"A Man Who Became More Than a Mayor."

Mayor Rudy Giuliani leaves office today.

That's just a taste of what you'll find in the Coolest Space Science Images of 2001.

Seven feet in 5 days. Whoa.

'Tis a puzzle to me...

I was in the mall on Friday, walking around aimlessly, waiting for my nails to dry. I wandered into the DVD/Video store and was browsing the titles when I overheard the strangest conversation. Joe, a blind man who is known fairly well by local vendors, and who I've seen walking around downtown for years, was chatting up the store manager about new releases and when he could expect them to be in the store. I know I shouldn't have, but I found myself grinning at the inconsistencies inherent in a blind man shopping in a movie store.

My Best of 2001

With everyone else doing it, why not? Here's a list of entertainment-based television programs and moments that I found to be exceptional in 2001. (leaving Sept. 11 and its related coverage off the list) Since I watch a good deal of TV and I don't want to look like a complete loser, I've tried to keep it reasonably short. And it's still too long, LOL.

Okay, in the order that they popped into my head:

Buffy: The Vampire Slayer - (UPN) Episodes like The Body and Once More, With Feeling (musical episode) put this show head and shoulders above all the others. Hopefully, with fX showing 2 Buffys each weeknight, the show will get the audience it deserves.

Six Feet Under - (HBO) I didn't think I was going to like this show at first, but I stuck with it and boy am I glad I did. The way the show weaves macabre humor with genuine respect for the dead is amazing.

Enterprise - (UPN) A show that gave the Star Trek franchise a much needed kick in the ass. And that Trip is just dishy.

24 - (FOX) A show that, in my opinion, has lived up to its hype. Keifer Sutherland, lost for so long, has finally found a home on television.

Everybody Loves Raymond - Marie's Sculpture - (CBS) Let's just say that Ray's mother takes up sculpture and, unbeknownst to her, creates an abstract piece that looks like a certain part of the female anatomy.

The Natural History of the Chicken - (PBS) Just because I was the only one who watched it doesn't mean it wasn't any good!

The West Wing - (NBC) Sticking out in my mind - Martin Sheen's scene in the church in Two Cathedrals and Allison Janney in The Women of Qumar.

Jon Stewart, The Daily Show - (Comedy Central) The opening monologue of his first post-Sept. 11 show just ripped at my heart. He's been a beacon for me quite often during these past few crazy months.

Farscape - (SciFi) Still the best science-fiction show on television.

Robert Patrick, The X-Files - I am in love with Agent Doggett.

Abraham and Mary Lincoln: A House Divided - (PBS) Part of the American Experience documentary series, this 6-hour program took a look into the often tragic private life of one of our greatest presidents.

City Confidential - (A&E) Can you say, "guilty pleasure"? Paul Winfield's narrations lends just the right amount of seediness to the story, without ever letting the show descend into pure trash.

Just Melvin, Just Evil - (HBO) Brutally honest documentary about an abusive family patriarch - Melvin Just. Made by his grandson.

The Sopranos, Amor Fou - (HBO) "I didn't just meet you - I've known you my whole fuckin' life!" The moment that Tony realizes that Gloria reminds him of his mother, Livia, was one of the most powerful ever featured on the show. And that's saying something.

A horrific story out of South Africa - 48 members of one family are killed when a truck they were riding in plunged down a hill. What's even more astonishing is the fact that 73 others were injured, meaning there were almost 120 people on that truck. My God.

Monkey Puzzle - Another Snood-like game in which you try to knock the monkeys out of a tree with coconuts. A little slow moving, but a happy diversion this Saturday morning.

[link courtesy usr/bin/girl]

Buffalo hogs all the snow. We've had nary a flake and they're choking on the stuff. I just can't believe it's still snowing there.

How cool would it be to be a kid, though, having the holiday week off and all that snow?

Invisibles, etc.

Filmwise has its latest quizzes up:

Invisibles #55 - 5 out of 8.
Answers to Invisibles #54 - Snow Job - "Fight Club" was the one I didn't know.
Cut it Out #3
Sandy Claws

How about some good news? Sixteen-month-old Jasmine Anderson, abducted on Christmas Eve in Chicago, was found safe and unharmed in West Virginia.

Commenting on the men's brush with with death, Gresham said they should hurry up and buy some lottery tickets while their luck holds out.

Another year-end list, this time it's Nothing Personal Readers' Choice Awards from Salon. I haven't read the whole thing yet, but I liked this

The celebrity most likely to suffer a Mariah-esque meltdown in the coming year:

Donald Rumsfeld: "His popular, flashy press briefings have created huge expectations by his fans -- and he'll crash and burn next year, showing up at a press conference in an aloha shirt and boxers, bottle of ouzo in one hand and a floozy on his arm, spewing obscenities, ranting about the 'good old days' of the Cold War, and defacing and trashing the situation map in a demonstration of 'grade A guvernmint-issue whoop-ass.'"

Oo, I hope so.

Die, pop-ups, Die!!

Holy Christmas!

I never did see the original Chrysler Concorde ad that everyone was talking about. I wish I did - I think I would have liked it better.

I actually saw one of this guy's fake appraisals on The Antiques Roadshow, the one with the Civil War sword that they guy said he used to cut watermelons with. They should not only throw the book at him, they should make him eat it, one page at a time.

And yes, I do watch The Antiques Roadshow, on occasion. Wanna make somethin' of it?

The Smoking Gun Documents of the Year. The end-of-the-year lists are coming out, and The Smoking Gun website has their list of the top ten documents of 2001, including the Jennifer Lopez contract rider, an OSS Hitler report and creepy jail memos about Timothy McVeigh.

[link courtesy usr/bin/girl

So, did we all survive the insanity that is Christmas? As much as I do love the holiday, I am glad to be on the other side of it now, especially this year. There's just too much stress in my life right now for me to fully enjoy anything. Sucks to be a grownup, huh?

Happy Holidays to those who are far away from their loved ones this year. And thank you.

Merry Christmas, everyone. God Bless.

Pretty kitty.

Traffic Jam From Hell. If you get stuck in holiday traffic over the next few days and start stressing out, just think of those poor people.

As you can see from my lack of posts, real life has gotten the better of me the past few days. I've spent many hours working on my browsing problem and the remainder of the time was dedicated to all things holiday and sleeping. The browsing issue is still not resolved, but the gifts are finished and wrapped. It's still difficult for me to believe that tomorrow is Christmas Eve. Amazing how it sneaks up on me every year. I still have to bake 2 pumpkin pies tonight and then pack for the trip to Rhode Island tomorrow. But why do that now when I can procrastinate further by posting some more Christmas goodies for you?

1. Still have some last-minute shopping to do? Do you need something for a teacher, the paperboy, the mailman? The Etiquette Queen's Guide to Holiday Gift Giving should come in handy then.

2. Need a little extra help getting through those family gatherings? My salvation is Bailey's on the rocks. Some recipes for holiday cheer:

Martha Stewart's Southern Comfort Punch
Bailey's Comet (make sure you wear your flame-retardant jammies for this one)
Yummy Christmas Martini
This one looks like it's got some kick - Emeril's Frozen Milk Punch

Drink up!

Happy Birthday, Mary!!

