A walk in the fog.

Walk in the fog.
Originally uploaded by gina64.

Spam Spam and Spam

The comments spammers have finally gotten around to me, so I've turned on word verification. The next step will be comment moderation (I approve all comments before they are published), but I'll hold off on that for now.

If headlines were art, this one would be in the Louvre.

Jon Voight Sends His Love To Grandchildren Matrix, Uhuru, and Shylock Poubelle

iPod + Colbert

Paula's Magical, Mystical Red Carpet Tour

Trying to choose a college?

YaleShmale

Emmys, Schmemmys

"This year's Buffy, an annual token of our deep and abiding love for a relatively underappreciated TV show, goes to ... 'Battlestar Galactica'! "

Like I said.

DNA evidence says Karr didn't kill JonBenet.

Please lock him up anyway.

Bertie Goes to Maine

Sunbathing
Originally uploaded by gina64.

Berties continues his travels with a visit to the family place in Maine. He also made it to Vancouver with me, but those photos aren't uploaded yet.

Zachary took a shine to Bertie when we were at the cabin in July and now wants to have a gnome of his own. When he came to visit this weekend, he brought his traveling gnome pajamas. I kid you not.

VAUGHN!

VAUGHN!
Originally uploaded by gina64.

My new favorite t-shirt. It's hard to see in this photo, but he has little bullet holes covering his chest.

"Every step's a f*ckin' adventure."

A Constant Throb/The Catbird Seat

I honestly think that these two episodes will always be inextricably linked for me – they blend right together and seemed to be telling one story.

I was riveted, to say the least. Hearst took things up a notch in his campaign to acquire the Garret claim by having his Pinkertons shoot at, but not hit, Alma as she walked through the thoroughfare; and then he completed his one-two punch by ordering the murder of dear, sweet Ellsworth. I was on the edge of my seat through both episodes, was brought to tears a few times, was caught breathless by some scenes and found myself laughing in spite of the tragedy that surrounded everyone. Deadwood is as funny and beautiful as it is vulgar and brutal. It’s a masterpiece. A masterpiece that HBO cancelled. The f*ckers.

The season/series finale aired last night, but I haven't seen it yet. I'll be catching it On Demand tonight, and I promise a full recap of it this week. In the meantime, a few random thoughts on two extraordinary hours of television:

How disgusting was Con and his “constant throb”?? Dude totally had a carrot in his pants. (how's that for extraordinary?)

Al, Al, Al. He is once again in the catbird seat and it’s good to see. From jumping off the balcony and running to Alma’s aid to slitting the Pinkerton’s throat, from drinking tea with Alma to taunting Hearst across the thoroughfare...it was like Alapalooza, at last. I love his scenes with Alma and wish that there were more of them. And who else could make me wish he’d call me a “loopy f*ckin c*nt”?

The scene in the thoroughfare, with Ellsworth’s body being revealed as it passed by on a wagon, was masterful. Everything about it was perfect – especially the direction and the acting. I was shocked when he was shot but didn’t cry until that scene.

I vary in my estimation of Alma throughout a season – is she brave or selfish or vain or intelligent or stupid or arrogant or sympathetic – but that’s all settled for me after these two episodes. She has now earned the respect and admiration that was previously granted to her solely on the basis of her wealth and social position. And she broke my heart when she cried, “Oh what did I do to that poor man?”

Trixie was amazing, baring her breast like an Amazon warrior as sought revenge for Ellsworth's murder and shot Hearst. I was stunned that she was going after Hearst, but at the same time I totally understood why she in particular would do that. I just hope she survives. Oh, and my heart broke again when she was begging Sol to kill her before Hearst kills all of them.

I’m glad EB finally wiped the spittle from his face, although I doubt he’ll be able muster up the courage to do anything more than that. I read online that McRaney was so opposed to spitting in someone’s face that he faked it and those are digital loogeys on EB.

