Don't like The Hair?

TNT is taking suggestions for a new style for Jerry on Raising the Bar.



Awesome. Way to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear!

George Michael needs to stay out of public restrooms.

George Michael in 'toilet drugs arrest': "In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said a 45-year-old man had been arrested in the Hampstead Heath area of London on Friday. He was later released with a caution for possession of class A and class C drugs."

I wonder if he ever imagined during his heyday that his public life would eventually be reduced to periodic reports of misbehavior in public toilets?

TV Talk: 'Heroes' is back!

Just a reminder that season 3 of Heroes premieres tonight at 9:00 on NBC. The new season opens with "Volume 3: Villains", but it's not all that clear who's a good guy and who isn't.

It's been so long since the show's been on that I have completely forgotten what happened! If you're like me, then you'll need to tune into NBC one hour earlier, at 8:00 PM, for a clip show/recap that should bring us up to speed. You can also go back and read some of my Heroes posts.

I do remember that Nathan got shot. I hope he's OK!

Marty

Marty, originally uploaded by gina64.

He always looks so panic-stricken. I swear, he isn't!

He is the best dog in the world, though.

I think someone up there is trying to tell me something.

I went to check a listing in the phone book, and this is the page I opened on:

Touch down.

Coming in for a landing., originally uploaded by gina64.

TV Talk: Random Edition

OK, so who watched the second episode of Fringe last night? I think I liked it better than last week. I even liked Anna Torv better. She's still wooden, but now it seems like she's supposed to be. Some of the stuff was over the top creepy - eyeballs should remain inside of heads, thank you - and the rapid onset pregnancy was FREAKY. It's mostly good stuff, but one thing I think they need is someone to inject some real skepticism into the process.  Like, What Would Scully Say?

The SciFi Channel began airing the first season of LOST on Monday night (BTW, the same guy who scores LOST also composes the music for Fringe, and it's a bit distracting. I swear he's even re-using bits of the LOST score and the abrupt transitions from show to commercial break are exactly the same). Is anyone watching? I don't have the time, unfortunately.  What's really cool is they're airing 4 episodes in a row every Monday night, from 7:00-11:00.  At that rate, you can get caught up in about 5 months!

Sons of Anarchy has definitely kept my interest, and I'm looking forward to the third episode tonight.  Katey Sagal is just all sorts of awesome.  Last week's episode ended with a great cover version of "Son of a Preacher Man" playing over the final scenes.  Turns out it was Katey Sagal singing.  I wish I could find it online somewhere, because it really is great.

Lastly, Biggest Loser: Families started up last night. I DVR'd it but I think I will probably not watch it this season. Those 2-hour episodes every week are just ridiculous - they need to trim some of that fat before I'll come back. Ha!

Dinghys

Tarpon II, originally uploaded by gina64.

Lily made new friends at the party.

Lily makes new friends at the party., originally uploaded by gina64.

My nephew Zachary's 9th birthday party was this past Saturday, in Rhode Island. Lily got handed around and was held by so many different people, I lost count. Little social butterfly.

Ryan O'Neal: Still Trying To Work Out The Kinks

"This morning, deputies were doing a routine sweep to make sure Redmond was adhering to his probation," sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said. "Upon searching the premises, the younger O'Neal was found in possession of narcotics. Later, a vial of drugs were found in the elder O'Neal's bedroom. We believe the drugs found were methamphetamines."

You know you're old when...

MTV announces they're shutting down "TRL" and you could care less.

In fact, you never even watched it.

Blink blink blink blinkety blink blink BLINK!

Holy shit, man.

Wall Street retreats as government bailout of insurer adds to bets that distress in the financial markets is far from over:

"Stocks tumbled Wednesday morning as the government's rescue of AIG and Barclay's purchase of some of bankrupt Lehman Brothers' operations underscored the weakness in financial markets.