XP Woes

Not I-wish-I-never-upgraded type woes, but woes just the same. Like I said, the upgrade itself went very smoothly, and my system has been running very smoothly. The problem I'm having is getting to certain web sites, and it isn't XP that's giving me trouble - it's IE 6, which came bundled in the XP upgrade. There is no apparent rhyme or reason to why I can't get to some sites, while I have no problem connecting to others; I've been researching Microsoft's support pages the past couple of days for fixes and I've tried a number of things (deleting temp files, playing with privacy settings in IE, editing the registry, on and on) and nothing made a difference. Today I started posting to the Community newsgroups at Microsoft and a nice guy named Noel Paton has been giving me some help. No real fix yet, though. If I can't get this fixed for good, I'm going to uninstall IE 6 and go back to IE 5.5. If it'll let me.

Then I read this. Grr. So, I'm restricted from parts of the web, but some pre-pubescent geek jacked up on Mountain Dew and Cheetos can get to me. Better go download that patch before he finds out all of my innermost secrets and laughs himself silly.

My horoscope from The Onion:

Cancer: (June 22—July 22)
One of your wildest dreams will suddenly come true. Unfortunately, it's the one in which each of the demon's fangs has its own little shrieking face.

Oh, sure. It couldn't be the one where I come home at night to find Hugh Jackman running my bathwater, George Clooney chilling the champagne and Tommy Lee Jones lining up the massage oils...Wait - did I just say that out loud?

As promised, more treats. Here are a couple of games, full of flashy goodness.

Flight of the Season - click on the houses as they speed by and see how many houses you can deliver presents to. How that guy got 225 I will never know - my high score was 28! He/she must have a wicked spazzy clicker finger.

Christmas Tree Game - This one is less stressful. Arrange the lights on the tree in the correct order and before you run out of points. Good thing about this game: you can still finish decorating the tree when you've reached zero points. I know.

I know, I spoil you, but I can't help myself. Have fun!

Holiday treat time...Here's a fun Ornament Game. It's very much like Snood, in principle. I made it to level 7 without losing a life, and stopped to post this. Fun.

I think you deserve more holiday treats -- I mean you've all been so good all year, right? I'll see what I can do.

Note: Shockwave required

[link courtesy snarkcake]

"Throughout the building, telltale signs telegraph a rapid retreat from the U. S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. Documents litter a diplomat's desk. Bottles of Fanta stand half full. Filing cabinets protrude displaying their contents."

Fanta? Are they sure it wasn't 1979 that the embassy was abandoned? It must have been indescribable, walking in and seeing the place looking as if people had just stepped away from their desks.

I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff.

Random television commentary...Who's making the best commercials on television today? Sprint PCS. Once they switched the focus from the Jack Webb-ish guy to the customers' tales of woe, they have gotten progressively better. The "Flour the kids?" and "Captain & Tenille/Backup for O'Neill" ads were pitch perfect, but they've outdone themselves with "I am PANDA CLAUS!" LOL, kills me every time.

OK, back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Colorgenics is a new-agey personality test. Pick the colors you feel most in "harmony" with at the time you take the test and they will generate a personal profile for you.

My Personal Profile is extremely depressing. What a loser! Of course, the fact that I chose black first probably didn't help matters. I think it hit the mark in a couple of places, but missed wide in others. At least I hope to Jesus that it did.

[link courtesy snarkcake]

AQ Test

As a companion to the article below, Wired magazine has provided a test that measures your Autism-Spectrum Quotient. The intro to the test reads:

"In the first major trial using the test, the average score in the control group was 16.4. Eighty percent of those diagnosed with autism or a related disorder scored 32 or higher. The test is not a means for making a diagnosis, however, and many who score above 32 and even meet the diagnostic criteria for mild autism or Asperger's report no difficulty functioning in their everyday lives."

So please, remember that if and when you take the test. My score: 24. Hmm.

"The chilling possibility is that what's happening now is the first proof that the genes responsible for bestowing certain special gifts on slightly autistic adults - the very abilities that have made them dreamers and architects of our technological future - are capable of bringing a plague down on the best minds of the next generation."

A compelling, six page article on the near-epidemic rise of autism in Silicon Valley.

"I was cuter than their Santa."

Jesus, show a little holiday spirit, will ya folks? The poor little guy.

Tomorrow's the big day - "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" opens in theaters nationwide. Here are 2 online raves:

Salon.com - The Movie of the Year
CNN.com - A masterpiece of a masterpiece

I read "The Hobbitt" in high school, but never the LOTR trilogy. I am remedying that right now. I'm about a third of the way through "Fellowship" and working as hard as I can to finish it. I cannot wait to see this movie!

Okay, everyone who is surprised by this turn of events, please raise your hands...yeah, that's what I figured.

Well, I did it.

I took the plunge and upgraded to Windows XP today. All in all, a very painless endeavor. That is mostly due, I'm sure, to the fact that I was upgrading a virtually brand new PC that has only one peripheral, no networking and no 16-bit applications. Still, I'm pleased it went well and I like it so far. So far.

Holiday Filmwise

OK, boys and girls (do boys come here?), I have yet more Filmwise Fun for you all. The Boyz at Filmwise are very excited - they were listed in Yahoo! Magazine's Top 100 websites. Here's what they had to say in their newsletter:

FilmWise got some pretty good news this past week: In its January issue, Yahoo! Internet Life magazine has published its annual "100 Best Sites" article, and FilmWise has clocked in at #3 in the Entertainment & Sports category, behind only Shockwave and the Internet Movie Database. This is pretty incredible (or the Boyz think so anyway), especially since most of the sites listed are huge operations, such as ESPN, E! Online, Real, Pogo, CBS Sportsline, Audio Galaxy and others.

The Boyz wanna thank all of you for helping FilmWise attain a modest level of success in a fairly short time. You're beautiful human beings (physically), and we couldn't do it without you. (I'm getting all weepy and stuff, so I better shut up now or else I'll run the risk of crying all over the front of my brand new fishnet tube top...)

Congratulations, Guyz!

And because you've been such good girls and boys, here's a snowy, not-quite-holiday version of Invisibles:

Invisibles #54 - Snow Job. I'm back - 7 out of 8!

Also, answers and top scores for last week's quiz. I don't feel as bad about my score of last week now - of the 8 movies, I've only seen 3. Whew.

A nice picture of President Bush, for a change.

No mention of pickup truck cabs?

I had read a couple of weeks ago that the Big Country lead singer, Stuart Adamson, had gone missing from his Nashville, TN home. It was the second time in two years that he had just walked away. Well, he won't be coming back this time.

X-Files Ep Review

Well, I managed to get another one done. Now I'll only be two episodes behind in my reviews. My thoughts on Daemonicus.

Gene Hackman. He is consistently the best thing about his movies. He's no looker, indeed, but the way he combines vulnerability with intense rage is very sexy and I've had a crush on him since I first saw him as the Reverend in The Poseidon Adventure over 20 years ago. His scenes with Frances McDormand in Mississippi Burning made me wish I was her.

There are two kinds of people in this world: those who liked Starsky and those who liked Hutch. TVLand is airing a Starsky & Hutch marathon today, and Sheila and I stumbled across the Christmas episode with Kristy McNichol as Pete the tomboy! My God, that took me back. To Saturday nights when I was around 12 or 13 and my mother didn't watch me to watch the show because it was too violent, but I would watch it anyway. My love for Hutch was too powerful and would not be denied. (and I remembered that the diamonds were in her baseball glove!)



And I still think Hutch is hot, even if the jokes are unbearably corny, the dialogue unbelievably hokey -- "Quit tryin' to con me, turkey!" -- and his pants way too bell-bottomy.

So? Starsky or Hutch?

"But to talk about murder victims as patriots ready to make the ultimate sacrifice is to inadvertently give credence to the motives of their killers."

