"When 9-year-old Mary Katherine Smart got up to tell her parents that her sister had been abducted at gunpoint from the room the two girls shared, she saw the man still in the house and returned to her bedroom in fear that gripped her for two hours before she gathered the courage to go for help."

Some of the contradictions in yesterday's report are explained. I still think it's someone Mary Katherine knows.

"Man charged with supermarket foot licking." LOL, that has got to be one of the weirdest things I have ever read.

The investigaiton into the Elizabeth Smart disappearance gets more bizarre every day. Now police are claiming that her little sister was not threatened by the kidnapper, but instead that she feigned sleep the whole time and he never spoke to her. And his physical description has changed. And the little sister claims she saw him in the house a second time that night - when? where? She was roaming around the house but didn't tell her parents until 2 hours after Elizabeth was taken? My gut tells me that whoever took Elizabeth knew her, and her family, well, and that is why the little sister took so long to tell her parents - maybe she wasn't sure she should "tell" on the kidnapper.

Senator John McCain always looks like he's contemplating whose ass he will kick next.

"At times the two Mr. Dunnes seem irreconcilable. He has suffered the worst loss any parent can experience and has dedicated his literary career to avenging other victims. He also hobnobs with the fashion designer Arnold Scaasi and uses dish as a verb."

Dominick Dunne's new Court TV show, "Power, Privilege and Justice" can be seen tonight, and every Wednesday, at 10 P.M. The website says that tonight is the show's premiere, but I caught something this weekend, on Sunday, I think - Dunne and Catherine Crier were dishing the dirt with 4 members of the Skakel jury. The tone was decidedly informal, yet not frivolous. You got the feeling that these people were telling it like it is. Tonight's episode, from the website description:

"In 1976, James Sullivan inherited a multi-million dollar liquor distribution empire from his uncle. Newly rich, he married Atlanta socialite Lita McClinton and the two moved to an ocean front mansion in glamorous Palm Beach. There, Jim was determined to work his way into the town's exclusive high society. But when Lita proved an impediment to his social advance Jim began to carry on numerous affairs. By 1985, Lita could take no more. She returned to Atlanta and filed for divorce. The morning of her divorce hearing, Lita opened the door to a man holding flowers and was shot. Circumstantial evidence pointed to Sullivan as the man behind the murder but, despite several indictments, he was never convicted. For 13 years the case languished until 1998 when police arrested one of the hitmen who in turn accused Sullivan. A murder warrant was issued for Sullivan but when police went to serve it, Sullivan vanished."

registration required for NYTimes article

Federal investigators believe that the Forest Service worker set the Colorado fire intentionally. I had mixed feelings about Ms. Barton last night - if it was truly an accident (the fire started when she walked away from a letter she was burning), should she have to spend most of the rest of her life in jail? But if the feds have evidence that the fire was deliberately set, well...

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In the Thank You For Pointing Out The Obvious category, we have this little item:

"Those supersize portions at fast-food outlets may look like bargains, but they cost Americans billions of dollars in obesity-related illnesses, consumer and health groups said on Tuesday."

Bert and Ernie meet the press to promote their new video, "Word Play".

(thanks, tvbarn.com)

"Beam me one meter to the left, Scotty!"

June Berries



Photographed while being washed in my sink.

We're having a "Summer Solstice" party on Friday, and I've got so much to do to get this place into shape for company. And that doesn't include the decorating, the stringing of the lights...no, just plain old cleaning: the dust-encrusted ceiling fan, the normally neglected top of my refrigerator (tall relatives), the inside of the refrigerator, the dog noseprints on all the apartment windows, you know, the stuff that never gets done unless you have people over to your house who don't normally come to your house. Sheila's doing all of the food shopping tonight, and we'll probably get the booze on Thursday.

As you can see, with our mother having moved out, we wasted no time in throwing a party. I drove over to Rhode Island with her on Saturday, she in her car with Petie and me in the truck with the last of her things. Mary and I managed to get her completely unpacked and settled in before I left to come back to Connecticut that afternoon. I can only vaguely recall the first half of the drive home, since most of that time was spent sobbing like a baby. What a hazard I must have been! Anyway, I felt a terrible guilt, as though I had abandoned her, and I know that's not the case. And it didn't help matters when she sobbed, "I don't want you to go" as she held onto me while we said goodbye and wouldn't let go.

This is a good change, though, for all of us, and while we do miss her and Petie, things are the way they should be.

What type of villain are you?

(thanks, usr/bin/girl)

Come on, give us a smile!