Investors also focused on a report that showed construction of new homes fell to the lowest level in 17 years.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) lost 200 points, or 1.8% roughly 30 minutes into the session. The Standard & Poor's 500 (SPX) index lost 2% and the Nasdaq composite (COMP) lost 1.8%."

Now I'm getting scared.

The cutest thing you will see all day.

Have a good day!

Live from New York, it's Sarah and Hillary!

Thus conscience does make cowards of us all.

I finally had the chance to check out The Sons of Anarchy on FX last night (I watched the pilot on Hulu and DVR'd last night's episode) and I loved it. I loved the music, the acting and the Shakespearean themes. Most of all, though, I loved Gemma:

New Quantum of Solace Trailer

Mm-mm-mm!

Remember.

I'd like to just briefly take a moment to remember today's sad anniversary; and to remind people that instead of focusing on the fear, we should look to the one good thing that came out of the attacks: The unity we all felt as fellow Americans, regardless of race, creed or lifestyle, right after the attacks. It's been a long 7 years, over the course of which our society has become highly polarized, politically and culturally. With the presidential election approaching, it's important now more than ever that we remember that we are ALL Americans, that we ALL love our country, and that we should ALL work together to make it a better place.

National Geographic News has posted a series of "Then and Now" photos, like the one above, that I thought you might be interested in.

Fringe - SPOILERS

A few quick thoughts...

Overall, I liked it. It had all the usual trappings of a pilot - lots of exposition and time devoted to putting all the pieces in place, very little character development - but there was stuff that I really liked.

First, the bad:

There was a lot of implausibility in the plot - like how she managed to do her Altered States thing and recover from the LSD trip, get a composite sketch of the guy, go to Massive Dynamics (cool company!), locate the bad guy's apartment and form an assault team, catch and interrogate the guy and formulate the cure, all in under 24 hours - but for now I'm going to suspend my disbelief. Maybe they needed to consolidate for the pilot, I don't know. I'll swallow whatever outlandish "fringe" science they can dream up, just don't continue with crazy timelines like that and I'll be happy. If you're going to deal with really "out there" concepts like teleportation, re-animation and mind-reading, you need to base that in some kind of real premise to make it work.

The good:

I loved Massive Dynamics, the crazy bionic arm, the bad boyfriend, the "questioning" after death, and of course the XF vibe and the vast corporate conspiracy, a la the Dharma Initiative.

I thought John Noble was really good as Walter and Joshua Jackson is pretty darn cute. The two of them work well together. Anna Torv is good, but there's not much personality there yet.

I think my favorite scene was when Walter, Peter, the assistant and Gene the cow were all watching SpongeBob and the phone rang and Peter answered, "Crazy house!" (I paraphrase).

There is a lot of room for improvement, but there is is also a lot to like. I'll definitely watch at least a few more episodes.

One more note: This will be no surprise to LOST viewers - Massive Dynamics has a website.

Lipstick on a Pig

The nomination of Sarah Palin as the Republican Vice Presidential candidate has sent this election campaign completely off the rails. It's become all about her, even when it isn't about her. And while the media wastes time talking about whether or not Obama called her a pig, no one is talking about the issues that make a difference in our actual lives. There is a WAR going on, for crying out loud, the unemployment rate is the highest it has been in 5 years, and the deficit is going to be $407 billion, an increase of 153% from last year. Just to name a few.

Everyone - candidates and media alike - please, get back to talking about what's important. There's too much at stake.

Kim, it's the U.N. on the phone!

Missing Kim Jong Il raises health questions.

Let's not jump the gun. Maybe he's just hiding from Hans Brix.

Those flashlights look familiar!

Just a reminder, dear readers, that J.J Abrams' new mystery/investigation/X-Filey/WTF is going on? show "Fringe" premieres tonight at 8:00 P.M. on FOX!

