Recipe for the perfect cuppa.

His plan would have worked if it wasn't for those pesky policemen.

A new post from Sir Ian McKellen in his X-Men2 diary, Magneto's Lair.

The Ira Einhorn trial finally ends in a conviction. I hope it sticks.

Here's a Wired news article that discusses how speculation on the sniper's identity and motivation is sweeping the blog community. I particularly like this theory:

Is it completely beyond the realm of possibility that Jimmy Carter is helping to fund the activities of the D.C.-area sniper? After all, it was 'former' 'President' 'Carter,' who coined, in his ONLY speech to the United Nations in 1977, the phrase 'Dear Policeman, I am God,' and he has, in the past, shown interest in the black art of the tarot. The pattern is clear.

Oh my God. Why didn't someone think of that sooner?

In the news...

...the Washington-area sniper is still terrorizing the population, and now he's left a message at the scene of his 12th shooting. This image shows how a Fairfax, VA Texaco station is taking measures to protect its customers. I hope for all of the people in that area, and for the police (especially Chief Moose), that this psycho is caught soon.

...So, North Korea has decided to fess up and tell the world that, in violation of a 1994 treaty, it has pursued a nuclear weapons program and successfully developed their own nuclear weapons. Isn't that nice? But it's Iraq that we really need to worry about, right?

Waking up

So here we are, at the start of another week. I looked after Marty this weekend while Sheila visited friends in Massachusetts, so things were pretty quiet around here. It rained on Friday and Saturday, but yesterday was a beaut, a crisp, fall day. I met friends from MA halfway in Vernon, CT for my very first cache -- well, the first I've done with my own GPS. Now that I know how to enter and goto a waypoint I need to get Sheila to join me on a couple before the weather turns nasty. It was a great day and a wonderful (but too short) visit.

OK, I need some help, if you can give it to me -- we still haven't decided on costumes for Saturday's party. It's very geeky, but I suggested we go as hobbits last night. There's no makeup involved, and we would be comfortable. Sheila didn't dismiss it outright and seemed to be mulling it over, so hobbits are still a possibility, but I'm still open to suggestions. Anyone? Bueller?

Mary and the kids, Hannah (soon 7) and Zachary (3), came to visit this past weekend. We made caramel apples, tissue ghosties, Halloween cookies, shopped for pumpkins and visited friends. The kids spent some down time coloring at the kitchen table, and here are a few samples of their artistry. (mouseover thumbnail for description)

Angie Harmon at the VH1 Fashion Awards. Or what's left of her. Looks like it's time for some force-feeding. And what's with that getup? She always makes those best-dressed lists - here she looks like an emaciated reject from the Moulin Rouge.

Who killed Farscape? An excellent article by Clare Sainsbury of Strange Horizons that outlines and dissects SciFi's cancellation of Farscape.

The campaign continues, with the focus shifting to the possibility of another network picking up the show. There is, however, a small chance of SciFi still picking up the show for its fifth season: if ratings for the show's return in January (for the final 11 episodes of the fourth season) were to increase to a 2.0 share, the network may not be able to justify the cancellation for lower ratings. So expect me to be pushing the show come January.

October Day

A few photos I took with my little Intel PC Camera this morning. Autumn from my porch.

Anyone else think that Robert Downey, Jr.'s "companion" is a bit manly?

Headline of the Day:

Spacewoman Stuck in Orbit with Too Much Shrimp

Finding out that carnival games are rigged was like learning the truth about Santa for me. We were avid carnival- and fair-goers when I was a kid (and still are, to some degree), and coming home with one of those cheapo knock-off stuffed pink panthers or tweety birds was a real achievement. It didn't happen very often, mind you, but as a kid, you thought you actually had a decent chance of beating the game. We get older, of course, and wiser in the ways of the world, and we understand that there's no way we are going to get that dime to stay on that plate. And we do our best to avoid the midway games and the temptation they offer.

Well, not anymore.