"The old question of how you make spy movies or write spy thrillers after the end of the Cold War has now been replaced by the question of how you make them after Sept. 11. "The Bourne Identity" invokes a different kind of nostalgia: the memory of what it's like to go to a Hollywood movie and be treated with decency."

I was sixteen when Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Identity was published. It was one of the first "grown-up" novels I had read. I tore through that sucker, I loved it. I'm sort of apprehensive about the new movie, because of the casting of Matt Damon - I like him, but he just doesn't carry the weight of experience that Jason Bourne needs. And he looks like he's twelve. However, after reading this review at Salon, I may have changed my mind.

Daddy



This is a picture of my father taken while we were standing on the beach in front of our cabin last September. We'll be spending today with him down at the club. Hopefully the sun will make an appearance and we can take the boat out for a ride. Otherwise, it's going to be a bit chilly (it's only 52 here!). Have a Happy Father's Day, everyone.

Invisibles

Man, I'm way behind on these. Quick and dirty:

Answers to the last quiz I linked to (76)
Invisibles #77
Answers to #77
Invisibles #78 - Reading is Fundamental
Answers to #78
Invisibles #79

Have fun!

The Gnome Liberation Front (GLF) suffers a setback in Montana, as reported in abcnews.com's Crime Blotter:

M I S S O U L A, Mont. — It looks like it's the end of the line for the Gnome Liberation Front.

After a yearlong string of garden gnome thefts in Missoula police say they've recovered more than a dozen of the small, kitschy statuettes and have identified the culprits.

"We had a Crimestoppers tip come in last week indicating these gnomes were being held in an apartment," says Detective Annie Norby.

Police obtained a search warrant for the residence and found 18 apparently stolen figurines inside.

The gnome-nappers had confessed to authorities, saying the thefts were simply a prank, Norby said.

"The guys were cooperative," she said. Police have not released the suspects' names, since they have not yet been charged. Charges were pending, however, Norby said.

The gnome heists began last summer, with the thieves leaving notes signed by the "Gnome Liberation Front" in many cases. Several of the gnomes later turned up on the lawns of local schools.

Even though the thefts were intended as a harmless prank, Norby said some victims had been distressed.

"I do remember an elderly woman who had a 2 ½-foot-tall figure that was set on fire," she said. "It was actually made by a family member, so there's a lot of sentimental value."

Other victims will be invited to the police station to try to identify their statues in a gnome lineup.

Olaf, a friend of a friend of a friend, was a victim of a "harmless prank", last summer in Vancouver. The GLF never claimed responsibility for the gnome-napping, and the true culprit has never been brought to justice.

Hot geeks in love.

Although I find boxing to be highly objectionable and barbaric, I am sorely tempted to tune in on Saturday night, just so I can see that piece of Trash finally get the ass-kicking that he deserves. Oh dear, that sounded a little barbaric, didn't it?

"Dark Bob", come on down!! Unless you were avid viewers of Truth or Consequences and The Price is Right, like we were, this may not be as funny to you. It had me rolling. And now the Price is Right theme song will be going through my head all day.

(thanks, tvtattle)

Saturns

The 28th Annual Saturn Awards were handed out last night, for achievement in science fiction and fantasy. I'm pleased to announce that a few of my particular favorites were recognized:

Best Supporting Actor: Ian McKellan, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Cinescape’s Face of the Future (Male): James Marsters, Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Best Fantasy Film: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Barrie M. Osborne, Peter Jackson, Tim Sanders, Fran Walsh producers.
Best Syndicated/Cable TV Series: Farscape
Best Network TV Series: Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Best TV Actor: Ben Browder, Farscape
Best Director: Peter Jackson, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

I don't really know how significant these Saturns are, but I do know that Oscar and Emmy have their heads so far up their respective asses that this is about as close to award recognition these guys will see. Congratulations to the winners!

"Ben Affleck? Matt Damon? Johnny Depp? Those guys aren't action stars -- they're pussies! Next up: Moby does Dirty Harry and James Bond goes gay."

Very funny bit of satire on Hollywood's desecration of the role of the action hero. Granted, there aren't many true successors to guys like Harrison Ford, Clint Eastwood, etc., out there, but I think they could do better than Affleck and Depp. Like, Hugh Jackman, perhaps?

"A Rift Among Bloggers." And so the bickering continues.

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How could you not love this face?

This woman had a spider living in her ear. It was not a very good housekeeper, though - there were spiderwebs everywhere!

Damn, where did I put those q-tips?

Yay!

Now you'll have to be patient as I implement the design changes throughout the site and verify that all of my hyperlinks are working. Yay!

Can you hear me now?

We're Live!

This will be my last post at this URL. Please go to thisisgina.com from here on in. I will leave this site (pages.cthome.net/dardis) up and running until I am sure that everything has moved in one piece. Here goes nothin'!