Drive-Thru Reviews

Superbad - Wow, I knew I was way out of the demographic for this movie, but I didn't realize HOW far out. I really like Michael Cera, and 40-Year-Old Virgin is one of my favorite comedies, ever, but this one? Ew. I just didn't think it was very funny at all, Jonah Hill is an annoying little assh*le and I felt assaulted by the incessant vulgarity. Wow, I am OLD.

Cloverfield - You might need a dramamine while you watch this, but I really liked it. It's a fast-paced, edge of your seat thrill ride. I watched with fists clenched, hands over my eyes, all the while imploring the people on screen to "Run, dammit! RUN!!"

Eastern Promises - One of the best movies I have seen in a very long time. Viggo Mortensen's Oscar nomination was well-deserved. He is amazing as the chillingly stoic yet oddly charming Russian gangster. He even gets naked in the film. Unfortunately, it's during one of the most horrifying fight scenes I have ever seen in the movies - a knife fight in a bath house. Word of caution: this is a David Cronenberg film, so whatever violence is in it is graphic and intense. Still, I highly recommend the movie. It's a great story.

Two beds are better than one.

Two beds are better than one., originally uploaded by gina64.

Ahhh, ,a dog's life.

Pug in the sun

Pug in the sun, originally uploaded by gina64.

God I love that little face.

Sorry I've been so quiet recently. Just taking a little break.

Things will be picking up around here now.

I think Mr. McCain has a "type".

This is the cover of the LIFE newspaper supplement of September 2004.

Amazing! (that's Tina Fey, BTW)

Do you think he knows they're not the same person?

Kidding!

The Hair

TNT's new drama "Raising the Bar" premiered this week to mixed reviews, but one criticism was almost universal: WTF is up with MPG's stupid hair?  I've already commented on it in another post, but I wasn't nearly as clever as the hilarious GFY girls:

"That mop is awkward. He looks like he just emerged from the Severus Snape's Magical Hair Shack, the very first recipient of the Defense Against the Dark Arts Super Shag. And needless to say, that look could use some work."

Ha!

If you look closely you can see me in her eye.

08-27-08 017, originally uploaded by gina64.

Chrome is Shiny!

I downloaded and installed Google's beta version of its new, open-source browser called Chrome last night, and I LOVE it.

I love the spareness of it.
I love how easy it is to use.
I love the New Tab page that shows your most visited sites.
I just love it.

I tested Hulu with Chrome and it seemed to work alright, except the volume was a little low on some of the videos.  That may be a different issue, though.  And Chrome is only for Windows PCs right now.  Google says they will be coming out with a Mac version soon.

To learn more about Chrome, click here.  I've downloaded it at work (and I'm using it with Blogger right now) and I want to see how it impacts my desktop throughout the work day.

Let me know if you what you think if you try it out!

TV Talk: New Fall Shows

Now that you've all had your say about your favorite returning shows this fall, I'm going to ask you to let me know which of the new fall shows have piqued your interest.

Choose as many as you like, and if there's a show I haven't listed that you are excited about, choose "Other" and tell me about it in the comments.

poll by twiigs.com

Fringe is at the top of my list, with Eleventh Hour (Rufus Sewell!), True Blood (vampires!) and Life on Mars (time-traveling cop!) following close behind...

Oh, alright, you got me. I'm DYING to see the new Knight Rider. (kidding!)

I blame TNT.

You know you're watching WAY too much Law & Order when you start dreaming about doing crafts with Lenny Briscoe.

Fan-frakkin'-tastic!

The curse word 'Battlestar Galactica' created:

"Best-selling novelist Robert Crais slips the word into the prologue of his latest Elvis Cole mystery, 'Chasing Darkness.' He did it because 'Galactica' is his favorite show, like calling out in the wilderness to his fellow fans. But he sees the word popping up everywhere, even among those who have never watched the show.

'It's viral, it spreads like a virus,' Crais said. 'That first wave of people who use it are all fans. They use it because they're tickled by it and like me they're paying an homage to the show. When they're using it, they're probably doing it with a sly wink. But as it gets heard and people use it, it spreads.'"