I love Jack Langrishe, I really do, but WTF is going on with those 2 women? And as if the storyline wasn’t confusing enough, they had to make them look so much alike? I’m assuming that a lot of the theater stuff was laying the groundwork for season 4 storylines that will not happen. I just hope they don’t waste too much time on them in the finale. What was that scene between Jack and Hearst in the hallway all about? Hearst looked like the devil himself. Did he perhaps think that Jack had been standing outside his door, eavesdropping? It just seemed like we lost a scene somewhere along the way, for Jack to be so afraid of Hearst all of a sudden.

As for Tolliver, why didn’t they just kill him off when Andy stabbed him? He’s vile, pathetic, useless and poorly acted by Boothe (imo, of course).

But I don’t want to end on a negative note. How about some good quotes?

“You know, saying I like you hefty don’t mean you couldn’t stand losing a couple of f*ckin’ pounds.” ~ Al (he’s so sweet)

“Oh, I need to take off my corset.” ~ Alma
“And no one objects to that here.” ~ Al

“Telegram’s sent to the Sheriff. Blazanov’s helping Merrick dress.” ~ Charlie
“Why the f*ck would you say that to me?” ~ Al

“Let Adams come back here, be available for whatever nefarious f*ckin’ carryings-on you assign him, ‘cause I do not take orders from you” ~ Charlie

Jarry: "Perhaps then, rather, at this moment you are Socrates to my Alcibiades, taken it upon yourself to edify me."
Hearst: "Are you saying you want to f*ck me?"
Hugo: "What?"
Hearst: "Well, you keep calling yourself Alcibiades to my Socrates. Are you proposing some sort of homosexual connection between us?"
Hugo: "I forgot that part of the story."

“Longest a rug’s lasted so far.” ~ Johnny

"Is it all right then, the article?" ~ Merrick
"Perfect. F*ckin’ wafts just the way you want it to." ~ Al

“My meetings—I provide refreshments.” ~ Al

“God damn it, Richardson. You’re too ugly to be sneaking up on f*cking people.” ~ Jewel

“Big man. Wu—big man” ~ Mr. Wu

“Rouse him to spend on p*ssy, or rob the son of a b*tch.” ~ Al (I loved the whores’ rock/paper/scissors to decide who gets to do it)

One last thing: Jack always refers to Al as “young man”, and my impression is that Jack is supposed to be a good deal older than Al. In real life, McShane is 64 and Brian Cox is 60.

Okay, off I go to watch the last regular season episode of Deadwood, ever. I can't believe it.

Another TV List

After responding to my 25 favorite TV characters list, my friend Holly came back with a slightly modified list: Favorite Duos/Pairs/Couples:

"I had so much fun with this one, I think I will throw out the challenge of doing the same thing with duos that a show is based on or that are inexplicably linked as far as you are concerned and you love them as a pair.

Here's my list so far:

Jonathan and Jennifer Hart (Hart to Hart)
Sally McMillan and Mac (McMillan and Wife)
Lord Brett Sinclair and Danny Wilde (The Persuaders)
Kelly Robinson and Alexander Scott (I Spy)
Dave Starsky and Ken Hutchinson (Starsky and Hutch)
Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry/Joshua Smith and Thaddeus Jones (Alias Smith and Jones)"

All's fair in love and list-making, so here are some of my favorite television duos:

Lucy and Ethel (I Love Lucy)
Ralph and Norton (The Honeymooners)
George and Gracie (The Burns and Allen Show - I haven't seen much of this but I'm including them anyway)
Starsky & Hutch
Remington Steele and Laura Holt. (Remington Steele)
Oscar and Felix (The Odd Couple)
Abbot and Costello (I loved watching these guys on Sunday mornings with my father)

We loved Donny & Marie and Sonny & Cher, but I don’t think you can really include variety performers in this type of list. However, Tim Conway and Harvey Korman just might be the exception.

If you can think of any other TV duos that you like (or liked), please post them in the comments!

Camp Grandma

My beautiful niece and nephew.
Originally uploaded by gina64.

Our mother lives in the in-law apartment beneath us and every summer our niece and nephew come to visit for anywhere from a few days to a week for "Camp Grandma".