An honest examination of the way in which our country grieves publicly, post-Oklahoma City and post- September 11. As harsh as they may seem, his words need to be heard if we are ever to fully heal:

"When people have died a sudden, violent death there's an understandable impulse to replace the senselessness of the violence with some kind of meaning. But, as Linenthal writes, an act of mass murder is not a conscious sacrifice for a nation. You can speak of sacrifice when talking about the cops and firemen who went into the World Trade Center knowing there was a good chance they wouldn't come out. And you can speak of it when describing the people who chose to die on the plane that was crashed in Pennsylvania to prevent it from reaching its target. But the office workers who died at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, like the people who died at the Murrah Building, died for nothing, sacrificed not to their country or for freedom but to the fantasy lives of madmen. "

Get a load o' this clown.

Filmwise Stuff

Invisibles #53 - are these getting harder? I could only guess on 4 and only 3 of those were correct. Hmmph.

Answers to last week's quiz. Aha.

New Visuals Quiz - But of Corpse #2. GrueSOME!

This is just too, too sad for words.

In Case You Were Wondering...

What's happened with the other big news stories?

NORAD Santa Tracker


Santa flies by the Mir Space Station

I love this. Today's holiday treat - NORAD's Santa Tracker. Track Santa on Christmas Eve as he flies around the world. The image above was taken from a previous year's satellite surveillance. I didn't realize he flew so high! Besides satellite tracking of the Jolly One, the site also offers info on Santa, including answers to such questions as how he gets down those chimneys and what kinds of snacks he likes. If you have a question for Santa, you can send him an e-mail - NORAD will make sure he gets it. The Santa Tracker site goes live on December 24. Don't forget!

Oh my God, hang on. You can buy thong underwear for men at JCPenney. At Penney's. Polite society as we know it is dead.

I'm about to color my hair. Wish me luck!

Theft, Interrupted.

Ew.

Dadum........Dadum........Dadumdadumdadumdadumdadum...

Today's weirdest headline:

Groom Chokes to Death on Bride's Finger Nail

Bare Room with Light that Switches on and off with Egg on its Walls.

Howard Lutnick, Three Months Later

Remember Mr. Lutnick, the Cantor Fitzgerald CEO who wept openly in a Connie Chung interview in the wake of the loss nearly 700 employees on September 11? New York Magazine has a follow-up on his story. And an amazing one it is.

I'm watching the bin Laden tape being aired live right now, from the Pentagon. Bin Laden and his cronies are sitting around congratulating themselves on the success of the Al Qaeda attacks on the U.S., laughing, smiling and eating fingerfood. The tape will not change a thing - those who support bin Laden will assume it is a US fabrication (or more likely, agree with him), I'm sure, and it will only add purpose to those who are convinced he is guilty.

Fa la la la la



Today's holiday treats:

1. Decorate your desktop with Holiday Lights. I do every year.

2. How to Take Great Photos of Holiday Lights (the ones on the tree and house, not your desktop)

3. National Christmas Tree Association? Who knew? Find out about tree types, care, watering (I thought that was the extent of "care") and the "Grand Champions". Ours is a Frasier Fir.

As I said to some friends the other day, Geraldo needs a testosterone-ectomy.

"It makes me sound like a tabloid talk show host goes to war."

Um, Geraldo...that's because that's what you are.

Mornin'

I'll be out much of the day doing somethin' close to nothin', so there won't be anything new until a little later on. Have a good day.

The Secret History of Mr. Happy

Yes, that Mr. Happy.

OK, Another One.

Here's a real personality test - the E!Online Buffy Personality Test. Me?

Buffy

You are the quintessential badass [yeah! that's me all right!]--always ready to fight for a cause you believe in (and looking damn good doing it). Your love life most likely takes a back seat to your career, but you're still surrounded by more than enough loved ones worth making sacrifices for. So, keep that gorgeous head up: We see a revival in your future.

Personality Test

This one's quick and easy and I'd have to say, very accurate. Just click on the most appealing shape. My results:

Introspective
Sensitive
Reflective

You come to grips more frequently and thoroughly with yourself and your environment than do most people. You detest superficiality; you'd rather be alone than have to suffer through small talk. But your relationships with your friends are very strong, which gives you the inner tranquility and harmony that you require. You do not mind being alone for extended periods of time; you rarely become bored.

What's your personality?

On Comet.

On Cupid.

On Donner.

On - - B L A M!!

Gosh, this looks like a CGI effect.

"A wave of infant rapes has left South Africa shocked and outraged."

I can't decide if I want to cry or to vomit. Both, I think.

"Bare Room with a Light that Switches on and off." Bollocks, I say.

Will his life be any better when the war is over?

New X-Files Episode Review

I am woefully behind in my episode commentary, I know. I am trying to catch up and I managed to finish Nothing Important Happened Today II this afternoon. Next up, Daemonicus.

"Style rather than substance became hugely important in order to distinguish oneself aong the many competing magazines," says Brown Weissman. "The 'voices' of these magazines were reinvented over and over, as was their look." A very enlightening article on the literary history of women's magazines such as Mademoiselle, Redbook and even Cosmo. I don't read them myself, but it sounds as though I would have, once upon a time.

At last! A slash fiction template! While I find the idea of Harry Potter slash immensely disturbing, I still managed to get a laugh out of the article.

Tell me this isn't the stuff of which Disney movies are made.

Let's all go to Bikini Bottom!

"Ab Fab is the gay man's sporting event," says Kerry Tucker, a San Francisco resident from Wales.

New episode tonight! (Comedy Central, 9:00 PM)

As the holidays descend upon us, I'll be posting a related link here and there; here's your first holiday treat.



[link courtesy dollarshort.org]

"The five-year rule of the Taliban, exceptionally harsh even in a land governed for decades by bloodletting, came to an official end today as the last Afghan province slipped from their control. Their fractious opponents, due to start governing in two weeks, agreed to bury some of the many feuds that could jeopardize peace, but the two men most wanted by the United States continued to elude capture."

Their fractious opponents inspire little to no confidence from me. Are we really expected to believe that someone like General Dostum is going to end his reign of "bloodletting and war" now that he will actually have even more power than before? I loved the irony in this sentence: "The Friendship Bridge between Uzbekistan and Afghanistan, closed for years by enmity and fear, opened today and a first shipment of aid came across."

The fall of the Taliban is indeed good news and we should all rejoice at it; however, I have very little confidence in Afghanistan acheiving a stable and peaceful future for itself.

The Goose is Getting Fat.

Mary and the kids came out yesterday to help decorate our tree. More ornaments were dropped than were hung, but it was fun. We had a little snow last night, adding to the holiday atmosphere. Here are a few pics.







click to view larger image

All posted external links will open in a new window now.

They're gonna get this guy if it's the last thing they do.

60 Years Ago Today

December 7, 1941

"At 7:58 A.M., the alarm went out: "Air raid, Pearl Harbor. This is not drill!" Later that morning, the magazine of the USS Shaw exploded after being struck by a Japanese bomb. "

These images resonate more powerfully for me now, after September 11.

The Hubble Telescope captures a nursery of newborn stars. Magnificient.

Elmo tickles Kofi Annan's funnybone. What a great picture.

"The mere act of cutting his penis signifies that he is psychotic,'' the doctor said. I'd say that's a reasonably well-founded diagnosis. He had several cuts on himself, indicating that he tried for quite some time before he was successful. Ouch.