Dorothy Moxley finally gets justice for her daughter.

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The Onion strikes again. Hehe.

Farscape Continues

Season 4 begins tonight, at 10:00 P.M. (new time) on the SciFi Channel! Still wondering whether you should bother with the show? Think it's too late to get into it? Read on...

"You're going to have to be confused for a while until you get up to speed. But the journey is worth it because, first, there's something inherently fun about being clueless and mystified but also entertained. And second, the acting and writing is top- notch."

"For the past three years, Sci Fi's ``Farscape'' has been the best science fiction on television: exciting, flashy, often funny and always sexy."

(thanks, tvbarn, for both)

Wonder Twin powers, activate!

Just sprucing things up around here, getting ready for the final move...

"With intense cross-examination Wednesday and again today in San Diego Superior Court, the defense lawyer tried to show that the parents, Damon and Brenda van Dam, engaged in such bawdy behavior the night their daughter, Danielle, disappeared that anybody might have abducted the girl and killed her."

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Movin' right along...

I went and did it - signed up for a Geocities Pro account and even got myself my own domain name. How's this for a clever and imaginative URL: www.thisisgina.com. The domain won't be active for about 72 hours, and I still haven't FTP'd the site to the new location, but I'll let you all know when it's time to update your bookmarks.

Most of the improvements that come with this new account/host will be on the backend - much more storage space, higher bandwith, and support for apps that my other host didn't have: php, perl, xml, etc. Not that I can personally write anything using those languages; but I may be able to find ways to improve the user interface with some pre-existing apps that are out there, that I've wanted to use but couldn't because they weren't supported by my host.

I'm hoping the changeover and transfer goes as smoothly as possible; however, I'd like to extend my sincerest apologies - oh, is that what you were extending? - now, just in case. Thanks!

"Last month, in a public appearance to break his silence about the tapes, Mr. Kelly told Black Entertainment Television he had not had sex with a minor and vehemently denied he was the man on the videotape."

Uh, yeah, right - Kelly was married to 15-year-old Aaliyah when he was in his late 20s, yet he has not had sex with a minor. I'm sorry, this guy needs to be locked up.

registration required

Michigan legislature wants to legislate toungue-splitting. First of all - EW. I'm so skeeved right now, I really don't want to talk about it anymore...but I will say I can't believe they're wasting the taxpayer's money on something like that.

Create your own South Park Kid. Here's mine:



I call him Gerald.

(thanks, snarkcake)

the site is in German, but you don't need to speak the language - just click on "body", and you're off!

Flipper is frisky.

My apologies for the lack of posts recently, but real life is impinging on my blog time. The switchover to the new ISP went pretty smoothly, and I'm happy so far with my connect speeds. My ISP is now SBC Yahoo! Dial, which means that I can access my mail via the web, whereas with SNET I was limited just to home access. The change was pretty seamless, too - no increase in my monthly charge, I can continue to pay via my phone bill and my e-mail address didn't change. Now I just have to work on moving this site to Geocities before it's gone!

What's been keeping me busy, though, is preparing my mother for her move. She's been with us for just over 10 months now. She's moving into my sister Mary's place in Rhode Island and we'll be doing the major part of the move on Saturday. Hopefully, she'll be settled in there by the end of next week. At which point, I will get my room back! Ah, privacy.

Hosting Changes

My Internet service is changing, and along with that so will the location of this page. I'm not altogether sure exactly when a switchover will take place, or even what that entails (I just got my new Internet software in the mail today), but if you have trouble in the near future accessing this site, that is why. I'll keep you posted as I know more.

O U C H.

Compassion is forgotten in the pursuit of a story. One of my best friends had something similar happen to her; her mother and brother died under tragic and somewhat sensational circumstances, and the local press was merciless in their attempts to talk to her. Finally, the unthinkable happened: a reporter came to the house, said she was a "friend of Ruthie's" (my friend's mother) in order to get her foot in the door, and proceeded to ask questions when she let her in. That was twenty years ago, but it looks like some things never change.

(thanks, tvbarn)

"His mother found Shawn Woolley's body in a rocking chair in front of his computer. His head was slumped to one side -- still facing a screen of the online game that she says had become his obsession."

"Between 7 pm and 7:40 pm, the National Weather Service issued separate tornado warnings for north-central Fairfield County, southern Litchfield County and northern New Haven County." And we - myself, Sheila, my mother, the two dogs Petie and Marty, and the two cats, Macguyver and Winnie - were all in our cellar, waiting it out. What a sight we must have been, since we live on the second floor and have to go outside in order to get into the cellar. And poor Winnie - she's so ornary, I had to stuff her into a duffel bag, zip it up and run out and downstairs before she figured out how to get out of it (which she almost did!). The storm was pretty fierce, and things were a little scary for about 10 mintues there, but mostly we were just laughing our asses off.

