You Must Yearbook Yourself!

If you haven't already, check out Yearbook Yourself. I laughed til I cried. Well, maybe not that much, but it's pretty damn funny.

Here are some of my better years:

1958:



1964 (the year I was born!):



1970, still searching for my racial identity:



1978, my favorite:



1986 (the year I graduated from college!):



1988:



1992:



And last but not least, the year 2000 (I look like a baby!):

Quick & Dirty: FlashForward and Modern Family

Loved them both!

I can definitely see FlashForward taking up the mantle of LOST, once LOST leaves my TV in the Spring (*sniff*), especially if they maintain the quality of the pilot. I'm not entirely sold yet, but I'm close. That guy on the surveillance video at the end just about sealed the deal for me.

Modern Family is like Arrested Development shot in the mockumentary style of The Office. I don't think it's as bitingly funny as AD, at least not yet, but I think it can be. If you liked Best in Show or Waiting for Guffman, you'll love Modern Family.

New LOST poster!

Available for a limited time only.

The name at the top of the screen - "Ronie Midfew Arts" - screams anagram, so I googled and found out it is an anagram: For "Widmore Fine Arts". Of course it is!

She's walking and eating pickles now.

Lily is running all over the house now, and doing well. Or at least she was, until she went hiney over teakettle on Saturday and smashed her head on her vaporizer. Almost instantly she had a big bruise and egg on her forehead. A quick visit to the ER, just in case, and then she was home, playing, and just fine. I told my sister that we should just wrap her little head in bubble wrap until she gets this walking thing figured out. It would be easier on all of us!

Here are a couple of recent videos. I was totally prepared for her to not like the pickle, was hoping for that in fact, and had my camera ready for the sour face (second video). Instead, she loved it. Silly girl.

First image from 'Paul'!

From left: Blythe Danner, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Kristen Wiig

For those who don't know, Paul is
"a comedy about two sci-fi geeks who embark upon a pilgrimage in a RV to the center of America's UFO heartland: Nevada's infamous Area 51. While in the middle of that desert, the two friends encounter a fugitive alien by the name of Paul. Somewhat reluctantly, they embark upon an adventure that will change not just their lives forever, but also the lives of the friends and enemies they encounter along the way." (from imdb)

I cannot wait to see this!

TV Talk: Quick and Dirty Reviews

I have been up to my eyeballs in good TV the past few days. I love it!

After putting off the inevitable for months, I ripped the proverbial bandaid off of my DVR and watched the final 3 episodes of Pushing Daisies. While they were all good, the final episode was one of the best they ever did, and I will miss that show very, very much. *shakes fist at ABC*

Warehouse 13's season finale aired Tuesday night. It's not one of the best shows I've ever seen, but it is fun - great for family watching, if you're looking for something like that - and its strong point is the chemistry between all of the major characters. And it can be pretty funny.

Oh, Castle, how much do I love thee, let me count the ways...1,2,3...a MILLION. I thought the season 2 premiere was very strong, I was very pleased with the changes in Beckett (changes like more casual clothes and a bit more tomboy-ish manner that I had been wishing for last season) and I am totally, madly in love with Nathan Fillion.

Community was pretty darn funny, which is good, since it's a comedy.

If Katey Sagal does not get nominated for an Emmy for her work on Sons of Anarchy this season, I swear I will go to Los Angeles and stand outside the theater and protest the awards show myself.

Tonight's viewing schedule: FlashForward series premiere, last night's series premiere of Modern Family and CSI's season premiere and oh my God, Fringe, too! An excess of riches!

Is there such a thing as too much of a good thing?

I say no.

Movieline has posted 2 awesome interviews this week. How happy am I?

Check them out:

Nathan Fillion

Clive Owen

LOST University: Enroll Now

Today is the fifth anniversary of the crash of Flight 815 (and the series premiere), and it's also the day that ABC launches LOST University, which I assume is, like previous online ARGs and show-related websites, a way to keep folks interested in the show until it comes back in January.

I just found out about this through a Lostpedia tweet and then raced here to share the information with you, so I really have no idea what this is all about. Except that it looks like fun.

I'm going to go enroll and see what's what. Maybe you should, too. Classes start December 8, 2009.

Castle is back!

Reminder: The season 2 premiere of ABC's Castle is tonight at 10:00 PM!

For a heaping helping of Fillion's charms, check out this video, where EW's Marc Bernardin discusses his man crush with its object.

A day at the marina.

09-20-2009 008, originally uploaded by gina64.

These photos were taken on Saturday, at Allen Harbor Marina in North Kingstown, RI. We were there for my nephew Zachary's 10th birthday party. It was a beautiful day.