From TVBarn:

"On this day... in 1970, Harry Reasoner defects from CBS for a desk job at ABC, where he'll co-anchor "The ABC Evening News with Howard K. Smith and Harry Reasoner" for the next five years. "

Why is that notable? Because I can remember watching Harry Reasoner do the news and I can't believe how old I am.

This Week's Invisibles.

Invisibles #52 is waiting for you. Jesus, I seem to be getting worse at this each time I take one of these - guessed 6 and only got 3 correct. And if you're curious, answers to That's Levitation, Holmes.

They've also posted a new contest - Somethings' Missing. You have to name both the movie and what item has been removed from the screenshot. Have fun!

OK, Lighten Up, Gina!

Time to pick things up a bit here, wouldn't you say?

If I were a work of art, I would be Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa. I am extremely popular and widely known. Although unassuming and unpretentious, my enigmatic smile has charmed millions. I am a mystery, able to be appreciated from afar, but ultimately unknowable and thus intriguing. Which work of art would you be? The Art Test

Aha. "From afar". That explains everything.

[link courtesy opinebovine]

A master of the seas is killed by pirates. Pirates. Now that's something you don't hear every day. Which is a good thing, of course.

A hero's daughter.

"They used to be husbands and fathers, balancing the roles with the help of their wives, their children's mothers. Now they are widowers and single fathers, their lives composed of constant and inconceivable challenges, both logistical and emotional. " The tremendous loss of wives and mothers on 9/11 has increased the number of widowed fathers by the hundreds. This Salon article takes a look at the way men grieve and cope with having to be a caregiver now that theirs is gone.

Oh, this is very cool. New Scientist's Last Word section has answers to all sorts of scientific mysteries. Why do stomachs rumble? Does an animal realize it's seeing its own reflection in a mirror?

Time well-wasted.

"Chart numbers and ticket sales can't measure up to "the precious stones of friendship, of family, of wisdom learned through the bruises of even a good life," he says. "Those are the things you can't leave behind."

Check out the guns on this Marine. The Few. The Proud. The Buff.

Jesus, will this guy ever learn?

Goner Virus

Heads up from Yahoo! News:

'Goner' Worm Hitting Corporations, Individual PCs

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A new computer worm named ``Goner'' was spreading quickly through corporate and personal e-mail inboxes on Tuesday, deleting system files and clogging networks in what could be the biggest outbreak since last year's ``Love Letter'' virus, security software vendors said.

The worm, a virus that propagates itself to other computers through the Internet or other networks, is affecting users of Microsoft Corp.'s (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) Outlook and Outlook Express, said Ian Hameroff, business manager of security solutions at Computer Associates International Inc. (NYSE:CA - news)

People using ICQ instant messenger and Internet Relay Chat also are susceptible to the worm because files can be transferred across those networks, Hameroff said.

Researchers estimated thousands of computers had been infected by the worm, which is believed to have originated in France, according to April Goostree, virus research manager at McAfee.com.

``This is at outbreak status, which is very rare,'' Goostree said. ``The last outbreak we had was 'Love Letter' in May 2000.''

A virus is given outbreak status by McAfee.com if it is determined to be spreading quickly and affecting large corporate networks as well as individual computer users, Goostree said.

The Goner worm arrives in an attachment masquerading as a screensaver, with an e-mail subject line of ``Hi'' and text that says: ``How are you? When I saw this screen saver, I immediately thought about you I am in a harry (sic), I promise you will love it!''

Once the user clicks on the attachment, the worm sends itself to everyone in the user's e-mail address book, tries to close programs that are running and deletes certain system files, including firewall and antivirus software, said Hameroff.

A new Eddie Izzard interview. Of interest to no one except me, I'm sure, but what the hell.

"Magic sneakers"? People will "build whole cities around it"? I don't know. It just looks silly to me.

"IT" will be revealed at last.

Oh, my. Semper Fi!

This is an AP photo of the house on my street whose residents received a letter contaminated with anthrax. In his press conference, Governor Rowland explained that the "insignificant amount" that was found on the letter was indeed insignificant - one spore. He explained that it takes 8,000 to 10,000 spores to make half of the population ill, and significantly more than that to make the other half sick. I met up with our postman today as he was delivering our mail so I asked him how he was doing, what with all the "excitement". You may have seen him on the news - I was actually standing at my mailbox watching him as he was being filmed. I was putting some outgoing mail in the box when I saw him stopped up the street. I couldn't see the news crews from where I was standing, though. Anyhoo, he said that he was okay, and he told me that the contaminated letter was actually received by the residents 6 weeks ago. That makes me feel a bit better, at least as far as this being an ongoing thing. I'm still washing my hands after opening the mail and keeping it in a Ziploc bag for now, though.

24

So, how many of you are still watching? I am. The acting is terrific, the pace is generally mind-blowing and I love how they matter-of-factly toss in a shocker here and there - two lesbian terrorists share a real kiss; an injured teen is shot up with heroin to ease her pain; Jack slices off a bad guy's finger for identification purposes; a gay prostitute gives a business man a blowjob (okay, that was just implied, but still). Apparently ratings for the FOX show haven't been as through-the-roof as they had anticipated and there was talk of cancellation; happily, that won't be happening. I came across a pretty neat review of the show tonight - Sean Weitner of Flakmag.com is doing real-time reviews of the show, written as he watches. They're fun because he combines an informed perspective with an average joe response to the action and characters. And instead of making a summary judgment of the show based on a preivew episode or two, you can see his opinion develop as the show progresses. Neat idea.

Have authorities caught the Green River Killer at last?

25 Days of Christmas



ABCFamily's 25 Days of Christmas begins today. Twenty-five days of Christmas specials, some classic and some not-so-classic ("Leprechaun's Christmas Gold"?). Worried you might miss a favorite? There's a full schedule posted and you can have an e-mail reminder sent to you so you won't miss seeing Winter Warlock or the Snow Meiser. Put one foot in front of the other and head over now!

Holy High Heels!

Look who's got his own weblog.

How an Australian sees America, post 9/11.

Ah, shit.

From WFSB.com:

Anthrax Found On Letter In Seymour


(Hartford-AP) An envelope sent to a home in Seymour has tested positive for a tiny amount of anthrax.

Governor Rowland says the home is about a mile from the home of 94-year-old Oxford woman who died last week of inhalation anthrax.

The governor says the sample was very tiny. He says it's so insignificant that no one in contact with the letter could have gotten anthrax or even become ill.

Investigators still don't know how Ottilie Lundgren of Oxford came in contact with the anthrax spores that killed her. One possibility under close scrutiny is cross-contamination of mail with anthrax-laden letters sent to political and media figures in Washington, D-C, and New York.

Authorities have been able to determine that a small amount of mail destined for the Oxford area passed through a New Jersey postal facility that also handled contaminated letters to Senators Tom Daschle and Patrick Leahy.

None of those letters went to Lundgren. But it is possible hermail came in contact with a letter that was contaminated in the New Jersey center.

If the news crews and vans that I had to drive around are any indication, this new "case" of anthrax was discovered 3 houses up the street from me. Back to the rubber gloves and face mask.

Good for our country, or not? As usual, I am not sure; the Guilford Four spring quickly to mind, as does the acknowledgement that it is a long and well-traveled road we find ourselves heading down.

"Most kids, they don't want to be touched by someone else who has the rash because they're afraid they're going to get it," she said. "I just think it's kind of gross."

I'm certainly intrigued.

They finally figured it out.

Zap2it reveals that the aired version of Buffy and Spike's roll in the construction rubble was trimmed by the censors. If what we saw during the 8-9 family hour got through the censors, I want to see what didn't!