"I don't think either side is that irresponsible to go to that limit," Musharraf told CNN in an exclusive interview. "I would even go to the extent of saying one shouldn't even be discussing these things, because any sane individual cannot even think of going into this unconventional war, whatever the pressures."

Pakistan's President Musharraf assures the world that the current conflict between his country and India will not escalate to full out nuclear war. I feel somewhat reassured. I was reading some of the news stories about this yesterday and I couldn't even write about it, it frightened me so. That level of mass destruction and loss of humanity is beyond my ability to comprehend it. If I think about it too much, I can literally feel the panic begin to settle in, and then my mind just shuts down, a defense mechanism. I think a lot of that is a result of growing up when I did, before the Wall came down and relations between ourselves and the Soviet Union (the only other real nuclear threat at the time) thawed. Now, with the proliferation of nuclear weapon technology wider than ever (and in the hands of countries that are not particular friends of ours), the old fears are starting to awaken.

Brand new college graduate Steven Spielberg finally gets his degree in filmmaking. Hmm, I wonder what the chances were of him failing? And imagine the poor professor who had to grade his projects and papers!

Seriously, though, props to Mr. Spielberg for going back and finishing what he started, when he clearly didn't have to.

More than eight months after the September 11 attacks, New York City says a final goodbye while Mueller admits the attacks may have been preventable.

I think our sense of imperviousness as a nation, our naivete, and a false sense of security are as much to blame as any one individual. As much as I prefer that false sense of security and complacency, I bet that if there was the same level of high paranoia in the intelligence community as there was during the Cold War, the attacks would indeed have been prevented. I don't think the CIA and FBI should return to the tactics of the Cold War era (Christ, the CIA is largely responsible for creating the likes of Osama bin Laden, Noriega, etc.), but there has to be a middle-ground somewhere.

At last, after years of mediocre gardening success and the senseless death of many otherwise perfectly healthy plants, my hard work has paid off. You've heard of Kentucky bluegrass? Crabgrass? Well, feast your eyes on the new variety I've managed to cultivate:

Don King Grass!

Filmwise Fun

Been a while since I visited the Boyz. You can find their most recent Invisibles quiz here. (6 out of 8!)

They also have a new contest, Author! Author!, wherein they've taken the heads of famous authors and inserted them into a still from a movie based on their work. Sort of frightening, but funny, too.

Salon Masterpiece: Star Wars.

We watched Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back on Sunday night. I think I'll pop in Return of the Jedi tonight. My favorite is Empire. What's yours?

Team members will carry a Persil sports kit of socks, sweatbands, baseball hats and mini towels, at the International Naturist Pétanque Championships. It's also all they'll be wearing.

WARNING: photo included; and remember, nudist does not equal supermodel

James Burgett is a big, burly biker and an ex-heroin junkie who is building a trash empire from recycled computers.

Great story.

If you're an Audiogalaxy user, you may want to start downloading all those songs you've been meaning to download - they may not be around much longer.

George lets one rip. LOL

The cleanup effort at the site of the World Trade Center ends today, with the removal of the last steel beam.

Concert pianist likes the X-Files theme so much, he slipped it into a Mozart concerto.

[thanks tvtattle]

San Diego man has pet hippo removed from property. I know it's illegal to own one, but after ten years, that hippo is going to miss the place.

This is Jim Rockford...

The Rockford Files airs every weeknight at midnight on TVLand, and if I'm sitting at my computer at that time, I'm watching. Or at least listening. I never realized how much of each episode was spent in the Firebird. It's not a Rockford Files episode without at least one car chase (I know we're back from commercial when I hear the squealing tires). And Jim gets beat up at least once per episode. I've always loved that show and I readily admit to a crush on Jim (the actor and the character). He was handsome, funny, cranky, drove a cool car, lived on the beach, and he was sweet with his dad, Rocky. He could have used some wardrobe advice, but I'll let that one slide. Also, the show had one of the best theme songs ever. The drums would kick in right after we heard that week's answering machine message. Some of my favorites from the list:

"Jim, It's Norma at the market. It bounced. You want
us to tear it up, send it back, or put it with the others?"

"I staked out that guy only it didn't work out like
you said. Please call me. Room 234, County Hospital."

"This is Mrs. Mosely at the library.
We billed you for your overdue book "Karate Made Easy." We abuse our
libary, we don't get our cards renewed."