And for your listening pleasure, an audio-visual aid:

DHARMA Wants You

So have you started playing the new ARG (alternate reality game) from the makers of LOST?

The game actually began back in May, when ABC aired a commercial during the LOST season finale for a Dharma company called Octagon Global Recruiting, which said that Dharma was looking for volunteer recruits and directed you to their website, where you could register your e-mail. Things really went into motion at the San Diego Comic Con, I guess, where "Dharma" was supposedly 'recruiting' new volunteers. You can read all about the progress of the game so far, including all of the drama at Comic Con, by going to the Dharma Initiative Recruiting Project at Lostpedia.

Once you've gotten caught up on what's going on, head over to Dharmawantsyou.com and register as a new recruit and let the fun begin.

In a world where nothing lasts forever.

Don LaFontaine, the voice of countless movie trailers and one of those funny GEICO ads, has died.



Rest in peace, movie trailer guy.

Cheeky Baby

Lily, originally uploaded by gina64.

The American Promise

Click here for video and the full manuscript of Barack Obama's inspiring acceptance speech:

"The times are too serious, the stakes are too high for this same partisan playbook. So let us agree that patriotism has no party. I love this country, and so do you, and so does John McCain. The men and women who serve in our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans and Independents, but they have fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a Red America or a Blue America – they have served the United States of America.

So I’ve got news for you, John McCain. We all put our country first.

America, our work will not be easy. The challenges we face require tough choices, and Democrats as well as Republicans will need to cast off the worn-out ideas and politics of the past. For part of what has been lost these past eight years can’t just be measured by lost wages or bigger trade deficits. What has also been lost is our sense of common purpose – our sense of higher purpose. And that’s what we have to restore."

I am not a very political person, and I won't be filling this blog with political opinion. Last night's speech, however, was not only an inspiring speech, but it was also an historical one. It was a momentous night, one that made me proud to be an American, as hokey as that sounds. And I wanted to direct people who may have missed it to where they could find it.

'Californication', indeed.

David Duchovny in sex addiction treatment.

I am shocked to hear it, but at the same time I am TOTALLY not surprised. Is that possible?

I hope his marriage survives. They seem like one of the few successful Hollywook couples. A friend of mine said she wished they wouldn't publicize that stuff and, really, I agree. It's not like he broke a law or anything. A sex addiction just seems so much more private and embarrassing than regular old drug addiction or alcoholism. You can't swing a dead cat in Hollywood with hitting someone who doesn't drink too much, snort too much, or eat too little.

I wish him well.

Mmmmm...beer.

08-27-08 021, originally uploaded by gina64.

The office went out for one of our dinners last night to Old Heidelberg and this was my beer. I think it's the biggest single drink I have ever drunk. I needed two hands to lift it to my mouth.

Everyone loved their dinners and we all had a great time. Below are some shots of the food. It was all delicious.









After all that beer, and all that cabbage and sausage, I was so filled with air that I swear I was up a pants size when I got in my car to leave!

Just $346,123.00 more and they break even!

Box Office Mojo is reporting that the total box office so far, foreign (as of July 27) and domestic (as of Aug 25), for The X-Files: I Want to Believe is $29,653,877, just over $346,000.00 shy of the $30 million production cost.

The foreign box office totals are a month behind, and we still have DVD sales...could they actually make enough money for another movie?

I'd be willing to send in the $123.00, if they think that will help!

Some part of him must have known.

'100 Things' author dies at 47: "'This life is a short journey,' the book says. 'How can you make sure you fill it with the most fun and that you visit all the coolest places on earth before you pack those bags for the very last time?'"

Murder, He Wrote?

ABC Picks Up New Nathan Fillion Series "Castle", where he plays a mystery writer who advises the NYPD.

It sounds like a heaping portion of cheese, but it's got Nathan Fillion, and I'll watch anything he does.

As long as he doesn't wear a cravat, it should be fine.