[link courtesy ]

I may be jumping the gun here, but I would wager that this will be today's best headline:

Camp for Nude Witches Fights Closing

I am green with envy.

Great review of the past 2 Buffy episodes. At the end of last night's episode Willow swore she would never do it again, "it" being magic. Buffy, Willow's best friend, sat beside her and repeated what she said as if to lend support to Willow. In reality, she was referring to her mind-blowing, house-crushing night of sex with Spike. I wonder if either of them, Willow or Buffy, will have the willpower to resist for long.

Best headline I've read all day:

Robots Birddog Pooping Pigeons

Yoohoo, sir? You wouldn't happen to be heading down to Anna Liffey's on Friday night, would you?

Tom Shales reviews Monday night's Carol Burnett Special. He comes off as a bit crabby (what critic doesn't?), but I have to say that I agree with much of what he says. One hour (actually only 43 minutes) was not nearly enough time. Yes, I was laughing my ass off, but I wanted more - I wanted them to stop talking to the dorky audience and devote that time to more sketches. And Shales' musings about Comedy Central ran through my mind yesterday, almost word for word.

CBS would be better off running 20-year-old Carol Burnett re-runs in place of some of the stuff they have on their schedule - um, "Yes, Dear", anyone? As Shales says, "Whatever the shortcomings, the "Show Stoppers" special is still a must-be-seen for all those who fondly remember Burnett's magnificent beneficent reign. Burnett and friends were like the Light Brigade, and in their prime they made a "wild charge" every week. You wouldn't want to miss a chance to see them make it again. "

I'd have to day I agree with the results reported in this article. A clearly dis-advantaged African-American man, a complete stranger to me no less, approached me on a street in LA and told me in no uncertain terms, "Girl, you so hot, you oughta be on soul train!" The study, however, seems to have omitted an important demographic - stinking-drunk males, who have been known, on occasion, to remark on my great "yabbos".

My horoscope from this week's Onion:

"The lifetime supply of Twinkies you won in that contest turns out to be only half a box, indicating that the Hostess corporation knows something you don't."

Not if I only have one every 10 years or so. And the beauty of it is, a Twinkie will still taste the same 60 years from now.

Here's another link courtesy of usr/bin/girl: the The Pooh-Piglet Psychometric Personality Profiler. Which Winnie the Pooh character are you? I'm a Tigger, closely followed by Eeyore, which I suppose is pretty close. Piglet is my favorite, though.

Are you an e-bore? I only registered slightly above average (at 50%) on the e-bore-o-meter, thank God!

[link courtesy usr/bin/girl]

As I was leaving for the bank about an hour ago, I saw a car from Channel 30 Eyewitness News pull into a neighbor's driveway. I wondered if they were somehow involved in the current anthrax-related death in town, or if there had been another. On the way home I saw that the car had moved on to another neighbor and they were standing in the driveway talking to the owner of the house. Looks like they were canvassing the area for soundbites. Thank God they didn't stop at my house - today is a no shower day.

Jesus Mary and Joseph, what a couple of dirtbags. Excuse me, what a couple of stupid dirtbags.

Site Stuff

If you've been to this site in the past half hour, I apologize for the general spazziness of it all. I purchased an HTML editor yesterday, Homesite 5.0, and I've been learning. I was acquainted, on a very superficial level, with Homesite 4.0, so I at least know my way around the software. I would have preferred Dreamweaver over Homesite, though, because Homesite has no object-oriented or WYSIWYG interface, or scripting wizards, etc. It is just an HTML editor with a built in preview. Beggars can't be choosers, however; $29.00 to upgrade to Homesite 5.0 or $199.00 to purchase Dreamweaver. Hmmm... let me see...

So, here I sit, having to actually learn how to code as opposed to letting the software do it for me. Consider this fair warning!

"Authorities consider how to open anthrax letter"

Do you get the same mental picture that I do? Non-descript FBI room, table in center of room, letter on table, several men in suits standing around staring at the envelope, scratching their chins...

I see London, I see France...

What's your Superpower? Mine is:

Holy smokes, you've got X-RAYVISION! Your answers show a keen sense of insight, coupled with a piercing mind. Okay, so you may not be able to see through brick walls — not yet, anyway. But you probably enjoy looking beneath the surface of things and reading between the lines. Your X-ray vision lets you see things others can't, making you good at reading people's motivations, solving mysteries of all kinds, or maybe just finding misplaced car keys. You've got the gift, so if you haven't started using it, it's high time you did. Just think of the benefits: You could really start undressing people with your eyes. Winning lottery tickets and grand prize soda-bottle caps will be effortlessly revealed to you. So start practicing! All superheroes know that developing your powers begins with mental training. To start honing your X-ray vision, try looking for the hidden meaning in things. Read old English poetry. Do crossword puzzles. Think metaphorically. Once you've trained your mind, you'll be ready to instruct the eyes. Start with gauzey fabrics, then move on to semi-transparent glass. Keep at it, and you'll be seeing through concrete slabs in no time.

How about another?

What's Your IQ? I've never really taken an IQ test, my reluctance to do so probably stemming from a fear of discovering that I'm not quite as brilliant as I think I am. I have to say, though, I'm not all that displeased with my results:

Your IQ score is 124. Incredible! What does that mean? Well, the IQ test measures several different areas of thinking, including math skills, logical reasoning, understanding analogies, and object relations. Scores between 115 to 130 mean that your intelligence is well above average.

X-Ray vision and and above average intelligence? I should be ruling the world, not unemployed! My sense of superiority, however, remains intact. Hehe.

Invisibles!

This week's quiz, Invisibles #51: That's Levitation Holmes is up. You can find the answers and top scores for last week's quiz here. Oh, and they have the answers to User-Created Invisibles #2, also from last week.

"Holli Miller, 32, who transcribes television shows using satellite TV, a special stenography machine and a dedicated phone line from her living room in Des Moines, became a hero of her company, the National Captioning Institute, when she kept transcribing the Sept. 11 live coverage of WNYW, the New York City affiliate of the Fox network, for eight hours without a break."

It's That Time of Year.

Are you wondering if you'll get to see the Heat Meiser this year? How about Yukon Cornelius? Or Ralphie and his quest for a Red Rider BB gun? TVGuide.com has a 2001 Holiday Viewing Guide just for you. This weekend we managed to catch Rudolph and Scrooged. The guide only shows one week at a time, so for long term planning you may have to look elsewhere ;).

"The Santa Clara, California-based chipmaker said it might start incorporating portions of this new transistor structure into its microprocessors as early as 2005. "

Well, at least I'll be able to get at least a good two years out of this brand new baby before it's completely obsolete.

Virus Warning

Heads up for Microsoft Outlook users (like me): "BadTrans.B exploits a previously patched hole in Microsoft's Outlook e-mail program, allowing the virus code to be executed simply by clicking to open and read an infected e-mail in Microsoft Outlook. It is not necessary to double click on an attachment, which may not even be visible to the user, to launch the malicious code."

Please make sure you have the most current anti-virus software downloaded to your computer and that you have downloaded Microsoft's vulnerability patch for Outlook.

"Kabul Unveiled."

"Internet users more chic than geek"

Well, that's good to know. I do think, however, that the survey's finding that "They also tend to be better paid and more educated than non-users," is because the people who use the Internet are the ones who can afford a computer.

Cloning.