(thanks, popculturejunkmail.com)

"If you've managed to stay awake for more than twenty minutes of it, you might have noticed that the 2002 Fall Season seems a little, shall we say, uninspired? "

t.p. or not t.p....Sorry about that. It's novels not plays...

I see a huge problem with this idea: It would only work in a single person household, or one where every individual has their own roll. Otherwise, can you imagine it?

Gunter: "Has everyone finished pages 8-20? I need to take a crap!"

"This Sucks..."

The Boyz at Filmwise need your help. They are learning that inevitable and hard lesson of the Internet - nothing is ever really free. At least not anything good and not for long (just ask the folks at twop). So please, do what you can to help them out (and the twop people, too, if you can). Because a twisted mind is a terrible thing to waste.

(They are still posting new Invisibles, and this week it's Oh, Canada)

This sniper case is growing more horrifying with every passing day. Now a man has been shot at a gas station in Manassas, VA, 30 miles southwest of DC. Ballistics have yet to link this shooting to the others, but I'd bet good money it's the same guy. What kind of a person does this? Obviously it's someone who needs to feel in control of and superior to others, but to be so methodical, so cold and calculating, so patient. From what I've read, the sniper is more concerned with proving his superiority over the police than he is with instilling fear in the surrounding population. That seems to be incidental at this point.

Well, incidental or not, abject fear would keep me housebound if I lived in the area, unwilling to leave for any reason except maybe if someone set the house on fire, and even then my ass would have to be catching.

Someone's been sipping from the Erlenmeyer Flask.

My nephew Zachary is crazy for SpongeBob (I got him SpongeBob underoos for his birthday). According to the Wall Street Journal, so are gay men.

Devil Dog

Marty's already set for Halloween, but Sheila and I are trying to come up with something good that we can do together, like Daphne and Velma (or is that Roy Orbison in drag?), our costumes last year. One idea was to go as Men in Black, putting a little black jacket on Marty, but including him would limit our options for places to go. Any ideas?

This thief's getaway car was a red rider mower. LOL

UFO: Unidentified Flaming Object?

Sorry, link seems to be dead

I'm Jo, which ambiguous dyke are you? Quiz by Turi.

(thanks, snarkcake)

Tired of getting all that work done? Neglecting to neglect all of those things you should be neglecting? Don't worry, Bookworm will decrease your productivity in no time. I guarantee it.

(thanks, popculturejunkmail.com)...(I think)

"Data, where are you going?"

"I'm setting boody traps."

Extra Credit: What movie is this from?

Been busy at work the past few days, and I'm on my way there now, for a few hours. I'll return to posting this afternoon, but until then I leave you with

Adult Film Title of the Week: Bi-Bi Love

Vancouver or Bust!

Gael Cooper, whose popculturejunkmail.com I've just recently discovered, is the Travel Editor at MSNBC.com. Her column this week: My Love Letter to Vancouver. I share Gael's fondness for the city, and after three visits in the past 4 years, my desire to get back has not waned a bit. Her column has only strengthened my resolve to get there next summer.

Hehe

It's official. The votes have been tabulated, the data has been analyzed and the chuckles have been counted. The World's Funniest Joke is:

Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses. He doesn't seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other man pulls out his phone and calls emergency services.

He gasps to the operator: "My friend is dead! What can I do?" The operator in a calm, soothing voice replies: "Take it easy. I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead."

There is a silence, then a shot is heard.

Back on the phone, the hunter says, "Ok, now what?"

I have to admit, that made me laugh. And the weasel one was pretty good, too. You can read more about the study at the Laugh Lab.

A post-feminist view of Buffy.

(thanks, tvtattle.com)

The sad, strange, and sordid tale behind the new Bob Crane movie, "Auto Focus."

Adult Film Title of the Week: Lexington Steel Staff: He'll Give You The Shaft

The Power of Darkness Grows

Anticipation for the next installment in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Two Towers, is heating up. You can download and watch the incredible theatrical trailer for the film by clicking here. It took me about an hour to download the large version with my 56k connection, but it was worth it! If you would like to see a frame-by-frame review of the trailer, TheOneRing.Net has done a fabulous job. December 18 can't come soon enough.