"This is Mrs. Lindis. Three times this month
I come to clean and it always looks like people been fighting in there.
Furniture broke, things tipped over. I'm sorry, but I quit."

"This is Dr. Souter's office again, reguarding that root
canal. This doctor is in his office...waiting. He's beginning to dislike
you."

He also had some great guest stars. Seen recently: Lauren Bacall, Mariette Hartley (with whom he would later make those great Polaroid commercials), Lindsay Wagner, and of course Tom Selleck as unbelievably dorky Lance White. Well, it's almost time for Rockford - gotta go!

Adam Comer from Ferguson called the police when his children ran screaming into their house after finding 13 eyeballs in the back garden. Auuuggghhhh!!

Bono and Secretary of the Treasury O'Neill are ready for the pajama party.

As of this morning, it's paid for. Expect a post about some sort of major mechanical repair soon.

The Weekend

What a great long weekend it was. There were 5 of us altogether, up in Massachusetts, from Saturday through Wednesday. Saturday night was the pre-finale party, sponsored by Absolut Truth. Closer to Absolut Turpentine, it was more of a hit with some than with others. Some people just can't handle the Truth. There were a couple of XF finale drinking games floating around the Internet, both of which we decided to forego - thank God, because from the looks of them, we would have been on our asses by 8:30. As a matter of fact, we skipped the alcohol portion of the show altogether.

The X-Files finale, well...it wasn't the best episode of the series, but I won't say it was a disappointment, because it wasn't. How could it be, with the reunion of Mulder and Scully, and the return of such great XF regulars as Krycek, X, Marita, Gibson Praise and the Lone Gunmen, not to mention the surprise of the still-alive Cigarette Smoking Man, living in an Anasazi pueblo village with an apparently mute female companion, growing his hair long and becoming more bitter by the day. Ten Thirteen did a neat job of stringing the aspects of the mythology into a coherent narrative line, even if they didn't tell devoted fans anything they didn't already know (or at least suspect). There were no mind-blowing revelations and the only major character to die (at least onscreen) was one that was already presumed dead (R.I.P., CSM). But the heart of the series has always been the relationship, however you define it, between Mulder and Scully, and the finale captured the essence of that relationship and returned it to the center of the show. The final scene, an almost exact recreation of a scene from the Pilot, brought the series full circle, and ended it on a satisfactory note for me.

On Tuesday a few of us went to see "About A Boy", with Hugh Grant, and I loved it. I highly recommend it to all. On a shallow note - what a difference a haircut can make in someone's sex appeal.

Tuesday night was spent once again in front of the TV for the season finales of "Buffy" and "24", both of which hit the mark, especially "Buffy". Allyson Hannigan's portryal of Willow, bad and good, has been screaming for Emmy attention for a while now, and if she doesn't get a nod for this season, then they might as well never give out another Emmy ever, since they will be devoid of any relevance whatsoever. My groveling was rewarded and Giles did indeed return for the finale - yay! He was as handsome as ever, of course (but what happened to his glasses?), and the way he just appeared in the doorway, all juiced up on magic and ready to knock some sense back into the Scoobies (mostly Willow) - very cool. And another question of mine was answered - it was Spike's soul that was restored, giving Buffy "what she deserves." In the end of a year focused on very human problems, it was fitting to have the most human Scooby of them all, the one with no superpower - Xander - save the world with his love for Willow. I can't wait for next year.

The "24" finale was also satisfying, though not as blow-me-away-ish as "Buffy". Except for the end, when they actually killed off Jack's wife, Teri (who was pregnant). Shocking, but very effective, and it fits within the thriller atmosphere of the show. What a shitty day that was, all around, huh? The show has been renewed for next season, in the same real-time format, and Kiefer Sutherland will be returning (so far the only committed cast member). There were quite a few loose ends (Nina - who does she work for? will Sheri Palmer just let David dump her like that? what of those creepy Syndicate-like financial backers of Palmer? is George Mason free from suspicion?), so I am wondering if they're going to pick up the series shortly after this one, timewise. I can't imagine it could be the next day - these people have already been awake for nearly 36 hours.

Anyway, it was a great little vacation - lots of food, lots of laughs and lots of television. What more could a girl ask for? (don't answer that question)

Like salt on a wound.

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Shame on Me

How could I forget to ask the most important question of all regarding the Buffy season finale: Will Giles come back for it? Will Giles please come back for it? Pretty please?

Cats

No, not the play. Just evidence that the cats of the world may finally be taking over:

"You take the pop-ups, I'll handle the grounders."

Cocoa gets medieval on their ass. Weird coincidence: we had a Siamese named Cocoa when I was about nine years old, and I still have scars from the time she hung from my face, biting and scratching me.