A defining moment.

Michelle Obama was inspiring in her speech at the DNC last night: "Speaking to the convention crowd, Michelle talked not just of the candidate who could be president but of the guy she married. 'And in the end,' she said, 'after all that's happened these past 19 months, the Barack Obama I know today is the same man I fell in love with 19 years ago. He's the same man who drove me and our new baby daughter home from the hospital 10 years ago this summer, inching along at a snail's pace, peering anxiously at us in the rearview mirror, feeling the whole weight of her future in his hands, determined to give her everything he'd struggled so hard for himself, determined to give her what he never had: the affirming embrace of a father's love.'"

If you are interested but weren't able to see her speak last night, here's the speech:



The pundit response to the speech has been almost universally positive, as well it should be. She really did do a wonderful job, not only giving America a personal glimpse into herself, her husband and her family, but also revealing herself to be the type of woman that every young American girl, black or white, should aspire to be.

Please don't f--- with the Daisies!

Replanting 'Daisies': Will it bloom or wilt: "The show's unabashed quirkiness was, to worried ABC officials, off-putting. When Daisies went back into production in June, some recalibration was in order. "The first part of (this) season was really tough," Fuller says. "They were like, 'Let's ground the show a little more; it can't be a cartoon. We can't have the show be weird and not get an audience.' And we were like, 'We can't have the show be boring and not get the people back we had last year.' The challenge to me was to make sure the fundamental DNA of the show didn't change." "

It's not a cartoon and it's not weird! Leave it alone!

The article claims that the new episodes don't seem to be all that different: "And happily, an early peek at the new season reveals Daisies has not been neutered. The season premiere, titled "Bzzzzzzz," has Chuck going undercover at Betty's Bees, a maker of honey-infused beauty products (think Burt's), where a star "bee girl" company spokeswoman has been stung to death. Morbidly funny special effects are still part of the picture. Future episodes revolve around a circus and taxidermy."

I'll believe it when I see it. Just because an episode is set in a circus doesn't mean it's charming by default.

Harumph.

TV Talk: Are you ready for some new TV?

Summer's almost over and a new television season is almost upon us. Time flies when you're not glued to the TV set, I guess.

Most of my favorite shows aren't starting up again until the new year (LOST, Battelstar Galactica and 24, to name a few), but there are some fall premieres that I'm excited about. It seems like forever since I saw Heroes and Pushing Daisies, whose seasons were cut short by the writers' strike last year. I can't wait to see them again!

How about you? Take a minute and vote in the poll below. If I haven't listed a show you like (because I only listed shows I like), choose "Other" and tell me about it in the comments.

(You can pick more than one show, if you like)

poll by twiigs.com

I'll post another poll soon about the new shows coming out this fall!

I did not know that Victoria Jackson is an Evangelical.

Or that she is completely OFF HER NUT:

"I don't want a political label, but Obama bears traits that resemble the anti- Christ and I'm scared to death that un- educated people will ignorantly vote him into office. My mom likes him because his children are well dressed!

You see, what bothers me most, besides that he is a Communist, and a whitey- hater, (although he is half white), is that he is a LIAR. He pretends to be a Christian and he incriminates himself everytime he speaks about Christianity. To lie about being a believer in Christ is very dangerous. Lightning could strike him at any minute! But seriously, he doesn't have a clue what the Bible says and yet he pretends to be a church- going Christian to win votes. That is sooooo evil."

I am speechless.

(thank you, defamer)

I want to believe there'll be another movie.

There be MAJOR spoilers ahead!

I cannot believe it's taken me this long to post about the movie! I blame it on the drugs! (BTW, my back is still bothering me, although not as bad. Physical therapy is helping, but I wish it would heal faster, dammit)

I keep blaming the drugs, but seriously, I can't think well enough to do a proper review (and I was drugged when I saw the movie), so I'm just going to post some random thoughts. Please leave a comment if you saw the movie - I'd love to hear what you thought of it.