TV Talk: Post-Emmy Edition

For someone who loves TV as much as I do, you'd think that Emmy night would be a big deal for me. It isn't.

I "watch" the Emmys (and other award shows) online, on the day after they aired. I just can't be bothered with sitting there for hours, watching the awards go to either the same old, boring people (Jon Cryer? Really?) or to shows and actors that I don't watch (Mad Men, Breaking Bad, 30 Rock...and nowadays, that accounts for most of the winners and nominees, I'm afraid to admit). And for some reason, the older I get, the more self-congratulatory these award shows feel to me.

Instead, I read recaps by my favorite TV bloggers, look at the red carpet pictures, and watch the highlights on YouTube and the like. Isn't the Internet a wonderful thing?

From what I hear, Neil Patrick Harris did a fabulous job hosting, and Michael Emerson won! YES! YES! And I read that Ricky Gervais was very funny, and there was even a Dr. Horrible clip! Cool.

Let's see if I can find some good videos to share...

NPH's opening song:



Ricky Gervais presents award to Jon Stewart (if only Simon Pegg was there they would have completed my Funny Geek Crush Trifecta):



And finally, Dr. Horrible and Captain Hammer highjack the show:

Hot and Foamy: A video appreciation

This was on the other night and I was laughing out loud, all alone on the couch:



Frasier is my favorite comedy of all time (even though I didn't really watch regularly after Daphne and Niles got together), and I really miss it.

You know, I was just going to post the clip above, but what the hell, here are some more Frasier clips to enjoy:







I could watch these all day.

TV Talk: Heads Up!

Just a quick heads up for tonight:

The second season of Fringe starts tonight on FOX, at 9:00 PM. So excited!



Also starting tonight is a new comedy called Community, which stars Joel McHale from The Soup (yay!) and Chevy Chase (Boo!), and word of mouth is very good. (NBC, 9:30 PM)



One more thing, a question: Are any of you watching Leno's new show?

Eddie Iz Done!

After 43 marathons in 51 days, and over £ 200,000 raised for Sport Relief (or so I've heard), Eddie Izzard is ready for - and has REALLY earned - a nap.

But first, he talks to CNN:

The Love Triangle

New LOST poster:



This one doesn't really do anything for me, but if you like it, you can buy it here.

Hee!

What a sorry excuse for a human being he is.

TV Talk

The season 2 premiere of Sons of Anarchy aired this past Tuesday and wow. I understand that it's really not a show for everyone - most of the characters lead morally reprehensible lives, to say the least, and there is enough sex and violence to make HBO blush - but that's unfortunate, because I think it has really grown into one of the best shows on TV right now. And the fact that I care so much about what happens to these bad people is a testament to that.

Did you hear that NBC is remaking the BBC's landmark series Prime Suspect? I suppose the only realistic response to this news is to say I'm surprised it took this long, and it may end up being a great series if they cast the lead properly; but I still don't like the idea. Because I'm and Anglophile and BBC snob, I admit it. I'll be interested to see who they cast as Tennyson. Helen Mirren is a tough act to follow.

The True Blood season 2 finale was last night, and you know what? I think I was a bit underwhelmed. However, that may be because they went for something a little different than I was expecting. I'm going to watch it again - hopefully tonight - before I post my thoughts on it.

Finally, and I am WAY late on this, but I wanted to get your take on the news that Ellen Degeneres will take Paula Abdul's place on American Idol with this quick and dirty poll:

poll by twiigs.com

Let's lighten things up, shall we?

Worth Revisiting

The brilliant post 9/11 edition of The Onion.

(thank for the reminder, alan)

Remembering.

An archive of personal videos from that horrible day 8 years ago.

A Day Without Cats

Just jumping on the meme badwagon!

Another LOST poster is available.

And I think I may like this one the best so far. Buy it here, while you can.

Are people really this afraid?

On September 8, President Obama is scheduled to directly address students at school. According to the Department of Education:

During this special address, the president will speak directly to the nation’s children and youth about persisting and succeeding in school. The president will challenge students to work hard, set educational goals, and take responsibility for their learning.

This sounds like a good thing, right? Not to some people, apparently. These people are organizing a "Keep Your Kid Home From School" Day on the day of the address as a protest against the President's message of staying in school and working hard to achieve your goals. They're calling it "the beginning of the Socialist Indoctrination of Americas (sic) children". Sigh. Really? Why must everything be politicized? Can't the President of the United States convey an important and simple message to our nation's children with him having some sinister ulterior motive?

Are people really that afraid of him? My dislike of GWB was all-consuming, but I know that I would have had absolutely no objection to him delivering a similar address to kids.