HBO's Six Feet Under is a hit with New Zealand funeral directors.

And now, the Big One



Yes, The X-Files is finally ending, after nine seasons of sometimes-not-so-good but mostly ground-breaking television. The series two-hour finale, "The Truth", airs this Sunday, May 19, at 8:00 P.M. Despite being "just a television show", The X-Files has truly altered and enriched my life, taking me to places I would likely not have visited otherwise (Vancouver, L.A.) and brought people into my life that have become life-long friends. It's brought out my geeky side (not that I was too far removed from it to begin with); my entire Internet experience began as a way to follow and discuss the show with other fans, and I even attempted to write about it once in a while. I will miss the show terribly, but I am also aware of how badly it needs to end. Now, whether or not it will end badly...I don't know, but I don't think it will. I know little about the finale, and there are just too many unanswered questions for me to even speculate about them. I'm just going to sit back and watch and hopefully be moved, surprised and maybe, just maybe, even enlightened.

With the current X-Files media blitz fully underway, I thought it might be a good idea to surf around and post links to some of the articles and interviews floating around. However, it's just too dangerous out there for someone trying to avoid spoilers, and I imagine there aren't many of you who would read them anyway (for the same reason). So, I'm just going to say enjoy the show. I know I will - I'll be heading out to stay with the aforementioned friends this weekend, and we're having a finale party - not to celebrate the end of the show, but what the show gave us: each other and nine years of some pretty good TV.

Upcoming Season Finales

Six Feet Under

There are only 2 first-run episodes left to the second season. Episode #12 airs this Sunday, 5/19, at 9:00 P.M. on HBO, and the season finale, episode #13, will air on Sunday, June 2, at 9:00 P.M. (with reruns scattered throughout the following respective week). I'm not really sure where this show is headed; the plotlines have gotten a bit melodramatic and, dare I say, soap-opera-ish. Will Ruth finally seek some much needed counseling? Will Nate dump his "I-screw-complete-strangers-but-I-have-no-problems" girlfriend Brenda and hook up with the nice, stable Rabbi Ari? Will David stop being Keith's doormat? Will Keith ever get that stick out of his ass? Oo, bad metaphor. And what of whacky Lisa, pregnant with Nate's (most likely very hairy) baby? Will Claire and her guidance counselor get a little too close? Tune in to find out.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Tuesday, 5/21, 8:00-10:00 P.M, UPN (two back-to-back episodes). These are the sixth season's final two episodes - "Two to Go" and "Grave". With Buffy's producers' penchant for making character disappear, I'm not sure I like those titles. The perspective of this season has been turned inward, focusing on struggles of a more human nature, both within each of the Scoobies as well as in their relationships with each other. Even the Big Bad wasn't so big or so bad - just a trio of once-amusing-but-now pathetic nerds whose evil plans basically involve getting all the money, power and girls (except maybe Andrew on that last one). However, they may not be supernatural, but they did manage to kill off one of the Scoobies (Tara), and now Willow has gone off the magic deep end. Will Buffy, et al, be able to bring Willow back, or will she be next season's Big Bad? Is Spike trying to restore himself to his former evilness, or is he trying to restore his soul? Has Xander lost a couple of pounds? Will Dawn get a crush on Clem now?

24

Tuesday, 5/21, 9:00-10:00 P.M., FOX. I've stuck with this show all season, and despite some serious ups and downs (amnesia, anyone?), I'm glad I did. Things seem to be paying off big time now. Last night was one of the best episodes all season (partly because Dennis Hopper vith de bad accent had few lines so there was no bleeding from my ears), but mostly because of the emotional payoff we got - the scene where Jack - on his way to trade his life for his daughter's, talking on the cel phone with his wife - finally loses it when Teri (unaware of what he's doing) tells him she's pregnant. With the show's focus on non-stop action, thrills and paranoia, it's difficult to know if you've invested emotionally in these characters - they could be killed off any minute, or turn out to be a bad guy. When we see honest emotion as we did in that scene, or finally get definitive proof of a character's allegiance (the mole was revealed last night!), there's a huge payoff. When Jack finally let the tears go, I had to fight them back. As to what will happen in the end? I don't really think I could even guess at this point - I don't think any of the Bauers will die, although I wish they would put that tape back across Kim's mouth. Will the mole end up dying? Will Tony shave that annoyingly creepy patch of hair under his chin? Will the Drazen's succeed in killing Senator Palmer or will his wife finally do the job herself?