Golly

Has it been a week already?? Sorry for the lack of updates - too many distractions lately.

Let's see, what have I been up to...I worked Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, and I've been training for the Assistant Manager position, so that's been keeping me busy. I'm learning opening and closing procedures, and I'll be opening the store for the first time by myself this Sunday. Oh! I was so excited yesterday - I got to choose a special section and set it up (just an endcap, really), and I chose Tommy Lee Jones movies. I searched for TLJ films, picked 15 of them and made up a sign. It'll be interesting to see if any customers actually rent one of the movies, or even notice.

My mother was staying with us all last week, another distraction, and we took her back to Rhode Island on Sunday morning. It was nice to get back into my own bed at night, instead of the couch.

My truck was in the garage for a couple of days, too. I left the house on Saturday morning to run an errand and noticed my battery light on; I looked at the battery gauge and it was registering down near "L". I drove a bit further, stopped at a stop sign, and the light went off and the gauge shot back up. Drove a bit further and it dropped again. I called my mechanic and he did a quick test on the battery. As I figured he would, he said it was difficult to tell with an intermittent problem like this and it could be the alternator, but he wasn't really sure. The best I could do is wait for it to die. I went home not liking the idea very much. I decided on Sunday to just drop the truck off at the garage with a note. I work at night in New Haven and the prospect of getting stuck down there in the middle of the night was not too appealing. They were able to finish the repairs by late Monday and I picked it up late yesterday. Turns out it was the alternator, but the problem was something they had not seen before (of course!): whenever the rpm's hit 3000 or above, the alternator would fritz out and the engine would switch over to the battery. Once I was in neutral (at a light or a stop sign), the alternator would kick back in and recharge the battery. So, $265 later I have my truck back, as well as peace of mind.

Final distraction: another bee sting. This time on my chin. We were at a local fair called "Dog Days of Oxford", where people bring their dogs and there are competitions, contests, booths and food. Mostly it's for people and dogs to mix and mingle. I was having a good time until I got stung. My chin swelled right up - I looked like a superhero! - and then my palms began itching. By the time I got home they were extremely red and hot, and the redness had spread down into my wrist. I never had an allergic reaction to bee stings until earlier this summer, and this recent reaction was a bit worse. Looks like I may have to look into seeing a doctor and getting something a bit stronger than Benadryl to carry with me, just in case. Damn bees.

And that's what's been going on with me. Time to eat lunch.

The new Starsky & Hutch: Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson. I don't know...

I was in TV heaven last night.

"Buffy" is back and in fine form. Sunnydale High has been rebuilt, right smack dab over the Hellmouth again. Buffy's got a new job, one filled with irony yet somehow fitting. Dawn barely registerd on the Brat-o-Meter. Giles. Willow was funny again ("They think I'm going to turn them all into bangers and mash. And I don't even know what that is."). Giles. Troubled Spike looked adorable with the mussed, longer hair. Giles. And what an ending! How cool was it to see all of those baddies in one scene?

I missed "The Sopranos" on Sunday and Monday nights but was finally able to catch it last night. "No-Show", this week's episode, is up there with the best of them. Tony and Meadow's argument..oy! I can't believe a character like Tony Soprano can make me cry.

Hissy Fit

This is a topic normally beyond the scope of this site, but after reading Maureen Dowd's column in the NYTimes this morning, I felt compelled to share it with you. Entitled "No More Bratwurst", the article discusses the Bush administration's recent response to German President Schroeder's - as well as another German official's - remarks regarding W. and his campaign against Iraq. Personally, I thought our administration was overreacting, acting the bully and, frankly, being downright rude and lacking in any class. Dowd refers to the administration's short memory:

In their eagerness to apply adolescent torture methods, Bush hawks seem to have forgotten history: Do we really want to punish the Germans for being pacifists? Once those guys get rolling in the other direction, they don't really know how to put the brakes on.