Camp is currently in session and the kids have been with us since yesterday. It's great to spend time with them, they're such good kids. And they are loving Mickey.

Hopefully the weather forecasters are wrong and it won't rain the entire time they're here.

I'm a creep, I'm a weirdoooo

I have some doubts about this guy's involvement in Jon Benet's murder, but Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Based on that photo alone, dude needs to be locked up forever.

Mickey

Mickey
Originally uploaded by gina64.

There's a new pug in town. Meet Marty's new little brother, Mickey, adopted from the North Shore Animal League and only 8 weeks old. He's a smart little bugger. See that big blue bed he's lying on? He loves it. Today he got out of his crate and was found sleeping on the big blue bed. Oy!

Marty seems to be adjusting pretty well, all things considered. He's very magnanimous and shares his mommy with Mickey and even lets him cuddle up next to him on her lap. He's not as aggressive with him as he should be, I don't think. Unless there's food on the line. Of course.

My 25 Favorite TV Characters

Inspired by a similar list posted by Joss Whedon at whedonesque, I've put together a list of my 25 most favoritest TV characters. I'd love to hear yours - just keep in mind that they have to be a regular on their respective shows.

Disclaimer: These are in no particular order and I reserve the right to add or remove names as I recall them, which will probably be as soon as I hit the publish button.

Top 25 Favorite TV Characters

Frasier Crane (Cheers and Frasier)
Al Swearengen (Deadwood)
Laura Roslin (Battlestar Galactica)
Thomas Magnum (Magnum, PI)
Willow Rosenberg (Buffy)
Spike (Buffy)
Jack Bristow (Alias)
Dana Scully (The X-Files)
Benson (SOAP, and Benson)
Lucille Bluth (Arrested Development)
Malcolm Reynolds (Firefly)
Mulder (The X-Files)
Jim Rockford (The Rockford Files)
Diane Chambers (Cheers)
Jim Ignatowski (Taxi)
Elden (Murphy Brown)
Calamity Jane (Deadwood)
Jane Tennyson (Prime Suspect)
Irina Derevko (Alias)
Jamie Sommers (The Bionic Woman)
Jack Bauer (24)
Hutch (Starsky & Hutch)
Rupert Giles (Buffy)
Carmela Soprano (The Sopranos)
Frank Pembleton (Homicide: Life on the Street)

Please post some of your favorites in the comments - I would love to see them!

You're On Notice!

I put you on notice!
Originally uploaded by gina64.

Make Your Own.

Too...much...cute...*thud*

(make sure your volume is up so you can hear the crunching)

How about some penguin-y goodness?

Good.

IRS Bags Oscar Swag: "The value of the Oscar gift basket, a tradition that dates to the 1970s, has approached $100,000 in recent years. Top celebrities at this year's Sundance Film Festival - such as Steve Carell and Terrence Howard - had the opportunity to come home with plasma televisions, vouchers for weeklong vacations at posh resorts and even $10,000 discounts on Las Vegas condos for sale."

All of which is now taxable. It's about time the IRS did something right.

I'm back!

While the beginning of the trip did not seem to bode well for the remainder of it (we flew out on the day the Liquid Terror Plot was exposed), my vacation in Vancouver was wonderful. I have loads of photos to share, so please remember to check back here in a day or so. Right now, I have a ton of catching up to do at work and only have time for a few brief posts.

Til later...

Poor Me, Another Vacation.

I'm leaving in the morning for Vancouver! I'll be gone until the 20th, so things will be very quiet around here again. I'll be bringing back what I hope will be some good pictures, maybe a little video and hopefully even some good stories. In the meantime, check out the Vancouver slideshow above.

See you in about 10 days. We'll miss you, Krys!

They've been watching "Soap", haven't they?

Science reveals secrets of invisibility.

According to experts, one can achieve invisibility through simultaneous finger-snaps, hand-waving and blowing of raspberries.

Just ask Burt.

Would this be called a "fish-strike"?