The West Wing

"Posse Comitatus", Wednesday, 5/22, 9:00-10:00 P.M., NBC. I don't know why everyone is always giving Aaron Sorkin such a hard time - he's certainly not perfect ("Isaac & Ishmael", anyone?), but this is still one of the very best shows on television. What sort of repercussions will Sam face after last week's boneheaded move? Will Bruno ask Margaret out? And would Leo be jealous? Who's stalking and threatening CJ? And will she and Special Agent Sunshine just kiss and get it over with? Where the heck did Abby go? And for that matter, what happened to Nancy? Fitzwallace is cool, but she was cooler. Will Josh actually be able to maintain an adult relationship with Amy? (I'm torn on this one - part of me wants him to, because then he'll act more grown up and he won't irritate me as much; the other part of me wants him to muck it up so that I don't have to see Amy ever again, a strong female character but sort of smug and vaguely annoying). Will Abdul Sharif rock the casbah? (You know he don't like it...) (from the description of tonight's episode, some of my questions may be answered sooner than I thought).

(all questions are purely speculative on my part, and have no basis in fact, spoiler or rumor)

TeeVee Day

All of my favorite shows will be winding up over the next two weeks, in either season or series finales, so I thought I'd take the time today to highlight some of the shows' enders and focus on some interesting news articles. To start us off...



Farscape, by far television's best sci-fi show, is actually on its own season-schedule. The third season just ended a couple of weeks ago and the fourth season will begin some time in June (on the SciFi channel). I've been trying to get people to watch this for such a long time, and here's another chance: SciFi is airing a 23-hour Farscape Chain Reaction on Friday, May 31. Do yourself a favor and check it out. And read this article: In praise of Space Muppets.

"The Amman Zoo director said on Tuesday, that he hoped the seven-month old female tiger will mate with one of the lions soon." Well, she's certainly off to a good start.

A reality show that I just might watch. In "Back to the Floor", on PBS at 10 P.M. beginning Friday, June 14, CEOs of major corporations are demoted (temporarily, or course) to entry-level jobs; for instance, the CEO of Carnival Cruise Lines makes beds and serves drinks aboard a cruise ship. I'd like to see Bill Gates work the tech support line.

(registration required)

As I sit here, the television is on in the other room, waiting for me to sit down and watch Six Feet Under, and there's a basketball game on. Don't ask me who's playing - I have no idea, I'm not watching. No one is watching, for that matter. Well, Sheila just walked by me on her way to bed, stopped, went into the living room, switched the channel to Comedy Central, and promptly went to bed.

I guess for Sheila it's simply a matter of principle - no sports on our TV, dammit!

Is that a tree in your yard, or are you just happy to see me?

The blogging "phenomenon" has been the subject of much media attention lately. The focus of the discussion are mainly the more journalistic, highly trafficked sites that cover political issues, the current war, and various other topics that are normally covered by traditional mainstream media, and whether or not these bloggers pose a threat to that mainstream media. But the debate, in my opinion, has been too narrow, with the press holding up these relatively few blogs (there are millions of bloggers) as representative of the entire blogging community. It is a wide and varied group - many blogs are simply diaries, some just act as an index of news links; many bloggers find that a web log allows them to examine a subject, such as photography, or video gaming, or a television show, in depth; and some, like mine, are just a way to be creative, to share some funny or interesting stories with friends.

I found this Salon article to be one of the better pieces written on this topic.

A ducky Mother's Day.

Mama Mia Fights Back

We went to a restaurant on the shore for Mother's Day. In attendance: me, my mother, my sisters Sheila and Mary, Mary's husband Craig, and their 2 kids, Hannah and Zachary. The adults had piles of fried seafood and the kids had chicken tenders. Towards the end of the meal, this conversation:

Mommy: "How's your fish, Hannah?"
Sheila: "She had chicken."
(Hannah is not paying attention)
Mommy: "How's your fish, Hannah?"
Sheila: "She had chicken!"
Mommy: "I'm asking her about her pet goldfish! (smiling)You're just waiting for me to say something stupid, aren't you?"

We're still laughing about it.

Geronimo!

Happy Mother's Day!



My mother, some time in the late 1940s, aboard ship on her way to Ireland.

"I honestly don't know how we got out. I really don't. The car was laying right on top of us." Talk about lucky! The driver was cited with driving without a license and "reckless driving." Um, yeah.

Monkey meets puppy, monkey falls in love.

I just spent an hour tearing this place apart, trying to find my sneakers and trying not to lose my mind in the process. I knew they were last in the living room, but I checked in every closet, under every piece of furniture, behind every open door; finally, I couldn't take it anymore, and I called my sister at work. Yes, I could have just put another pair of shoes on, but that wasn't the point. This had become a matter of principle.

