? Who's right? Who's wrong? It boggles the mind that this show is still so good despite having not answered any of those questions in any satisfactory way. Yet.

You know, looking at that list of leaders, it really highlights the fact that the writers for this show don't know how to write strong women (and some would argue that they don't know how to write for women at all). That's a shame because if they did, this show would have been as close to perfect as any TV show can get.

Anyhoo, some thoughts.

  • I think Daniel was right when he said "whatever happened, happened", and his change of heart when he came back from Ann Arbor was really just wishful thinking on his part (although I suppose something, or someone, in Ann Arbor could have changed his mind).  I think he wanted his theory of The Variable to be true because that would mean he could save Charlotte.  I think Jack's plan (nee Daniel's) will not work and that whatever he does will actually cause the incident that leads to the pushing of the button in the Swan, which when not pushed will cause their plane to crash.  Whatever happened, happened, and you if you try to change it, the universe will course correct.  That's my position and I'm sticking to it.
  • Speaking of 'The Incident' (which is the title of the finale, BTW), I was mistakenly assuming all this time that this was the same incident referred to on Radzinsky's blast door map;  but he calls it "The Incident of 1985", and this is all happening in 1977.  He also writes about an "accident" on the map.  Is it the same thing?  I think it might be time to re-visit the map (click image for larger version).
  • I was irritated with both Jack and Kate last night.  I guess I was hoping for some character development from them, but they seem to be up to their old tricks again.  Granted, Jack is more of a Locke-style believer now, but he's still retained his most defining (and boring) characteristic: The need to fix everything - even if he has no idea WTF he is doing and it involves a bloody hydrogen bomb.  I give props to Kate for walking away from all that, but she just HAD to go and ruin the Sawyer/Juliet happy ending, didn't she?  Juliet's face when Kate was brought down into the sub was just crushing:
  • I almost yelled "SAYID!" out loud when they revealed him as the shooter.  I had forgotten all about him!  Yay, Sayid! I wonder what he's been doing since he shot Ben?  It's only been a couple of days, right?  I also like how he had to fix his ponytail when he got out of the water.
  • So, Locke wants to kill Jacob??  To what end?  And who knew Jacob could even BE killed?  Is the Island instructing Locke to kill him?  Or is John now a manifestation of the Island (or smoke monster) ? This makes me wonder just exactly who - or what - John Locke is, or has become.
  • I loved the compass scene and how gobsmacked Richard and Ben were while watching the whole thing go down.
  • Who or what is Richard Alpert? (He's a wee man, isn't he?)  Was the ship-in-a-bottle scene a hint as to his origins?  The Black Rock, anyone?
  • I am so glad that Miles told his father who he really was, and he got to see why his father sent them away.
  • One minor nitpick: It would have been nice to see Jack - or Sayid - refer somehow to the weirdness of those ancient tunnels with Egyptian carvings.  It was like the Mines of Moria down there and they don't ask?
  • Lastly, I am still amazed at how paranoid and violent these Dharma people - and the Others - are.  The only thing the prevents me from shooting the TV when Radzinsky is on it is the knowledge that he will one day blow his own brains out.
  • Actually, one more thing: Sawyer is totally going to kill Phil next week!
So, what did you think?

5.06.2009

LOST Spaghetti Day

Just a reminder (as if you needed one) that there is a new episode of LOST on tonight. This is the season's penultimate episode, before the 2-hour finale next week, so I'm foreseeing a lot of setup tonight.

In the meantime, test your LOST trivia chops by going here. I am quite chagrined at the fact that I only got 50% of the answers correct on the Desmond version. I hang my head in shame.



Wait, did someone say Desmond? This calls for a picture!

Did you know?

Did you know that Mr. Jones from Fringe is Richard Harris' son (Jared Harris)? I did not know that!

And now that I do, well, yeah, I can totally see it.

I think I hate him.

Brit wins 'best job in the world' competition:

He will move into a three-bedroom beach home overlooking the tropical island's Great Barrier Reef. For six months, he will feed the fish, clean the pool and send weekly blog and video reports on what is happening on the island.

Other benefits include free return airfares from their nearest capital city, transport on the island, computer and camera gear and travel to other islands.

And they say chivalry is dead.

Kiefer Sutherland Headbutts Fashion Designer At NYC Event:

According to reports, the scuffle between Sutherland and McCollough broke out after the designer was seen knocking over actress Brooke Shields.

The incident, which was witnessed by Kiefer and a slew of other attendees, prompted the "24" actor to rush over and assist Shields. Sources tell PIX News, when Sutherland demanded McCollough apologize for the incident, he refused and immediately dismissed the actor. McCollough, who is one half of the fashion design duo Proenza Schouler, was seen shoving Sutherland who responded with a headbutt.


I know it's wrong, but that's hot.

In what alternate universe does that fasion designer live that he thought he could lay the smackdown on Jack??

5.05.2009

Moving on to the 80s...

Victoria Principal accused of pointing a gun at her maid:

The 59-year-old star, who played Pam Ewing on 'Dallas', was alleged to have become furious after the housekeeper, Maribel Banegas, took too long walking the dog.

Banegas said she had had to wait because the pet wouldn’t do its 'business', at which point Principal fetched the weapon and pointed it at her.


Oh, so many jokes here...Was it Pam who really shot J.R.? Will her defense be that it was all just a dream?

Sad News.

Dom Deluise has died at age 75.

He hadn't done much work lately, at least nothing that I knew about, but boy was he a favorite in our house, especially in the 70s when he would make all of those appearances on the talk shows. He and Burt Reynolds together were hilarious.

Also hilarious are these clips, featuring Mr. Deluise in Mel Brooks' "Blazing Saddles" and "History of the World, PartI", respectively.





Things just got very silly up in heaven.

5.04.2009

Another True Blood trailer!



Woo!

'Fringe' will be back for a second season.

Fox has renewed J.J. Abrams' thriller Fringe for a full 22-episode second season.

"Fringe proved to be a notable addition to our schedule all season, and it really has fans buzzing as it builds to a fantastic season finale," said Kevin Reilly, president of entertainment at Fox. "J.J. and the whole Bad Robot team have been phenomenal partners, and we look forward to years of making great television with them.”

YAY!

Happy Star Wars Day!

May the Fourth Be With You.

Hehe.

5.02.2009

Busy bee.


Bee with smooth bokeh fence., originally uploaded by gina64.

Week 17/52


Week 17/52, originally uploaded by gina64.

Pretty pug