I was happy to see the take charge Scully back in action, especially after the way they were writing her at the end of the series. DD and GA did a wonderful job of showing just how much Mulder and Scully have changed over the years, as individuals as well as a couple. They are both so world-weary, you can see it in their eyes; but they’re also very confident of who they are to each other and, will wonders never cease - they actually talk to each other now!

I liked that the movie was more about them and that the x-file was secondary. I think that’s the way they had to go, after so much time had passed since we last saw them. I loved how they were able to tie Scully’s medical case to the x-file through her faith issues. That’s always been such a big theme in the show.

Billy Connolly was fantastic as Father Joe, especially in the scene where Scully goes to ask him what he meant when he told her, “Don’t give up”. Actually, I think that was one of the best scenes in the movie.

I don’t understand why the bad guys needed to have an organ transport company as a front. Can someone explain that to me? "Leoben" (Callum Keith Rennie) would pick up a cooler, bring it back to the office and then just leave it there? I’m confused. There's an urban legend about Russian scientists who severed a dog’s head and kept it alive (I think I read something in a Fark forum a while back), and I bet they based IWTB on that. I was pretty grossed out by the story, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I know there’s been discussion about the fact that the bad guys were a gay couple and that some people think Chris Carter was trying to say that gay men wish they had a woman's body...I don’t agree with that at all. I just think that they were written as gay because that was part of the connection between the bald guy and Father Joe; and they used a woman’s body because that was the only one that was available with that rare blood type.

There were some fun Easter eggs for longtime fans (geeks!) of the show (myself included): the contacts on Mulder's cell were names of behind the scenes people, Chris Carter was sitting in a hallway holding someone's ashes in an urn, and other fun stuff that to be honest, I sort of completely missed.

Overall, I thought the movie was very enjoyable. I think it succeeded as a film because it stayed true to the characterizations and themes of the show, which is quite a siginificant achievement, considering that it's been what, 5 years since it went off the air? The flip side of that, of course, is that it wasn't a movie for everyone and reviews were lukewarm at best and its domestic box office was relatively low. I hope that the movie does well enough in foreign box office for it to merit another installment (at least make back its $30 mil cost).

Besides, colonization is supposed to begin on December 22, 2012. They can't just leave us hanging like that!

And because this is a pretty lame review, I'll end it with a cool video made by someone else so you'll leave feeling like you just read something AWESOME:

** GAG **

Lawsuit says eatery to blame for 9-foot tapeworm: "In the lawsuit filed Monday, Anthony Franz said he ordered salmon salad for lunch from Shaw's Crab House in 2006 and fell violently ill. He later passed the giant parasite, which a pathologist determined came from undercooked fish, such as salmon."

Oh, I think I'm gonna faint.

Choose a side.

OMG, new Heroes trailer!

A few more vacation shots.

Nuclear Sunset, originally uploaded by gina64.

These should be self-explanatory. I just noticed that my horizon on the photo above is crooked. Damn!

We had cloud cover just about every day this year - no brilliant blue skies like the ones I've captured in the past - so all of my photos fall into the same grey/brown/black color spectrum. Ah well.

Oh no.

MTV Awards once again to include Britney: "There's a possibility she'll get a chance to redeem last year's bad performance at this year's VMAs, to be held September 7 in Los Angeles; MTV has confirmed they are in talks to have Spears appear in some capacity, and she's appearing in two video ads to promote the show."

They've got some short memories over there at MTV.



The VMAs are pretty much irrelevant, so I guess they need something to draw viewers; but I wonder how the performers on the show with actual talent feel about being overshadowed by someone who is better at making headlines than she is at making music?

For sale on eBay...

The Tart's Knickers: "Up for auction are: one empty Ansell condom packet (size SMALL), and a photo of the pair of The Tart's black lacey knickers (size HUMONGOUS). It seems I had violated eBay's secondhand clothes policy by offering The Tart's actual knickers up for auction previously. I can only now offer a photo of the said knickers and have adjusted the starting price accordingly... Personally, I did think .99 was a bit ambitious but, as they are so HUGE, I thought they may make someone a nice shawl or even better, something for Halloween, perhaps..."