As I'm sure you've already heard, it was announced today that Advanced Cell Technology of Worcester, MA has successfully cloned a human embryo. Although their intended purpose in cloning these embryos, to develop an alternate source of stem cells for research, is a valid one, the fact that a duplicate has been made of a person leaves me feeling a bit queasy. What sort of a future does this portend? I empathize with both sides of the ethical debate on this; the advances and cures possible through stem cell research could repair so many damaged lives; however, the question that nags at me is how does the duplication of a human being affect their value as an individual? I fully believe that the researchers at ACT have no intention of developing the cloned embryos; but what about other not-so-ethical scientists? What's to stop them?

Sorry, all this clone talk tends to make me nervous. The entire concept borders on the unnatural for me, a viewpoint that results in no small part from my religious upbringing, I am sure.

Anyhoo, the viability of the cloned embryos is questionable to some. And the majority of the cloned embryos were created through parthenogenesis, a process that creates embryos through duplication of the set of maternal chromosomes. This means that "Producing embryos by parthenogenesis is ethically attractive because they never develop into fetuses, meaning they are not "potential people"." That does make me feel a bit better.

You can stay abreast of developments in cloning by going here.

You can leave your hat on...

(I sound just like Tom Jones, by the way)

That sound you hear? Me kicking myself for not having seen U2 in concert this year. Hard.

U2 Concert on VH1

Just thought I'd let you all know that VH1 aired U2: Elevation Tour 2001 tonight at 9:00 PM, and I missed it. Fortunately, you can always count on VH1 to repeat one of their programs at least once within the next couple of days. If you missed it like I did, you can catch it on Sunday, 11/25, at 11:00 PM.

"Investigators might then be able to decrypt and read secret email messages. But some computer experts question how successful such a system would be."

I suppose the fact that they're telling us they're doing this is somewhat reassuring, but doesn't that sort of defeat the purpose? And the invasion of privacy issue is a sticky one.

"China says it will launch a manned flight into space before 2005 to be followed by a mission to the moon. "

"I could literally see his face on fire."

Falalalala lala la la...

Did you ever think you'd see the day? His Holiness logs on.

Talk about an accident waiting to happen. LOL!

I can't do all that at once, and I have all my limbs.

Anal-Retentive Robber

From ABCNews Crime Blotter:

Suspect Helps Victim Get Description Right

D E S M O I N E S, Iowa — Harpal Singh may have thought he'd seen the last of the man who just robbed him, but the suspect apparently had to get in the last word, police say.

When Singh, a clerk at a Citgo gas station, called police to report the heist, the suspect returned to the store and corrected his description.

Just as Singh told authorities the suspect was "5-something" in height, the suspect, Steven Hebron, told Singh, he was actually 6-foot-2, police said.

He also corrected the clerk when he said the robber was about 38 years old, according to the Des Moines Register "I'm 34," Hebron clarified.

The first time he left the Citgo Quik Mart last Wednesday evening, Hebron tried to run out with several cartons of cigarettes, police allege.

The bag ripped as he headed for the door, however, and Hebron's wallet fell on the floor, a cashier told authorities.

When the cashier yelled for help, Singh came running from the back of the store. They hit a security switch to lock the store's doors, trapping the suspect inside.

Hebron then apologized to the store employees and asked them to drop the matter, police said.

Instead they activated the store alarm, and the robber kicked open a door and fled.

He came back yet again, however, just as Singh was reporting the crime. After correcting Singh's description, police say Hebron asked for his wallet back.

The 34-year-old was arrested at the scene by a Polk County deputy and charged with second-degree robbery.

Turkey Shoot!

How about a rootin' tootin', toast-shootin' turkey game for the Thanksgiving weekend? I completely spazzed out when I played this, so don't ask me if it's a worthy game. I just think it's kinda funny, in a goofy sort of way.

[link courtesy usr/bin/girl]

I've been messing around with the design of this page again. I bumped up the font size - since I went to a 17" monitor I've found that the 1px size was just a little too small for me. I've left the rest of the site the way it is for now.

Let me know what you think!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING



May you always be free from want and surrounded by those you love. God bless, and have a wonderful day!

"The culling of the official list of those killed in the twin towers and on the hijacked airplanes has been proceeding quietly since late September, when the estimated toll reached its high of about 6,500. But this process has taken place largely out of public view, with everyone from world leaders to military officials to newspaper columnists and talk show hosts continuing to believe and assert that 5,000 to 6,000 people died in the attacks on the towers and the Pentagon and aboard the airliner that crashed in Pennsylvania."

Archives.

I've been fooling around with the format and design of the archives page, as you can see. I'll get it straightened out as soon as I can. I did, however, fix the relative link problem with loading images in an archived entry. So, if an image doesn't load in an archived post, it's because I blew it away, not because of an absolute/relatvie linking problem. I'm also going to work on having all my links open in a new window, when I get the chance.

It's off to do some shopping for the holiday time - have a good day, everyone! If you are traveling today, be safe and have a good trip.

Anthrax in CT.

Governor Roland announced tonight in a press conference that a 94-year-old Connecticut woman has contracted inhalation anthrax. She was first hospitalized on Friday with signs of pneumonia, but when she continued to worsen doctors decided to test for anthrax. The CDC has come to town to quarantine her house and to run conclusive tests for inhalation anthrax. Weird thing is, she is basically housebound, and they see no indication that she may have received something tainted in the mail. Not yet at least.

Scary thing is, the town she lives in, Oxford, is the next town over, about a mile away from me. It's going to be a nerve-wracking experience collecting the mail tomorrow. And my unemployment check is in there!

What's Your Flavor?

I'm Peppermint:

"Crisp and refreshing, you're the flavor of candy canes and after-dinner mints — everyone's favorite comfort candies. If you were a season, you'd be winter — bracing and energizing, but cozy, too. Your honesty and forthright personality make people feel like they've known you forever — they can't help but be drawn to your sweet, fresh nature. Perhaps a little old-fashioned, and occasionally shy, you're generally happy and well-liked. Traditional and invigorating, you're a truly tasty treat."

Invisibles!

Filmwise has 2 Invisibles quizzes for you this week:

User-Created Invisibles #2 - 4 out of 8, eesh.

and

Invisibles #50 - 6 out of 8.

Good luck!

Ooooo.

And yes, I slept through it.

Looks like this turkey is looking for a White House intern position.

"Sick of rifling through his pockets in search of mysterious hotel bills? Fed up with stumbling upon her hushed phone calls?"

Now you can be your own forensics expert with the Infidelity Kit, available online for purchase. Doesn't seem the most healthy way to deal with a problem, does it?

X-Files Ep Commentary

I'm back to writing my so-called reviews of X-Files episodes. I've posted my review of the season premiere, Nothing Important Happened Today, on my ex post facto page.

IE Security Patch

Microsoft has released a security patch for a cookie vulnerability in IE 5.5 and 6.0.

TheSmokingGun puts J. Lo in her place.

The Heavens On Display.

"Regardless, prime time will be between midnight and sunrise on November 18. Astronomers suggest that meteor hunters watch the sky from in a darkened site as far from urban light pollution as possible."

If I'm up late tonight, I may run outside to take a peek. I'm pretty far away from city lights, in farm country and on a clear night the sky is usually filled with stars. The prime time for viewing the meteor shower is between 4 AM and 6 AM in the Northeast, but I have a feeling I won't make it.

Bad Guy Buys It.

"Atef is suspected of helping to plan the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon that killed thousands. He directly planned the embassy bombings in Africa in 1998 that killed 224 people, according to a U.S. indictment that charged him with murder. And he is accused of helping plan a 1993 helicopter shootdown in Somalia that killed 18 U.S. soldiers."