Jumping sturgeon knocks man unconscious: "Blake Nicholas Fessenden, 23, was heading north on the Suwannee River Sunday just north of the Hart Springs Sand Bar when he was hit and fell off the craft, according to a statement from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "

Hydrangea.

Hydrangea.
Originally uploaded by gina64.

Picked in our backyard.

"That's a very nice f*ckin' letter."

Unauthorized Cinnamon

Probably the best episode title, ever. I'm sorry to say that this will have to be yet another brief Deadwood recap, and I'm still very, very far behind. I promise that when I get back from Vancouver I will set myself to the task of catching up. There are only 3 episodes left to the season, can you believe it?!

We pick up right where we left off at the end of "Rich Find", with Aunt Lou running into the hotel. Hearst meets with Odell about his Liberia claim during this episode, but I'm not going to bother recapping it - suffice to say that Hearst decides to send a man back to Liberia with Odell to verify his claim.

At the Gem, Al, Bullock, Tolliver, Merrick and the rest of the camp elders meet to discuss what to do about Hearst and what they perceive is an imminent attack by him on the camp. Charlie supports the "kill him before he kills us" plan, but then Seth produces a very moving letter he has written to the family of the Cornishman killed by Hearst's men. Merrick reads the letter aloud and all present are moved (except maybe for stone-faced Tolliver) to publish the letter in the paper. Al isn't sure why this is the action they should take, but he is nonetheless convinced of its appropriateness. I think it's the right choice and will galvanize the camp against Hearst, and that will come in mighty handy when the smackdown starts. Also, I think, by doing the decent thing - acknowledging the loss of a life in a town where life has always been considered cheap - they not only raise themselves above the fray, but they bring the camp one step closer to being a civilized community.

I think this episode will turn out to be a sentimental favorite of mine, filled as it was with scenes of quiet emotion. From the reading of the letter to Sol and Trixie's talk, from Joanie and Jane's kiss to Al's admonishment to Doc that he'd better live or he'd kill him himself...even Hearst's tearful admission to Odell that the people of Deadwood had hurt his feelings was very well-played. Throw in a little comedy, such as that provided by "Little Miss F*ckin' Cinnamon", the bizarre tailor and his scarves and Richardson and E.B.'s "Who's on first" routine and, well, you have an almost perfect episode.

Quotes

"Do not put unauthorized cinnamon on the Goddamned meetin' table!" ~ Dan

"Guess if you've got a p*ssy, even ownin' a bank don't get you to that table." ~ Gem whores in a philosphical moment

"But I have learned sometimes if you have a thing, the reason for the thing is that you have it!" ~Gustave the Tailor

"Please, God, come in!" ~ Al

"That's a very nice f*ckin' letter." ~Al

"F*ck Confidentiality of Communications!" ~ Blasanov

"Open the place back up! Tell the whores if their legs ain't in the air, they'd better be off their asses!"

"I own this place!"

Hee!

Synchronized Treadmill Dancing. Really.

And it's amazing!

If only wishing made it so.

On our beach
Originally uploaded by gina64.

What a wonderful vacation we had. The only complaint I have is that it wasn't nearly long enough.

Us 3 sisters had a fine time hanging out, playing cards and drinking mojitos, and the kids were great. The weather cooperated for the most part, and the photo above is an example of one of the good days. We also had fog, heavy rain and an awesome thunderstorm on our last night that lasted a couple of hours. Storms are always so much more intense up there, and nature always so much more close.

I finished one book and read about two thirds of another. I watched 2 discs (eight episodes) from season 2 of The 4400 and various movies with the kids. I even played a little GameBoy.

We took walks and had a picnic. The kids were outside almost the entire trip, climbing all over the rocks in their little bare feet.

We had hamburgers and nachos and steaks and fried clams and lobster rolls and spaghetti and tuna sandwiches (lots of tuna sandwiches). On Thursday night the 3 adults had lobster for dinner - two each. Cookies were baked, and so was a banana bread.