Reluctance to enter into a war should be expected from a nation that spent the first half of the twentieth century trying to take over the world and the second half trying to recover from the devastation those attempts brought down upon them. We ostracize the Germans for remarks made during an election, a situation under which the veracity and intent of most statements should be questioned, yet the Saudis churn out America-hating terrorists in assembly-line fashion and they are our friends.

Like those middle school princesses in Dowd's column, we need to be careful about who we choose as friends or we will wake up one day to find that not only do we not have friends, but also that we never really had any. Except of course for poor Tony Blair, who for some reason has been given the task of fighting our fight and documenting the reasons we want to go to war, doing our homework.

Kickball leagues are sprouting up all over the country:

They may have grown up, but for increasing thousands of American 20- and 30-somethings, recess still plays out on the kickball field — but now it adjourns to the local bar for laughs over the game's highlights and pratfalls.

Or to the emergency room, right Jill? :)

The possibility of serious injury aside, I would love to join one of these leagues. The World Adult Kickball Association (or WAKA!) has a website where you can check for a division in your area, or if there isn't one, a contact form you can use to reach others in your area who want to start a division.

Awesome display of grrl power. The next Slayer, perhaps? ;)

Remember My Virtual Model? Well, WeddingChannel.com uses the same software to put you in the wedding dress of your dreams, or maybe of your nightmares. Log in here, and if you remember the username and password you used to create your virtual model, the software will load its saved version of the image and you won't have to start from scratch. I have to say, I'm really not digging the undergarments - I look 10 pounds fatter with them on. Looks like I may have to go commando when I get married. (Did I say when? Ha!) And where the hell did my waist disappear to?

(thanks, popculturejunkmail)

Salon review of the new Peter Gabriel album, "Up" (released or about-to-be-released, I'm not sure). The actual reason for this link is to ask you to look at the picture of Gabriel. I would never have known that was him!

I think I love the Mullen brothers. Deep-fried Twinkies and Snickers bars? They have elevated fair food to an art form. If I make it to the Durham Fair this weekend, I know what I'll be looking for...

Sad story about Hall of Famer and former Pittsburgh Steeler Mike Webster, who died today at age 50.

The season premiere is tonight at 8:00 on UPN. The return to Sunnydale High.

Adult Title Of The Week (it's a tie):

For Your Ass Only and Legally Boned

Newest addition to the KFC menu: chicken pot pie?

BTW, the post below was not meant to imply that all Tinkers/Travellers beat their children. But her family's reluctance to reveal her whereabouts, her ability to elude the police and her attempted fraud at the store, all of these things now have a context.

The woman who beat her daughter in the Kohl's parking lot is a Tinker, fer chrissake. I didn't realize we had them over here.

Marty shows off his freckle for the camera. Adds a bit more personality to a face already overflowing with it.

Hope everyone had a good weekend. Nothing much to tell about mine: Drove to RI and back on Saturday morning, to pick up my mother who is staying here for a few days; worked from 4-12:30 that night; worked from 11-4 yesterday, visited for a little bit when I got home, watched a movie and then went to bed. I know, I'm an animal.

I've some news from the workfront: my boss offered me an assistant manager position last Thursday. I took her up on the offer, so I should be interviewing for that soon. It's basically the same hours, with only a small raise, and it's still part time, but not bad for only a couple of weeks on the job. :)

OK, now I've seen it all.

I found a transcript of last night's chat with David Kemper and Ricky Manning of Farscape. It looks like the sets have been struck and Moya has been deconstructed (no!). DK's message: Resume our lives for now but come January, when the second half of the fourth season premieres, promote the hell out of the show and see if we can get a 2.0 rating for February sweeps. So, my mission between now and then is to recruit as many new viewers as possible. Hear that ladies? ;)

"Fabio Pinto of Galatasaray holds off Jacob Lekgetho of Lokomotiv Moscow as they fight for the ball.. "

Oh, my.

"It's as plain as the poo on your shoe."

The vile and despicable former mayor of Waterbury, the town where I went to high school and worked for 15 years.