Excellent.

"Arion"? Really?

Ok, so Arion was a Greek God. And you pronounce it ah-RYE-un, like Orion, but still...it's awfully similar to another word that has some seriously negative connotations for Germans.

I wonder if I'm the only person to notice the similarity?

Nominee for the Worst Advertising Idea EVER:

Spanish basketball team poses for offensive picture: "It's baffling that nobody involved in the picture -- from the photographers to the players -- even seemed to consider that this ad would be looked at negatively. Did it not occur to somebody that it might not be a good idea to mock an entire continent before the world's largest athletic competition that, by the way, happens to take place on that continent. (emphasis theirs) Were they not aware of an invention called 'the Internet' that allows pictures taken in Spain to be transmitted all over the world for the eyes of everyone?"

Pug on the rocks.

Pug on the rocks., originally uploaded by gina64.

Mickey LOVED running on these flat rocks on the beach.

Out on the rocks.

07-27-2008 150, originally uploaded by gina64.

Mary, Hannah, Zach and I went for a long hike on the rocks, all the way to the sandy cove where we dig clams. We sat there and had a yummy picnic lunch.







This was on Tuesday, and it was the last long hike I was able to take that week. I hurt my back the following morning.

Sailing

07-27-2008 0111, originally uploaded by gina64.

Zachary spotted this sailboat out on Dyer Bay and called me out to see it. I brought my camera along and popped on my new zoom lens.

I love my new zoom lens.

Oh, my aching back!

So I got my MRI results last week, and the diagnosis is a disc bulge and lower lumbar muscle strain. The disc with the bulge (hee) is between my L5 and S1 vertebrae, down pretty low. I asked the doctor if that is what was causing the pain in my butt (if you'll pardon the expression), and he was pretty vague. I guess there's debate as to whether or not a "disc bulge" will cause pain or not. Well, I'm here to tell you, it does!

At the very minimum, my lower lumbar muscles are strained. I have physical therapy twice a week, where I get a massage and do some stretching exercises (like the one pictured above). I feel awesome when I leave; unfortunately, by the time I get to work everything is tight again from the half hour drive in, and sitting at my desk is VERY uncomfortable. I stop a few times a day to do my stretches and that helps a lot. I'm also still on the drugs: Flexeril once in the morning and once at night, 4 Advil at least twice a day and depending on the pain, a Vicodin at night with the Flexeril. I tried to skip the Flexeril this morning, but by lunchtime I had to give in and take one.

So, yeah, I'm still hobbling around. I hope it's still warm out when I get home so I can go and float in the pool.

Oh! I almost forgot - I uploaded vacation photos to Flickr. I'll post a few when I get a chance.

Cracking Contraptions.

Hulu has Wallace & Gromit clips!

The Snoozatron:

Are you watching the Olympics?

I'm not. And I feel kind of bad about that. Sort of un-American.

When I was a kid, we were glued to the TV whenever the Olympics were on. Absolutely rapt. I was never really interested in sports all that much, but I wouldn't dream of missing the Olympics when I was growing up. I think it was the ideal of world harmony that was appealing (remember, when I was a kid we were in the middle of the Cold War), as well as the foreign locale. You got to visit other countries through the human interest stories and learn a lot about the host country, too.

Nowadays, those things aren't enough I guess. That whole "world harmony" thing doesn't really have the same impact for me now that I'm grownup know how the world really works, and they've gone overboard with the human interest stories. They may have toned it down a bit this year, but the last time I watched the Summer Games, I couldn't BELIEVE the time given to stories about the athletes. Just show the race, for crying out loud! And stop talking!

Bob Sassone over at TV Squad lays it all out better than me.