"Does exposure to Harry Potter harm children? That's the question posited by a new website that examines the controversy swirling around the series, which narrates the adventures of a nerdly outcast whose life does a 180 after he's admitted into "Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." "

Am I the only person in the western world who hasn't read the Harry Potter books?

"For those giving XP the thumbs-down, Microsoft's new Product Activation mechanism and hardware and software compatibility problems dominated their complaints. Those endorsing XP--which Microsoft says stands for "experience"--cited improved stability, user interface refinements and a plethora of new features, including instant messaging, videoconferencing and improved security. "

"The children plan to present a check for $447,265 to New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. That covers the $350,000 cost of the truck and any other equipment firefighters wish to buy. "

Aid Workers Released.

The eight aid workers being held by the Taliban for months are now in Pakistan, safe and unharmed. A surprisingly good ending to that chapter of this conflict. The situation in Afghanistan is so incredibly fluid right now, with power seeming to shift with the wind. The Taliban troops may be losing ground to the Northern Alliance, and that may be a good thing, but this is far from over, I'm sure. I would be very surprised if the Taliban were not prepared to drag us and our allies into Vietnam-like guerilla war in the mountains of Afghanistan, and I trust those Northern Alliance fellas about as far as I can throw them. They are an ally of convenience, one who could very likely evolve into our next adversary.

If you're afraid of something...

...PhobiaList.com has a name for it. Some of the more intriguing phobias:

Arachibutyrophobia- Fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth.
Aulophobia- Fear of flutes.
Dutchphobia- Fear of the Dutch.
Geniophobia- Fear of chins.
Lutraphobia- Fear of otters.
Optophobia- Fear of opening one's eyes.
Pteronophobia- Fear of being tickled by feathers
Walloonphobia- Fear of the Walloons. (??!)

My favorite, however, would have to be

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia- Fear of long words.

[link courtesy usr/bin/girl]

Amazing aerial view of WTC attack site.

[link courtesy snarkcake.com]

Fake or Foto?

Is it real, or is it computer-generated? I got 7 out of 10 correct. Apparently I have a "good grip on reality." Ha!

[link courtesy silly cow]

Music Memories.



I was driving home from getting my nails done this afternoon (ah, the life of the still unemployed) and the truck radio was playing "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" by Elton John. That got me to thinking... the first album I ever bought was Elton John's Greatest Hits, purchased in 1975, when I was 11 years old.

What was your first album?

"We've got [CNN anchor] Joie Chen walking around on a map of Afghanistan, going, 'We think that Special Operatives are coming here,' " he rants. "I'm saying, what are we doing, for God's sake! Forget the Freedom of Information Act right now."

An Afghan woman shows her face for the first time since the Taliban commenced its rule 5 years ago. Some of the best victories are the small ones.

The way life should be.

I've finally posted images from my September vacation in Maine. Click on the image below.

Happy Birthday, Hannah!

Painted to death. There's a joke in there somewhere, lying just beyond my mental grasp.

Under the I Can't Get Enough Of This Freak heading:

"The Face."

(while you're there, look closely at the photo of Jackson - scary, I know - just look at the makeup lining the inside of his white collar)

Frank Spotnitz talks to SciFi.com about the new season of The X-Files.

Imagine my way to a buff body? I could do that. Of course, I've got a shitty imagination so I should just resign myself to the body I've got.

Invisibles!

Okay, first things first...here are the answers and top scores from last week's quiz, Cop Out. Shameless self-promotion time: you can find me, gina, at about #158 on the list (yes, I counted them).

This week's quiz, # 49, is up. I didn't do so well this time, but 5 out of 8 is better than I thought.

"They are sadder because they're older," Ms. Saunders said. "The world doesn't really work for them the way it used to."

They're still funny, in a pathetic, bitter sort of way.

"You're supposed to be HELPING us!"

Did anyone else watch The Daily Show on Comedy Central last night? Jon Stewart's opening monologue had me vigorously nodding my head and yelling "That's what I'm talkin' 'bout!" at the TV. Well, I probably didn't yell it out loud, but I was thinking it. And I don't really speak in the hip-hop/urban vernacular, either, but that's not the point.

Stewart was fit to be tied, hysterically railing against the 24-hour news channels and their coverage of current events, especially yesterday's plane crash in Queens. I wish I could get hold of a transcript since I can't remember it exactly, but I'll try anyway. He made particular note of something said by one of the anchors (he let slip that he was watching CNN), he said, because it was such an incredible "mind fuck". He said he wrote it down simply because it was outrageous: an anchor was speaking to an "expert" of some sort regarding "uncomfirmed reports" about something or other and actually asked the expert to "speculate on some of the assumptions we've heard today." !!! Speculate on assumptions?? I'm scared shitless enough as it is (this is me talking, by-the-way) -- I don't want unconfirmed reports, I don't want speculation and I do not want assumptions. Just go the fuck away and come back when you have some cold, hard facts, for Christ's sake. The major news outlets have a hard-on for speculation and it just has to stop.

Too bad Jon Stewart isn't on Buffy. He could be my dream date.

My Buffy dream date is Oz! Nooo! Giles and I were meant for each other!

[link courtesy snarkcake]

"We were trying to be very sensitive to the emotional world of our audience," said Abbe Raven, the channel's executive vice president and general manager. "But I felt very strongly that we needed to air this program as a historical record."

Nine A.M., a crisp, sunny autumn morning.

Enormous clouds of smoke over a city skyline.

Fire, debris, emergency personnel and vehicles.

Again.

X-Files Season Premiere


image courtesy thexfiles.com

Tonight is the season premiere, finally, of The X-Files, which is entering into its ninth season. "Nothing Important Happened Today" is the first episode of a two-parter and from what I hear it picks up the action just a couple of days after last season's finale. This premiere is a relative non-event for me compared with previous X-Files season-starters, but I am still anxious to see what will happen. It's not the same show anymore and I've set my expectations accordingly. It will never be what it once was for me, but I still find enjoyment in the characters and storylines, which is more than can be said about most television shows.

Speaking of what I "get out" of The X-Files, I'm going to try to pick writing my reviews of episodes this week, starting with last season's two-part season finale and tonight's episode. For some reason I haven't wanted to return to the finale episodes or even the notes I took way back when; that may be due to the fact that they left me feeling sort of, "Huh?" Perhaps tonight's episode will provide me with a lens through which I can revisit them and maybe even make some sort of sense out of them. Perhaps.

If you'll be watching, enjoy!

I have to see this at least once before I die.

In the interim, Patsy has been promoted and Edina has gone even more bonkers. And as was true five years ago, Edina's daughter, Saffy, remains the sanest one of all.


image courtesy comedycentral.com

Sweetie dahling, they're back.

A gas pain to end all gas pains.

This little puggy went to market...

One word comes to mind...disapPOINTED!!

Comments.

I haven't gotten word on Reblogger so I've decided to switch to a new comments service called BlogBack. Since my host does not support cgi, asp or php, I had to find another remotely hosted comments service and that took a little while. Hopefully BlogBack will work out. I like it so far.

Embattled NYC Fire Commissioner Von Essen will not seek re-appointment.

"These three scandals clump together into a nearly indigestible lump of chicanery in a state whose familiarity with political corruption is faint. Nobody is suggesting that the previous half-century in the state was an unblemished stretch of probity, but nobody can remember anything remotely like this."

Why am I doing this?

The twelve-year-old boy living inside of me has taken over and impels me to direct you to this site. I made a Long, Death-Like Ripper that was Really Bad. Cool.