We had a bonfire on the beach and made s'mores. We went to church on Sunday where my aunt was giving the service. We visited my father's gravesite and left flowers for him.

We went to Bar Harbor and I bought some new Merrills for my next vacation. I took a lot of pictures.

Like I said, it was a good vacation.

"We're in the presence of the new."

Rich Find

And so begins my arduous task of catching up on Deadwood recaps. This one aired before my trip to Maine, 3 episodes ago (sorry). In the interest of time, and my lack of it, I'm going to limit this recap to a quick summary and a few favorite quotes. For a complete recap, head over to TWoP.

To summarize the episode:

~ After being dragged through the thoroughfare by his ear by Bullock, Hearst spends the night in the camp jail cell. He is released the next day and is none too happy. He heads straight for Blasanov and sends a telegram, the contents of which have Blasanov sadly remembering his parents' deaths and the destruction of their village.

~ Al wants to strike at Hearst first before he brings down Deadwood, but when he hears that Charlie, Bullock and Sol have been talking about the same thing themselves, he decides to forego those plans and calls a town meeting instead. Bring out the peaches!

~ After finding out that Leon is Alma's supplier, Cy instructs Leon to sell her some bad junk in the hope that she'll die from it. This makes Leon even more nervous than he normally is and he wonders what's to keep Cy from killing him for knowing it was Cy who ordered her death? He goes to Alma and tells her to find another dealer. Well, Leon shouldn't have acted so quickly. Cy tells Hearst his plan to off Alma and Hearst tells him to not do it yet. Cy tells Leon to go back to dealing Alma the regular dope, confusing the hell out Leon and me.

~ Trixie confronts Alma about her drug use and quits the bank after Alma plays the ungrateful, superior bitch card.

~ Aunt Lou's son Odell comes to town after spending most of his life in Liberia. He claims he came to see Hearst about a "rich find" of gold in Liberia. Is he pulling a scam on Hearst?

~ After helping the Nigger General bury Hostetler, Jane ends the episode in a terrible state of drunkenness. She is found by her friend Joanie, who takes her back to Shaughnessy's where she can take care of her.

Quotes

Hearst, flipping the bird at Al and Bullock: "How's the finger?"
Al: "Alright, Mr. Hearst."
Bullock: "How's the f*ckin' ear?"
Al: "Good, Bullock, good. By dissembling our feelings we keep the strategic edge."

"Stupid, aren't ya?" ~ Hearst

"Question I wake to in the morning and pass out with at night: What's my popularity with my fellow white people?" ~ Jane

"Not quick. But she does seem full of purpose." ~ Al

In the desert, you can't remember your name...

OK, so CT isn't the desert, but it might as well be with this weather. I actually went out at lunch today (that's the sun taken with my camera phone to the left), and it wasn't too bad at first. I was just going across the street to Target for a few things, so I didn't even turn the AC on in my car.

It was a different story, however, when I got back in my car to head back to work. I'm not sure why - maybe I hit my maximum heat absorption or the refrigeration of the office AC finally wore off - but whatever the reason, the heat hit me like a truck. Ugh. I am not looking forward to the drive home tonight, AC or no AC. I really hope that all of the people who don't have access to air conditioning or other methods of cooling off have been able to get help today, especially the elderly and those with breathing problems.

Unfortunately, things are going to get worse around here before they get better:

According to the National Weather Service,

THIS DANGEROUS HEAT WAVE WILL CONTINUE THROUGH WEDNESDAY. HIGH TEMPERATURES ON WEDNESDAY WILL BE EVEN A DEGREE OR TWO HOTTER THAN THIS AFTERNOON... CLIMBING TO AROUND 100 DEGREES. WITH HUMIDITY REMAINING AT OPPRESSIVE LEVELS...THIS WILL RESULT IN MAXIMUM HEAT INDICES OF 110 TO 115 DEGREES BETWEEN NOON AND 6 PM.

We're havin' a heat wave...a tropical heat wave...

Move over, Tom Cruise.

And make room on the crazy couch.

AND: More from Mr. SugarTits.