Of his reasons, I think the one that is the biggest hinderance for me is the schedule. There's just way too much stuff, too many events on too many channels, to keep track of; I prefer the Winter Games - I think they're much more exciting - but even for those, my viewing has gone down drastically because keeping track of my favorite events is overwhelming.

I didn't even bother to watch the Opening Ceremony this year. It's hard to watch a celebration of Chinese culture, knowing their history of human rights abuse. Which is a shame, because it is an amazing culture.

I did see one small part of the Opening Ceremony, though - I landed on it while surfing the channels - and it was incredible. Apparently China does not want video of the opening ceremony distributed on the web (surprise, surprise), so this bad copy (blurry picture and the sound is off) will have to do:


via videosift.com

It must have been amazing to see that in person.

So, are you watching?

If I were Samuel L. Jackson, I'd go in for a m*therf*ckin' checkup, ASAP.

He, Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes are all in the new movie Soul Men. He should also look both ways before he crosses the road. And no airplane rides for a while, either.

On the subject, here's an interesting article about the late Mr. Hayes and how the fact that he was a Scientologist may have been connected to his death. Tenuous, but still sort of creepy.

Oo, and I just realized something else weird - SLJ played Shaft in the remake, right?

I was really sad to hear about Bernie Mac. I liked him. When you get the chance, watch this while the kids aren't around:



He had impeccable timing.

Alright, I admit it, that's funny.

The Claby Cometh!

Sidenote: As if this story couldn't be anymore reproductively confusing, the mother of the Clayby is named Jaymes! Excellent!

In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups...

Barback admits luring victim to Times Square club roof and killing her: "A Times Square club worker confessed to bludgeoning a drunken Queens woman and stuffing her body in a rooftop shed during a star-studded birthday party for rapper Lil' Kim, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Thursday."

That has Law & Order written ALL over it.

Has the mystery of Clark Rockefeller been solved?

German man identifies Rockefeller as his brother: "A man in this picturesque village in Upper Bavaria identified Clark Rockefeller in photographs as his younger brother, saying in an interview today that he left home at age 17 in 1978 and had not contacted the family in more than 20 years."

Who will get their hands on this first: Bill Curtis or Dominick Dunne?

Quotable Movie Clips

My sisters and I quote these movies all the time. Can you guess which lines we love?

Anderson Cooper, will you marry me?

Listen to him tear the Lohans APART:



Later that day, Dina Lohan takes things to the next level, calling OK! Magazine, and we might have a celebrity feud on our hands!:



Oh, I hope she keeps this up.

Best Headline of the Day

Woman riding a donkey fights off lion with machete.

Ooo!

Laurence Fishburne is prime 'CSI' suspect

I approve.

Baby, Schmaby

Baby, Schmaby, originally uploaded by gina64.

When's the last time someone checked on Michael Caine?

Heath Ledger ODs, Christian Bale is brought up on assault charges by his supposedly greedy mother and sister, and now this:

Morgan Freeman In Serious Car Wreck

The Curse of the Dark Knight, perhaps?

I'm just sayin'.

And I was serious about Micheal Caine. Has anyone checked on him?

The fog is lifting, a bit.

But I'm still on drugs. I'm taking Flexeril and Vicodin. The pain doesn't ever really go away when I take the pills but boy do I not care!

I'm back at work today, so I only took the Flexeril and 4 Advil with breakfast. After the half hour drive into work, however, the pain was such that I had to take a Vicodin. And now I'm useless!

I'm going for an MRI tonight, and I begin physical therapy on Wednesday morning. Hopefully, the MRI will shed some light on the problem and the physical therapy will help me to feel better. We have a wedding in DC on Friday night and I want to be able to do the drive down on Thursday. I'll just have to take it one day at a time.

In the meantime, I'll try to get back into blogging, including getting my vacation pictures uploaded to Flickr. Don't give up on me!

Is that who I think it is??

Yes! It is! It's Chicken Little!!