WARNING: If you consider yourself an adult, stay away. Believe me, you can't appreciate it.

Reblogger Trouble.

My Reblogger comments script isn't functional right now. Let you know when it is.

Buffy Soars to Music.

Last night's musical episode of Buffy was, well...just read this. She says it much better than I can.

Retraction.

From Salon's Nothing Personal column, once again:

"Breathe easy: Michael Jackson's rep says the "Invincible" singer does not have anthrax. "That must have been a rumor, spread by a terrorist," Howard Rubenstein told the New York Daily News of a report quoting Jackson himself. "It is totally without foundation." "

"Spread by a terrorist"? To what end? That American society would crumble in the wake of such an event, I suppose?

"An information vacuum often brings out the worst in journalists. Speculation becomes more prominent and service to the public becomes less valued than filling airtime with what -- to some -- sounds like handy hints for terrorists."

"The stories had to be true. They had to be "one to three pages long, about anything at all," Mr. Auster said recently, "big or small, tragic or comic." But he particularly wanted stories "that defy our expectations about the world" and that reveal the mysterious forces at work in human existence."

NPR's National Story Project.

Da Bomb.

Anthrax? Eh. Flying? Still one of the safest ways to travel. This is what will keep me awake at night and turn my knees to jelly. I thought I was done worrying about that.

SuperFreak is at it again.

From Salon's Nothing Personal column:

"Has Michael Jackson's mask let him down?

The musician is apparently convinced he's caught a few anthrax spores through what's left of his nose.

"I don't know if I should say this, but I'm very sick," Jackson told the London News of the World. "They're going to test me and the children for anthrax. We're all very, very sick right now ... My chest burns very, very much. It's hard to breathe. And when I swallow, it stings." "

Scariest part of that? The phrase, "me and the children."

News on the next X-Files movie.

More Star Wars News...well, sort of...

From SciFi.com SciFiWire:

"Lucasfilm is suing the producers of a pornographic version of Star Wars, alleging that it's too similar to the SF epic, the Montreal Gazette reported. George Lucas' production company filed a federal lawsuit against Media Market Group Ltd., the New York producers of Star Ballz, claiming copyright and trademark infringement, the newspaper reported.

The suit argues that consumers could be confused into thinking that Lucasfilm sponsored or produced the X-rated movie. But Linda Wildblood, a partner at Media Market Group, told the Gazette that her company's movie is an animation parody. "Just like Scary Movie is a spoof of horror movies, Star Ballz parodies many different movies and themes," she said. "No one in their right mind could look at it and say this is Star Wars." "

She should also thank Lucasfilm for the free publicity.

That's a baby?

Should You Get The Flu Shot?

My mother was urging me the other day to get the flu shot. She gets the flu vaccine every year, and she should: she's over 50 and suffers from slight asthma and allergies. I, on the other hand, am not in a high-risk group: I'm in my 30s, relatively healthy, and the last time I had the flu was over 20 years ago. Her reasoning, born of over-exposure to the anthrax news coverage, is that if I get the flu shot it will make diagnosing anthrax easier should I become infected. I told her that I wasn't going to get a flu shot because I see the risk as minimal and she told me I was crazy and intractable in my inability to take precautions. I feel vindicated after reading this article, but I'm still not going to address it again with my mother. I'm not that crazy.

Hope emerges from the dust.

What people will do.

I have all sorts of TV news to report today - this week is a busy one! There have been season premieres of other shows already (The West Wing, Enterprise), as well as special events (The Emmys), but there were more important things going on in the world and I guess the diversions of what used to be everyday life paled in comparison. With the distance of some 2 months from the attacks, I feel more comfortable getting excited about something as silly as a TV show.

So. Here are some of the TV happenings of this week that will have my full attention:

Tonight

Buffy: The Musical - UPN, 8:00 PM EST. "A Demon is summoned to Sunnydale forcing Buffy and her friends to sing their deepest secrets to one another." I've been waiting for this for months!

24 - Season Premiere - FOX, 9:00 PM EST - The year's most talked about new show.

Thursday

The Tick - Season Premiere - FOX, 8:30 PM EST. "Leaping from rooftop to rooftop in a single, hard-hitting thud, a mysterious, blue defender of justice patrols the city known as The City. He is THE TICK, and his limited understanding of all things human does not interfere with his over-zealous desire to protect humanity."

Sunday

Last, but not least...

The X-files - Season Premiere - FOX, 9:00 PM EST. Believe it or not, The X-Files is back for a ninth season. Scully is now a mother, Mulder has vanished and Doggett has a new partner.

"It's not like chicken -- it is chicken," Internet entrepreneur Dayna Steele Justiz of Houston said of NASA's culinary concoctions she sells to the earthbound at thespacestore.com.

"Breathing."

Lucasfilm, Ltd. has released a teaser trailer for "Episode II: Attack of The Clones", called Breathing. (You'll need Quicktime 5 to view). It's very short, under a minute long, but it's pretty cool, I think.

If you're like me, you'll be waiting to see if Episode II will deliver on the promise that "Episode I: The Phantom Menace" did not. I think we all have a list of changes we would make to Episode I if we were allowed to; click here to read about someone who did just that - re-edited the movie and called it "The Phantom Edit". You probably remember hearing about the distribution of "The Phantom Edit" a year or so ago. This article delves a little deeper into the events surrounding its creation, distribution and the other versions that followed it. The author also talks about the ramifications of viewers and critics digitally modifying movies in order to create versions they think are better.

Invisibles!

First off, Filmwise has posted this week's Invisibles quiz, #48: Cop Out. My first 8 out of 8! Woohoo!

Also posted at Filmwise is a new twist on Invisibles called DVD Cover Art - Invisible Style.

Someone give this girl a cheeseburger, please.

And awaa-aay I go!

I'll be away for a few days, visiting friends in Massachusetts. Initially, this was the weekend of the "The X-Files" season 9 premiere and we planned our usual premiere/finale get-together. But because of the Emmys and the World Series (GO YANKS!), it has been rescheduled for the 11th. Since half of our group had already bought their plane tickets, we'll still be meeting this weekend, regardless. It should be a lovely weekend, filled with good food, good movies, fun games and maybe even some outdoor activities.

Have a good weekend, peoples. I'll be back home on Monday and I should be back to posting by then.

"It's not just CNN," Kerr said, "but groups like Fox News, CNBC, and even CSPAN that are behind the anxietyist attacks. These are large, well-funded, well-organized groups dedicated to scaring the shit out of innocent men, women, and children."

Can I get an Amen?!

[link courtesy silly cow]

"The Rumor Busters"

Salon.com has an interview with Barbara Mikkelson, who along with her husband runs Snopes.com, the Urban Legends Reference Pages, in which she discusses the recent rumors and e-mail hoaxes surrounding the events of September 11. Recommended reading for us all.

Okay, one more...

"Good Evening and welcome. This website is all about the paranormal and the unexplained, here you will find true ghost stories, articles on U.F.O's and Aliens, plus do werewolves, ghosts and other unexplained and supernatural things exist? There is a large collection of horror clipart, graphics and lots of horror midi music files to listen to. There is also a dedicated paranormal directory with links to many other sites of that and other genre. "

"Horror Find is the first search engine dedicated to all horror all the time. It is the ultimate source for horror and halloween, with listings of sites about halloween, halloween products, halloween props horror, horror movies, werewolves, vampires, witches, ghosts, demons, monsters, haunted places, haunted parks, haunted attractions, ghost walks, black magic, magic in general, evil spells, zombies and all sorts of other horror related stuff.."