Me: "This is going to sound crazy, but have you seen my sneakers anywhere?"
Sister: "Yeah..."
my chin drops at her lightning-quick response
Sister: "...they're behind the cushions on the right side of the couch. I put 'em there last night when Marty was chewing on them."
Me: "Thank God. I thought I was losing my mind. OK, bye."

Now that I've got 'em on my feet have recovered from the joy of my vindication...Thanks a lot for telling me, Sheila!

I saw this picture as I was whining to my mother about how cold I was with the spring breeze blowing in the windows on my short-sleeved arms. I take it all back.

Update: broken link fixed

"Um, two words, Sir...Tic Tac."

Vanilla Coke, huh? I bet it tastes like cream soda. Ick. One thing that strikes me about the packaging is how similar it is to regular Coke. I wonder how many regular Coke drinkers will mistakenly grab a bottle of Vanilla Coke from the cooler when they're in a hurry?

Magnifico-o-o!

Do not adjust your set...

No, you're not imagining things. Yes, I'm playing around with the design, again. I'm in a minimalist sort of mood and needed to pare things down a bit. I don't know if I'll re-integrate the POTW and newsfeed at a later date. Right now, I have nowhere to put them. I feel like I just emptied out the cluttered closet, re-organized everything and then turned around to find piles of stuff I forgot about and now have to somehow fit in.

Mama Mia, part 2



"I bought a few six-packs of that Paison-y water for you guys..."

"Um, Mommy, that would be DASANI water?"

How could she think that something would be called Paison-y??

"Up until now we have understood very little about the mechanisms that lead people to have epilepsy. The better we understand it the more accurately we can target therapies. All of these findings will have clinical implications in the future."

I think I may have mentioned this here before, but in case I haven't...I was epileptic as a child and was on phenobarbitol until I was about 13 or 14. I suffered from petit mal seizures and I was one of the lucky ones who simply "grew out of it." The news that the gene likely responsible for juvenile myclonic epilepsy is indeed good news.

Mama Mia, part 1

"Tonight's X-Files looks like a good one - Agent Daggett finds out how his son was killed..."

"For the umpteenth time, it's Agent Doggett, Mommy."

New POTW

Hannah displays singing talent at a very early age.

Spring Planting

Today was a beautiful day in the neighborhood, so I dragged my hungover self outside and finally took on the spring planting. Click on pictures below.

before

after

mouseover thumbnailed image for description

Pipi has been found!

Rilya Wilson is not Precious Doe, or at least that's what has been determined this far. If they are not the same little girl, the story disgusts me even more - it would mean that instead there are 2 victims: one brutalized beyond comprehension and the other considered so disposable that her disappearance went unnoticed by authorities for 15 months. Why don't people care more than they do?

(registration required)

EW.

Let's hear it for the boys.

"No matter who wins this multi-layered battle, though, family court experts say the children are the only guaranteed casualties."

Why can't people see how these situations damage children almost as much as what they are trying to prevent? There has to be a better solution.

In local news, UCONN student TV show entitled "I Did Your Mother" upsets female students.

[thanks, tvtattle]

"In fact," says Winthrop, "there was enough hair there you could make a moderate-sized toupee out of it."

Oh, major heebeejeebees. I wonder how often my salon cleans their foot baths?

Speaking of heebeejeebees, it's high season for ticks around here. Walking the dogs has become quite the chore, rolling them over and checking them after they go into high grass, checking myself. I've found at least one tick a day this week, and last night, after I got into bed, propped up my pillows and settled in to read my book, I saw a tick walking across my chest (I was wearing pajamas, yes). I jumped up and dispensed with the thing immediately and then proceeded to strip my entire bed and remake it. Of course now I'm wide awake, scratching at myself and imagining that there's something crawling over me. (the situation was only compounded by my reading material: 'Salem's Lot, by Stephen King) I finished the book at 3:00 AM and fell asleep probably a half hour later. And boy am I paying for it today. I slept until 11:00 (!), but I'm still wracked with aches and pains and a headache. Stupid, stupid me.

Anyway, I wonder, is there a way to spray your yard and the surrounding area with something that will kill the ticks? I should go a'hunting on the Net for information. First, though, I need to get these resumes on their merry way.

"Fundamentally, Aerosmith makes sexy music for good girls..."

Great Slate article on this year's MTV Icon, Aerosmith. I watched the show on MTV on its first airing, and enjoyed it. I don't generally watch tribute shows like that (all the gushing and self-congratulation makes me uncomfortable), but I love these guys. Best part about the evening: Aerosmith onstage at the end, tearing the house down and showing the likes of Train, Kid Rock, Pink, etc., who's still got the goods.