Due 2 constant IM use, teenagers have 4gotten hot 2 write properly:

Ms. Harding noted that in some cases the shorthand isn't even shorter. "I understand `cuz,' but what's with the `wuz'? It's the same amount of letters as `was,' so what's the point?" she said.

Good article about teachers' struggle with this latest evolution in the English language. I think I agree most with Ms. Bova's approach -- let them write their drafts in what ever shorthand they prefer, as long as it gets them to write; but the final version must be written in proper English.

Ben Browder was interviewed on CNN Headline News on Tuesday night, and said, "At this point, it looks like it's not gonna happen, so it looks like we're not gonna see a fifth season." Not very good news, but we have yet to receive official word, so the two-fold campaign continues: try to convince Sci-Fi to renew Farscape for its promised fifth season or get another network (like Showtime or UPN) to pick up the show. I won't be able to make it since I'll be working tonight, but if you're interested, there wil be a chat with David Kemper and Ricky Manning at #farscape at irc.scifi.com tonight at 8:00 EST. Because of the expected high traffic and the server trouble they had last night, when this was originally scheduled, the announcement of tonight's chat came with this advice:

If you get booted off scifi.com or can't get on, go to irc.chorn.com. Chorn has a relay room set up at #farscape-scifi.com. They can take up to 1000 people and that room *will* be counted and the total added to the room at scifi. Just stay there until the other room stabilises, don't even bother trying to get back on scifi.com. The bot will provide a continuous relay so you won't miss anything.

I would also strongly suggest that if you're not desperate to ask a question at chat, you just head straight to chorn. You can chat in the #farscape channel there, but remember you won't be counted unless you're in the relay room as well.

I wish I could go to hear things from the horse's mouth, so to speak, but I can look for transcripts tomorrow. In the meantime, I need to get the Save Farscape flier copied so I can make them available at the store.

"A US man cut his hand off with a circular saw, put it in the freezer, wrapped his wrist with a rag and duct tape and drove himself to hospital." Good Lord. Quick thinking on his part, but Good Lord! They don't specify, so I am assuming he cut his hand off by mistake??

"Rugby player discovers rival's tooth in his arm one month after match." I think that says it all. Except maybe for EEWWWW.

"Where did that damn dog run off to now?" ;-)

Oh man, that's gotta hurt!

Farscape Campaign Continues

This morning's project for me was contacting my local media outlets by using e-advocates - enter your zipcode and you're provided with a list of your local television news stations, newspapers, etc. Choose up to 5 media contacts (I chose all 4 television stations and the Hartford Courant) and they provide the form for you to fill out, including the text of your message. Click submit and they send your e-mail along to the contacts you chose.

I also asked my boss last night if I could post a flyer in the store and make them available for people to take, and she said sure. Now I have to get a bunch of them copied - my printer cartridge is drying up!

I began practicing with my "new" GPS this afternoon. Well, let me clarify: I borrowed the device from my father and "practicing" isn't quite the correct term - more like learning how to turn it on and deciphering the lingo in the book. We have a large hayfield behind our house (what's left after they tore most of it up to put in a subdivision), so there I was, standing in the middle of it, entering and naming my waypoint, the GPS in one hand, the book in the other and Marty's leash hanging off of my pinky finger. I tried mapping my route as I walked from the field to the front of our yard, but Marty kept wanting to run circles around me, and when you're trying to plot a course and direction via satellite, spinning round and round ain't such a good idea. I did manage to figure out how to delete all of the waypoints my father had entered - they were interfering with what I was trying to do. I'm sure he won't mind. No, not at all. (I don't think he will since when he dropped the GPS off at my house he told me that he "never did figure out how to use it.")

Now the next step is to choose a cache from the Geocaching site, find some free time and someone to accompany me, and off I will go. I think I'll bring along my little digital camera to mark the occasion. Anyway, I'll let you all know when I do.

Timewasters from Filmwise:

Contest #14 - Trick or Treat - Movie characters with Halloween masks photoshopped onto their faces.
Invisibles #91 - 5 out of 8.
Invisibles #93 - Behind the Mike - 5 again.