You can read a copy of an e-mail that has been circulating over at Daily KOS, and some commentary on the subject at CNN.

This crap gives me a stomach ache.

Eddie's latest tweet.

Eddie Izzard is on his 31st or 32nd marathon in a row - insane! - and this is a photo he tweeted of himself next to a sign depicting the name of a town he was passing through. Ha!




He's nearly done. I think he has about 10 or 11 more marathons before he finishes up in London. Amazing.

Here's his latest video diary. Watch it before the BBC brings down the copyright hammer.

Very funny ABC promo clips - with Sawyer and Ben!

I cannot believe I haven't seen these.

abc house promo15 with josh holloway and courtney cox
by lyly_ford

abc house promo 13
by lyly_ford

I miss them so much!

True Blood: Frenzy

SPOILERS AHEAD IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THIS WEEK'S EPISODE

"Everything that exists imagined itself into existence."
~Sophie-Anne, Queen of Louisiana

"They're like tiny humans. Teacup humans."
~Eric

OK, so I've watched this one twice already, because 1) I didn't really like it the first time around, and...actually, that's pretty much the only reason why. After the re-watch, I did like it more, and I picked up on some stuff that I missed the first time around, but the things that bothered me the first time I watched still bothered me. Like:

• The Queen. I get what she's all about - I think - but I think the actress (Evan Rachel Wood) missed the mark. By a LOT. However, she did have the unenviable task of relaying a bucket load of exposition, so the over-acting was probably an attempt to insert some character into all the blah-blah. It was very clunky and made what she was saying difficult to understand. I'm hoping her scenes are better next week.
• Why in the world would Sam walk out into the woods by himself? Am I mistaken or aren't there black-eyed zombie sex cult members who want to offer him up as a sacrifice running around in those very woods? Dumb.
• Some of the foreshadowing was a bit clumsy, too: Sookie's cousin Hadley will obviously turn up again, probably next season; I'm sure Arlene's ex Dwayne with the tattoo on his stomach is going to show up at a later date as well; and I would bet good money that the fact there's only one Kevlar vest is going to spell trouble for Jason in the finale.
• All of the good feeling I got out of Tara's intervention last week was washed away by Tara's shitty attitude this week. I hope she was as mean as she was because she's still experiencing some leftover Maryann mojo because, well, because she was just being stupid. Or, as Sookie said, a fucking idiot.

Looking back on this list, I realize that most of these issues are related to writing problems, which is a surprise considering Alan Ball himself wrote this one.

So, what did I like?

• This wasn't in the episode, per se, but I have to share this from io9's recap. What Bill texted to Sookie: "SUUUUKIE I WILL BE RETIRING AT THE PALACE, I WILL RETURN UPON NIGHTFALL. I WILL REQUIRE RELATIONS. ERIC IS EVIL. XO - VAMPIRE BILL" HEE!
• Jason, especially his thoughts on Sam's shapeshifting capabilities and whether or not he would lay an egg if he turned into a chicken. I love Jason.
• Eric was awesome in all of his scenes: in Lettie Mae's dress, in his chat with the children, his "Goodbye tiny humans" and his take off (Eric can fly!). I loved it when he ran into Bill outside the Queen's palace and his hair was all mussed from flying. Oh dear, I just thought of something...I really hope they don't do the cheesetastic romantic flying thing, like in Superman, with Eric and Sookie. Oh my God, they could even use the song, "Can You Read My Mind"! Ha!
• While the naked guy that was sitting in the sink at Gran's house and playing with intestines was a little over the top, I thought they did a really great job making that entire sequence really creepy.
• I was glad that Sookie and Lafayette shared with each other about Eric. It was a good scene, except for Sookie's description of what it felt like to be in Tara's head. Huh? Bad writing again, I think.

Depsite the title, this one moved at a glacial pace, and seemed a bit disjointed to me. I didn't get the sense that we are headed towards any kind of conclusion - at least not as soon as the next episode. I hope they're able to pull all of this together by then.

What in the world is this town going to be like when this is all over?

ETA: Oops, I forgot something! It hadn't occurred to me until I was reading the episode thread at TWoP, and I was wondering if anyone else picked up on the idea that Bill might have been sent to Bon Temps by the Queen, in order to "procure" Sookie for her, and then Bill unexpectedly fell in love with Sookie. I'm not so sure about that, but SA does know about Sookie, and Bill seemed to be acquainted with Hadley and on pretty familiar terms with SA, so at the very least I'd say he's been in communication with the Queen on a fairly regular basis. I'm very interested in finding out exactly what their history is - as long as the Queen quits hamming it up.