Sir Ian McKellen has updated The White Book: he discusses the extended version of FoTR being released in November, voiceover work for The Two Towers and mentions how he is currently in Vancouver for X-Men. There are some great photos of him in what appears to be his current residence in Vancouver. I wish I could read the bottom of his t-shirt!

Toy Story 3.

Salon's Carina Chocano on last night's Sopranos. If you haven't seen it yet, don't read this - it's one huge spoiler.

My opinion -- hearing the opening song again was akin to coming across one of those sensory reminders, the smells or sounds that bring you back to a cherished place or experience, the return to something good. And it was good. I won't spoil anything for you, but the most prophetic line uttered in last night's episode was spoken by Carmela to Tony: "Everything comes to an end." This is not a good time for Tony or for either of his Families. And that bodes well for us as viewers. Bring it on!

'Scaper Stuff

• "I Am Farscape" - I'm sending mine out to Bonnie Hammer today. I'm going to ask my boss if I can make these available for handouts to customers at the store. Maybe this flyer, too.
  
• Farscape Weekly's excellent Cancellation FAQ.
  
• "The SciFi Channel - putting the psychotic in sci-fi."
  
• The Big Honchos at SciFi are meeting today. Maybe some news later?
  

Best Adult Film Title I Happened Upon Recently: The Sopornos

Holy Cow!

Twenty-five years ago today, on September 13, 1977, "Soap" premiered. According to teevee.org, TVLand will be airing a 10-hour "Soap" marathon, beginning tonight at 8:00 P.M. and concluding tomorrow morning at 6:00. Burt, Jessica, Benson, Mary, Chester...classic stuff. If you've never seen the show, this is your chance to see what all the fuss was about. I remember being one of the few girls in my high school class who was allowed to watch the show, because if its 'adult' themes. It's all very tame by today's standards - God, if they only knew then - but it's still just as funny. Inspired silliness, I guess. I'll watch just so I can see Burt snap his fingers and "disappear", see Chester walk around in his bandage/turban, believing he's Marlene Dietrich, and to watch Benson just shake his head at all of them. You can find descriptions of all the episodes that will air here. Just how many people tried to kill Peter Campbell?

image courtesy HBO

Hey! Sunday night at 9:00 P.M. Don't forget!!

Farscape Update

That's a tongue-twister, huh?

There haven't been any major developments in the Save Farscape campaign, but there are a few items of interest to report.

• Like I have, you can join the Save Farscape Mailing List at Yahoo Groups. I joined last night and already I've received 4 e-mails overnight.
  
• One of the e-mails I received contained helpful advice and a recommendation on who to contact with handwritten letters. If you would like a copy of the e-mail, contact me and I will forward it on to you.
  
• You can click here to see the ad placed in The Sydney Daily Telegraph, in .pdf form.
  
• Click here to read encouraging reports from two individuals who attended the rally in NYC yesterday.
  
• Finally, in response to seeing the ad in the Daily Telegraph, Farscape Producer and Director Andrew Prowse sent off this message to the Save Farscape campaigners:
  
  Anthony Simcoe (D'Argo) rushed into my office this morning waving The Daily Telegraph, "Look at this, look at this!". I looked and saw your ad, maybe a third of a page: "To the Farscape Cast and Crew". I copied it, handed it round to the post-production crew. Some smiled in appreciation, others shook their heads in disbelief, a couple looked a little red around the eyes: all were touched.
  We know Farscape is a special show; at its best a great show, and hope the hell other people think the same. We know we have fans out there who love what we do. But I don't think any of us could have imagined the passion; the strength and depth of support we've received over the last ten days. It makes us proud, and it makes us humble.
  We haven't given up yet, and neither should you.
  We believe in you too.
  
  Andrew Prowse
  PRODUCER & DIRECTOR
  
  
  
  

And now, in classic whiplash-style, I return you to our regular programming with this article: Why Farscape Is Worth Saving. Apparently, the online campaign to save Farscape has made the news at cnn.com and Headline News Hotwired, on television. Many fans were scheduled to attend a protest outside of the SciFi Channel's offices in Rockefeller Center this morning. I'll be on the lookout for any news stories on that. I've sent some e-mails, signed some petitions. Hopefully, I'll be able to shoot off a few letters tomorrow.

Close to the Surface

It still hurts too much, doesn't it? I knew that yesterday's anniversary would remind me of things I wouldn't want to be reminded of, would bring back all of the sadness; but I was surprised at how much it still hurt, how close to the surface all of those feelings still were and how little it would take to set off another crying jag. I can only imagine -- no, actually, I cannot imagine -- how emotionally devastating it all is for someone who was actually directly affected by the attacks. I don't know if I could bear it.

One year down.

"I wish none of this had happened."

"So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you."

In memory of all who lost their lives on that terrible day, and those they left behind. God bless.

Comments are back, as you can see. If I bothered to read the updates at blogback, I would have anticipated this:

"My hosts have said that they will be making upgrades to the server that tecknik.net sits on next Tuesday, and they're expecting it to be unavailable for a few hours (late morning to mid afternoon GMT). Sorry about any trouble this causes."

My apologies as well.

Comments are Farked

For now. blogback is unavailable, meaning either the site is down for maintenance or this is an unscheduled interruption and the server crashed. Either way, it's out of my hands. I'll keep my peepers peeled and let you know whassahappenin' as soon as I know.

Gotta love that silly KMart Joe Boxer ad.

Oh, come on! How could that guy not know that he shot a three-inch nail through his eye socket (or whatever)??

What Was Lost



So, Farscape has been canceled after four seasons. I just don't get it. I mean, I get it - the show was very expensive and SciFi didn't want to pay the price. But you know what? In this case, you got what you paid for: an award-winning, innovative, intelligent, sexy, funny television program. And all of this in a science-fiction show, no less!

If you're a fan of the show and want to do what you can to keep the show on the air, at least for a fifth season, here's a page with contact information, link to a petition, press releases, etc. : Save Farscape. (Thanks, eip, for the link!)

Also, David Kemper, Richard Manning and Ben Browder called a special chat over the weekend to announce the cancellation and talk with fans. You can read the chat transcript here.

Farscape was (is) a consistent bright spot on the television landscape, which, if you ask me, is running out of bright spots. As its cancellation was being announced, Farscape was named one of the Best Hour Shows by teevee.org. The Vidiots, referring to the decision to cancel the show:

"If that decision stands, and no new network steps in to fill the void, it will be a crying shame. Television will not have just lost another silly sci-fi puppet show loved by the kids -- it will have lost one of the most complete and appealing science fiction shows of all time. And no flimsy award from a fly-by-night web site whose awards are orchestrated in some mysterious back room can ease that pain.

I couldn't have said it better myself. Crackers do matter.

Day Off

I wake up every morning now wondering if we've invaded Iraq overnight. Sheila and I watched "Three Kings" over the weekend, and I said to her, "The more things change, the more they stay the same, huh?" War with Iraq, another "George Bush", Saddam, starving refugees...(excellent movie, btw)

Speaking of waking up, I woke from an awful dream this morning. In the dream I worked for a local morning radio show, out of Hartford. For some reason, I was walking to work, normally a 45-minute drive, along I-84. As I got close to the city, I came across this woman who was playing with her dog and small child in the highway median. I watched as she gathered her child and things together into this small wooden sleigh, strapped a harness and reins onto the dog, slipped on the hood of her parka, stepped onto the back of the sleigh and away they went down a Hartford street. I was in town now, and it looked like it had snowed, but I wasn't sure. I found what I thought was the building I worked in; I took an elevator up to the top floor. I wandered into a room full of people who were seated in rows of chairs and sat down. The room didn't look or feel quite right, sort of crooked. Suddenly I saw the building outside the window falling toward us. It crashed onto us, and the building was collapsing all around, everything was black, and I was thinking "This is it, this is what it felt like..." Then I opened my eyes and realized I was safe in my sunny, bright bedroom.

Sweet.

"The (syndicated) X-Files" moves from fX to SciFi and TNT this fall. SciFi is asking viewers for their favorite eight episodes, and will air the 8 episodes with the most votes on two consecutive nights, Tuesday, October 1 and Wednesday, October 2, from 7-11 P.M.

I ran out of votes by Season 3.

Wondering when your favorite TV show will be returning this fall? Zap2it has gathered all of the premiere dates in one handy list, just for you.

Here's an idea for how to spend the day on September 11. Sounds like a good idea to me.

(registration required)

I'm going to think twice before ever letting anyone buy me a drink again.

"I can't tell you how healing it will be to once again see that footage of the smoldering Pentagon where my Nathan died."

The Onion asks, "Who Will Bring Closure to a Grieving Nation?" and hilariously cuts through the crap, as usual.

Oh, just chain me to my computer now and and get it over with.

(registration required)

The little eight-year-old boy who stole a truck and drove twenty miles in an effort to be reunited with is father was caught, but he escaped and managed to walk the remaining dozen or so miles to his father's house. Wow.

Daring, last-minute rescue! You may need some popcorn while reading this one.

What's Lance Bass going to do now that the Russians have given him the bootsky? Ted Nugent has a few ideas.

"I know what I believe. I will continue to articulate what I believe and what I believe—I believe what I believe is right."

From the mouth of our President, ladies and gentleman. Go read Slate's "The Complete Bushisms".

"Russian space officials said a Russian and a Belgian will be making the flight. In Bass' place on the trip will be a cargo container, they said."

Hehe.

Double Your Invisibles Pleasure!

Invisibles #90 is a special Double Issue, so you can do either twice as good or twice as bad as you usually do ;). I got 8 out of 16.

"Either it's a midget or I'm crazy and that's a little boy."

Eight-year-old foster child steals a pickup truck and drives 20 miles in an effort to return to his family. Resourceful little guy.

According to TeeVee.org, Ed is the biggest disappointment in television this year. I wouldn't know - I stopped watching it last year.

Anyone bother watching MTV's VMAs? I never do, but I wanted to catch the beginning, where Springsteen and the E Street band perform "The Rising", so I made sure I tracked that down in a rerun this weekend. The show had its usual moments of celebrity bad/outrageous behavior, or so I've read, but the best must have been Michael "Artist of the Millennium" Jackson.

It was a quiet, rainy holiday weekend here in Connecticut. I'm not complaining, though. I watched some old favorites on video - Notting Hill, Sense and Sensibility, Aliens - went out drinking for Sheila's birthday on Saturday night, baked her a cake, went out to dinner on Sunday night, and got some good naps in here and there. Nice and quiet. Besides, I'm so broke I can't afford to do much more!

Speaking of which, I begin a new part-time job tonight, down at a local video store franchise, from 5-11. Same shift tomorrow and Thursday nights, and 4-11 on Sunday. I'll continue to look for other things, but in the meantime, I need to start earning some money. At the very least, I'll get free movie rentals ;).

The one year anniversary of 9/11 is fast approaching and just about everyone in TV land has a special program dedicated to it. This NYTimes article reviews 2 anniversary specials and lists the others that will be airing today and tomorrow:

Frontline: Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero , on most PBS stations tonight.
The Day the Towers Fell , the History Channel, tonight at 9, Eastern and Pacific times; 8 Central.
Newsnow Special Report, MTV , tonight at 10, Eastern and Pacific times; 9 Central.
Caught in the Crossfire: Arab Americans in Wartime , on most PBS stations tomorrow night.
Inside Islam , the History Channel, tomorrow night at 9, Eastern and Pacific times; 8 Central.
Minute By Minute: The Attack On the Pentagon , A&E, tomorrow night at 10, Eastern and Pacific times; 9 Central.

The article mentions that there will be at least 30 more programs airing next week. The usual TV overkill. Here's a list of what's airing just on September 11th.

I know that some of the bunch will be worth watching, so as I come across reviews or lists of what's airing when, I'll pass it along to you.

(registration required for the NYTimes article)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHEILA!