Talking to the Moon

Rossum vs FOX

2009-11-13T19:51:00.006-05:00

Quote of the day: "It's weird... you know the end of something great is coming, but you want to hold on, just for one more second, just so it can hurt a little more." ~Unknown (at least by me.)

Song of the day: Somebody to Love by Queen (aka "The Happy Feet" song)

State of mind: bummed

Date: 11/15/09

Day 15. Post... whatever.

I heard the news a few days ago but have been pretending I didn't just for a little while, but I have to face facts: Dollhouse has been cancelled by FOX. Surprise! Ok, not really that much of a shock. Despite cancellation, (which I think is weird that they announced it in the middle of the November sweeps hiatus when it wasn't even on), they are going to be airing all 13 episodes of this season. So. There's that.

As is the case with most things these days, I read about it on twitter, then went to Whedonesque.com for confirmation and saw that Joss himself had posted about the news.

Hmm. Apparently my news is not news.

I don't have a lot to say. I'm extremely proud of the people I've worked with: my star, my staff, my cast, my crew. I feel the show is getting better pretty much every week, and I think you'll agree in the coming months. I'm grateful that we got to put it on, and then come back and put it on again.

I'm off to pursue internet ventures/binge drinking. Possibly that relaxation thing I've read so much about. By the time the last episode airs, you'll know what my next project is. But for now there's a lot of work still to be done, and disappointment to bear.

Thank you all for your support, your patience, your excellent adverts. See you again. -j.

Now, I'm not going to get all pissy and complain that the show was 'too smart' for the American audience. For one, I don't think most people are really all that dumb. (Despite what I say A LOT while driving.) I think the reason so many shows succeed that don't require that much thinking is that most people, even the clever ones, don't want to think while watching TV. It's supposed to be relaxing, so they choose shows that do the thinking for them. Of course, there are always exceptions to that rule because it can't be all prat falls and reality TV all the time or the brain starts to hurt... but in Dollhouse's case, it seemed that what the show was and how it was advertised were not compatible. So outside the Whedon fandom, those that were looking for another eye candy spy action show were disappointed, (except the eye candy part of course), and anyone that was looking for the next thinking show thought Dollhouse was nothing but girl fights and shoot outs. So, the audience FOX got was turned off by the moral ambiguity and those that might have appreciated it never found it. Well, there's always DVD.

But since everyone knows it has an end date, why not give it a try if you haven't already? It comes back on December 4th and the last episode airs on January 22nd. With only two half seasons, that isn't much of a commitment. (If you need a widget to remind you when it comes back, try here.) The previous episodes are available on Hulu.com or on iTunes, and I'm sure the previous season is at your local DVD rental store, which should include the never aired episode Epitaph One. (Warning, that link has spoilers included.) But the real reason you should give the show a chance is because it attracted the kinds of people that could do this kind of work: whyiwatch.com
How can someone that talented be wrong about a show, huh?
And look at the promo she made:

Now THAT is how the show should have been marketed. Not sure how it would have effected the ratings but FOX would have at least gotten the correct audience.

And now there is a fan created viral campaign online with clues and videos spread all over the net. I won't give them all away, but here are a few to start you off: ditchthetech.com,@tombness on twitter, Wipethefuture.com, and Spectrin.com.

Show quote of the day: "Ooh, I could eat that word. Or a crisp."

10 Useless Deaths in Fiction

2009-11-11T23:59:00.000-05:00

Quote of the day: "The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt." ~Bertrand Russell

Song of the day: Straight Out of Line by Godsmack

State of mind: in denial

Date: 11/11/09

A long time back io9 had a list of the 10 Most Wasted or Lame Deaths in sci fi. So of course, I decided to make my own list. I am going to exapand the criteria a bit to both Sci Fi and Fantasy, just because I can.

Let's start with the slightly annoying and move on to deaths that to this day make me want to pull my hair out:

1)Cyclops- X-Men 3. He was kind of a waste of celluloid so I wasn't so upset, except that it was pointless. What reason did Phoenix aka Jean Grey have to smelt him?

2)Mace Windu- Star Wars: Ep III. On one hand it did take an awful lot to kill him. On the other why can Anakin soar from thousands of feet in the air through traffic and land himself safely onto a moving vehicle, yet Mace couldn't?

3)Data- Star Trek: Nemisis. Brain the size of a planet and he can't get off a ship before it goes boom. Wait... am I confusing my robots again?

4)D'Argo- Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars. It wasn't that he sacrificed his life for his friends. It was the cliched way he did it. Farscape was all about tacking worn and weary Sci Fi plot devices and turning them on their head but then they kill D'Argo off in the most overdone war story way possible. D'Argo deserved better.

5)Dr Carson Beckett- Stargate Atlantis. Because they kept bringing him back.

6)Colin/Quinn- just because it looked so lame since the actors playing them quit/were fired the season before so the show runners were forced to resort to showing a guy that was vaguely the size of Quinn waving his friends through the vortex and that was the last you saw of them... except, no! They bring in a new guy that is an alternate world Quinn, but he's stupid! Was that supposed to be an insult aimed at Jerry O'connell? Childish. Also, why didn't the geniuses use the actress that played an alternate Quinn in season 3? No need to explain why she looks different since it's already been established.

7)Connor Macleod- Highlander: Endgame. Never happened. Duncan was hallucinating.

8)Marcus Cole- Babylon 5. His death would have had meaning except the person he gave his life for didn't return for the 5th season and that made his death moot. Which was a pity because Marcus Cole was one of my favorite human characters on that show. He was full of delight and sarcasm, both of which was sorely missed in the last season.

9)Wier. Wier again. Wier 2.0- Stargate Atlantis. Not only did they kill her, they killed her Replicator clone, then killed another actress playing her as yet another Replicator clone.

10)Padme- Star Wars: Ep III. Death by heartbreak? I can't believe they wrote off her character as if she was too weak to deal with the fact she married a psycho that helped take over the galaxy; especially since she was voted Queen when she was just 14 years old and now has two children that will be left alone in that now very dangerous galaxy. What the hell does Lucas have against women that he writes one that is supposed to be so strong and extraordinary yet they can't even be counted on to take care of their own children when they are needed the most?

Show quote of the day: "I think your face is going to catch fire."

Freak of nature?

2009-11-10T22:01:00.001-05:00

Quote of the day: "It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change." ~Charles Darwin

Song of the day: Undecided by Ella Fitzgerald

State of mind: muddled

Date: November 10th, 2009

Day 10! I am falling behind but still chugging along...

As stated, I am unwell. I thought it was a head cold, but now I am not so sure. No sniffles, or chest congestion. All I have is a sore, swollen throat and a headache that radiates down my back. I am suspicious that it might be due to my wisdom teeth that I have not yet had taken out. My dentist had recommended they be pulled a little over a year ago because they came in funny and he was concerned about possible decay because even with my fastidious oral hygiene, the odd angels would make them impossible to keep clean. Was that bullshit to get me to authorize an unnecessary procedure? I don't think so. And now I'm thinking that my weird wisdom teeth are making me prone to infections in the throat. This is the second time I've felt like this in little over three months. In September I came back from NYC with a sore throat too. Also, I've had strep throat twice in the past year- the last time being the worst case I've ever had.
How does this make me a freak of nature? It's the number of wisdom teeth I have. Three.
I may have mentioned the story my dentist told me about more kids being born with less wisdom teeth as they are less often necessary to replace missing teeth- which is their function. He gave credit to better oral hygene and advanced in dentistry.
I mentioned that on twitter and was challenged on it and although I dont think that it's a huge deal, I feel the need to clarify in more than 140 characters, but don't feel like spamming everyone's twitter feed with my tooth ramblings.
1) I did not mean to imply that my dentist was right. Just that he said it.
2) I know nothing about genetics.
Even still, it makes a kind of sense to me. I have no idea if a change in humans could be so quick, but it seems plausible that some alterations would happen due to environent. I have no idea if that's how changes happen at all. But in my overviewing brain, it makes sense. The Earth wasn't built for us, we were built for it. And if at one time we were all the same, from the same place (Africa) then why are we so different now? We moved to different locations with different environents. It's the reason I see as to why people with ancestors from the colder climates are furry as hell. (I'm a lot Irish, so I know.) Why people have certain skin tones depending on the amount of sunlight there is. Even eye color could be attributed to where the human was when it first appeared.
But from what I gathered by the comment to me was that evolution happens because those with favorable traits survive while those without don't and the survivors pass it on. (I might be interpreting that totally wrong BTW. Again, I know nothing about genetics.) But I have to wonder, where did the trait come into exsistence in order to be deemed by sucessful human survival to be the good trait to pass on? Something had to have happened that triggered it, right?so why not flouride in the water or good brushing habits?
Either way, after work tomorrow I have to drop off some books to the library and plan to pick up a few to answer the question, because now it's bugging me.
Besides, the real point I was trying to make on twitter was just that I'm a freak. On that I suspect we all agree.

Show quote of the day: "When they blew up the Death Star with thousands of Stormtroopers on it, they knew they were people?"
"It was called a 'Death Star', sweetie. They knew what they were getting into."

Sicko

2009-11-09T19:01:00.001-05:00

Quote of the day: "One's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains it's original dimensions." ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

Song of the day: Pig by NIN

State of mind: muddled

Date: November 9th, 2009 (Carl Sagan's B-day.)

Great. I'm sick. I was fine yesterday but I woke up sick today. My head ached so much even my teeth hurt. My teeth!
So I took the advice of every newscast on illness and stayed home. Then I took a long nap and spent the rest of the day in battle with whatever it is that is making my throat hurt and my bones ache.
What exactly is the point to the common cold? Or the flu? What is it that makes us sick and why bother?
Most things on this planet in the natural world at least has a function on the food chain and in our ecosystem. Except sore throats and headaches. It's not going to kill me, so it's not Mother Nature culling the herd. So, WTF?
I bet all colds and flues and other non life threatening illnesses are an alien conspiricy. Just wait. You'll see.

*cough cough*

They'll show up with some fancy schmancy cure all and we'll be so happy and trust them and love them and then BAM, they'll steal all our chocolate or the moon or something.

Show quote of the day: "I'm wearing my teeth kicking heels."

Top Ten TV Moments

2009-11-07T20:05:00.004-05:00

Quote of the day: "Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground." ~Teddy Roosevelt

Song of the day: Vicarious by Tool

State of mind: chagrined

Date: November 7th, 2009 (Carl Sagan Day!)

Day 7! Post 4.

TV. I love it. I watch too much of it. As a child of the 70s, it was my babysitter, my teacher, and my friend. This might explain why to this day I still believe in my heart of hearts that all my problems could be solved by a team of mercenaries in a black van and a fully equipped tool shed or that whenever I am counting I think to myself after every number, "ah-ha-ha!"

So when I saw an article on TV Guide asking the online community what their top ten TV moments were of the past decade, I thought I could come up with twice that amount easy.

I couldn't. And that bothers me. An entire decade of dedicated television viewing and I had trouble completing a list of ten things that were worthy enough to be put on a list for a blog? That makes me wonder just what am I doing with my time that I couldn't be doing other, possible more memorable things. Piano lessons? Travel? But both would require money... Volunteer work? Reading... oh wait. I do a lot of that too. Can I come up with a top ten list of awesome moments from the books I read over the past decade? Yeah, I think I could.

Anyhow... I did eventually come up with at least ten moments and despite my sudden crisis of whatever you want to call it, I am now posting it for your viewing pleasure.

This list isn't in any particular order, and not all of the moments would be considered happy ones. They asked for memorable and unfortunately sucky things count.

1) 9/11. That day and the weeks after of news coverage. I pretty much spent all my waking hours in front of the TV scanning channels from CNN, to MSNBC, to BBCA, to Discovery, to the local channels. I was mesmerized by the sheer magnitude of the event and I think it took that long for my brain to really take it all in. What an odd surreal time that was.

2) Election night, 2008. I'll admit, I had something in my eye. I spent that night hoping from my computer to in front of my TV. I really wish I had been out that night at the many gathering places folks go to watch TV together. (They're called bars.)

3) President Bartlett curses God on The West Wing. Awesome show, awesome episode.

4) Torchwood: Children of Earth. That show ripped my heart out, then kicked it around with steal toe boots.

5) The Prom, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Gets me every time! I know on a lot of peoples lists, the episode where her mother passes away from a brain aneurysm is a memorable, and gut wrenching moment, but when her fellow classmates acknowledge en masse that she is protecting them from things they don't even want to contemplate, I just want to hug my TV.

6) Serenity rises- The Train Job. Alright, I'll admit it, on Firefly the first thing I fell in love with was the ship. And of all the horrible moments in the movie, I recall cursing out a certain word smith the most in my head when Serenity was coming apart during Wash's miraculous landing on Mr. Universe's base. I thought things like, "He's killing Serenity! That bastard!!". Then the rest of the movie just kind of happened to me. (Good stuff.)

7) The X-Prize. I watched the documentary of the race for the X-Prize and the moment that gets me the most is when the team that designed the winning ship was going to launch for the second time and they came out of the hanger to an empty vista and some were down thinking that no one wanted to see this historical moment played out, and then they all came around the corner of a building to see thousands of people, most of whom had driven all night, just to be there and when the crowd saw them they burst into roarous cheers. I think that alone speaks for itself as to whether or not their is interest by people here on Earth to go elsewhere. Out there. Now.

8) Supernatural: Dean goes to Hell. I didn't particularly enjoy the fact that Dean went to Hell, but I thought it was pretty gutsy of the show runners to send one half of the shows heroic duo to the ultimate place of suffering. The consequences of that event are still being played out, and I am enjoying the ride. If you aren't watching this show, get thee to Netflix pronto.

9) Castle dresses up as Mal for Halloween. No other show that I can think of, besides maybe Supernatural, are the writers are having so much fun adding in moments for a particularly loyal segment of the fanbase. They know a lot of the people watching the show came to it as fans of Nathan Fillion and Firefly. But there have been nods to shows other cast members were a part of previous as well. And they do it all without compromising the integrity of the story, which is a neat trick.

10) Spirit Rover sends back photos from Mars. We sent a remote control car to another planet. That speaks for itself.

So, that's it. That's the sum of the coolest moments for me from the last decade.

I so need a hobby.

**Edit** I didn't include the tragic loss of the Shuttle Columbia because I heard about it from my mother when I was still in bed and I was too heartbroke to bother watching any footage on TV about it. So, I can't include it as a memorable moment I experience through TV. It was just a crappy memorable moment from life.

Show quote of the day: "Tell me the truth. When you came up with this plan, you were watching Scooby Doo."

My Heaven

2009-11-04T23:49:00.000-05:00

Quote of the day: "It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life." ~Terry Pratchett

Song of the day: Delicious Surprise by Beth Hart

State of mind: reflective

Date: November 4th, 2009

Day Four!

I am an athieist, however... if Heaven or some other form of an afterlife does exsist, the following is a description of what I would want it to be.

You know that moment when you are at the beach or just in your back yard and your plan for the day is to sit back and relax? So you set up your lawn chair or spread out your blanket to settle back and maybe read a good book. But just after you get ready to pick up that book you maybe sit back and close your eyes and the sun is so warm on your skin but there is just enough of a breeze to keep you from getting too hot and all you can hear are the leaves on the trees rustle softly and the indecipherable sounds of laughter and joy of whomever else is enjoying the perfect weather... So for just that moment your mind is serene and you can barely feel your body because it feels so light and perfect. That. I want it be a perpetuality of that. Sublime unending perfection.

Show quote of the day: "Is this about the cake problem?"
"What's the matter with you mathmaticians? There is never a problem with cake!"

Take Action to End Early Marriage in Yemen

2009-11-04T00:27:00.001-05:00

Take Action to End Early Marriage in Yemen

Equality Now has just issued Women’s Action 34.1 -- Yemen: End early marriages through enactment of a law enforcing a minimum age of marriage. Research shows that up to 50% of girls in Yemen are married before they are 18. Despite the negative physical, emotional, psychological, intellectual and sexual implications of child marriage on girls, the Yemeni government has failed to take effective steps to prevent such marriages. The campaign calls upon the Yemeni government to end early marriages by enacting and effectively enforcing a law establishing 18 years as the minimum age of marriage.

For Women’s Action 34.1 please click on the following link:

http://www.equalitynow.org/english/actions/action_3401_en.html

We hope that you will support this and our other Women's Action campaigns.

If you would like to make a contribution to Equality Now, please click here:

https://www.equalitynow.org/english/support/support_join_en.html

Posted via email from nypinta's posterous

V 2.0

2009-11-03T19:20:00.003-05:00

Quote of the day: "Darn the wheel of the world! Why must it continually turn over? Where is the reverse gear?" ~Jack London

Song of the day: Blame by Korn

State of mind: Busy. So busy, I thought today was the 2nd. Honest.

Date: November 3rd, 2009

Day Two… er, Three!

Tonight I get to take another sci-fi soaked nostalgic trip through my childhood via re-imagining. ABC starts its epic series V, based on the mini series of the same name that aired over twenty five years ago. (Whoa. Really? It’s been that long?! Damn, I’m old.)

All I know of this new version is what I have gleaned from the ads as I have not been paying any attention to the online buzz about it, despite the series star being Whedon alum Morena Baccarin. (And according to articles posted on Whedonesque that I also didn’t bother reading, Alan Tudyk has a role as well. Sweet! *Please don’t let him die horribly.*)

Despite the pedigree of some of the actors in this new version, I am trepidatious. I want to like it. However, it’s based on a show I loved when I was 11 and back then all I really needed to consider a show awesome were spaceships and weapons that shot laser beam bullets. Like all the shows I loved back then they were cartoons compared to the sci-fi offerings of today. For example, the original BSG, Voyagers, V, Buck Rogers, The Tomorrow People, The Powers of Matthew Star, ect. Which is a point lost on Dirk Benedict as evidenced by his misogynist rant. I don't think he understood that the people that watched the original Battlestar Galactica were kids and that those kids grew up and were going to be the same people watching the new version and would want something more grown up as a result… The new show was geared towards an older audience, period. And if he doesn't think the show was about family, spiritual faith, and hope, then he wasn't watching the same show I was. His thinly disguised beef with the show is a stupid as the essay complainging that women are ruining sci-fi because the skirts on female characters aren’t as short as they used to be. Ok, the essay didn’t actually say that, but that’s pretty much what it boils down to. Wahh, the women in shows now have brains and are people! Grow up, and get your porn from Hustler like everyone else.

I’d like to think in the intervening decades my tastes have matured from cartoonish action to something with a little more meat to the story. I do still like shows with a touch of the fantastic, and admittidly Firefly grabbed me the moment I saw Serenity rise up from behind the cliff... but… uh… it’s still different… somehow.

V (circa 1983) has a special place in my heart not only because it was creepy and cool, it marked the first time I really recognized that good guys could also be bad (and vice versa), and it was also the show that inspired me enough to attempt my first fan fiction. (Which I think I still have somewhere in my 6th grader scrawl. Or, wisely, I burned it.) I didn't know the political climate of the time but I was smart enough to understand the Nazi allegory and be horrified that us Americans would so easily succumd to those tactics, and I can’t believe the writers wouldn’t play up the polarization of the media as it is now as the Visitors in this version use massive propaganda campaigns to win the hearts of the humans they wish to ... control/eat/make slaves of? Hmm... I wonder if their endgame is going to be the same this time around and all they want us for is to beef up their pantries? How much is it going to deviate from the original? Will it go it’s own way like BSG 2.0 did from the romp filled skirt chasing golly gee original? Or will it stick to the story with only updated effects? I'm kind of hoping for the former. I'm not a kid anymore and space ships and lazer beams aren't enough.

So, I’m expecting it to blow my socks off while at the same time not expecting anything. The only thing I would like is for Jeff Yager (Kyle) to make at least a cameo. And no, not just because I had a huge crush on him back then.

Ok, it’s because of the crush.

Plus, I haven’t seen that guy on anything since the original show went off the air (with his character apparently doing the stupidest of stupid things by sneaking aboard one of the departing ships that is loaded with human eating aliens. Seriously, WTF was he thinking?) Oh wait, I lied. He had a guest spot on Newhart … The hoity toity maid had a crush on him I think. And at one point someone ripped off his shirt sleeves. Why do I remember that?

*Quick check of IMDB*

Holy crap! He’s been in a lot of stuff since then… how did I not know this? Well then, guess he doesn’t need the work after all… But still, it would be cool to see some of the original cast get to play some part in the new version. Like Richard Hatch, Apollo on the original Battlestar Galactica, playing bad guy Tom Zarek for 22 episodes of the new version. (What’s Marc Singer been up too…?)

Besides, any remake automatically gets cred with the fans of the old version when they pay homage to the original cast and crew. At least I think there is a correlation to make such a statement. Take the two versions of Hulk movies. The first one was pretty much universally panned, even though I kind of liked the comic book pages on the screen that everyone else seemed to hate. But the second had clips of TV Hulk star Mr. Bixby and even cast Lou Ferrigno as a security guard as well as used his voice as the Hulk, and the movie was just blatant in its honoring of the TV series. Also, JJ Abrams included the much beloved Leonard Nimoy in his explosive version of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek so it was a bit hard to dis the movie when the man that gave Spock life endorsed it enough to be in it.

But, since I'm DVRing it, I can't tell you what I think until later. I guess nostalgia is going to have to wait for a few more days.

*Original post submitted at 7:20. Corrections and edits made at 10:55. (I was in a hurry because So You Think You Can Dance was about to start. Crazy, I know. I love a show about dancing. Me! Guess tastes change as well as mature.)

Show quote of the day: “What's funny about Cylon toast?”

NaBloWriMo... (Not Dirty.)

2009-11-01T21:38:00.006-05:00

Quote of the day:"The self-criticism of a tired mind is suicide." ~ Charles Horton Cooley

Song of the day: Fly Away by Poe

State of mind: Combative

Date: November 1st, 2009

Once again it's National Novel Writing Month and I had fully intended on participating this year, but like usual, things never go according to plan. So instead I'm going to try and write 30 blogs in the 30 days of November. Some will be wordy, some not. But there should be at least something each day.
At least, that's the plan.

Day One!

To celebrate his extremely short return of the coolest character ever created, I give you a You Tube clip of Mal. Sorta.

BTW, if you look realllllly close, you might just see a nothin' part on the shelf...

And if you need a refresher in all things Firefly or are looking to do some early holiday shopping, get a new set here.

Show quote of the day: "You want to bite me, you buy me dinner."

Dr Horrible Takes On Manhattan

2009-09-27T17:40:00.006-05:00

Quote of the day: "In a cruel and evil world, being cynical can allow you to get some entertainment out of it." ~ Daniel Waters

Song of the day: "Chasing Pavements" by Adelle

State of mind: Mostly sunny with patches of rant.

Date: 9/27/09

So it's been about 5 days since I took the train down to NYC to see Dr Horrible's Sing Along Blog and Joss Whedon at The Symphony Space to benefit 826NYC.org and I wanted to do my own non-singing blog about it pronto but I caught a cold while there and haven't had a lot of energy, plus a lot of shows premiered this week so... whatever. Also I lost my notes.

I could try and recount all the witty things Joss said in the Q&A after the screening but I'd ruin each joke with my bad recall and besides you can hear it all for yourself on the 829nyc.org website. They do ask, and quite kindly too, that you throw a little cash their way in return for being able to hear the interview. Trust me, even at 20 bucks, it's a steal. So give deeply and give often.

The screening itself was a lot of fun. The theater was a pretty good size and as Abby and I had gotten in line two hours before they opened the doors we were able to snag pretty good seats. About 7 or 8 rows back, I think. Close enough to see everything but far enough away to wish we were closer. ;)

After a slight technical foul up, which was more funny than foul, Sarah Vowel explained the reason for the evening and also explained that following the screening Joss Whedon would be Q&A'd by Ira Glass. Ira got a large "woot" of applause to which she replied after a short pause, "Yeah, he's ok."

Then Joss came out to a standing ovation, and that seemed to both please and fluster him.

Then the screening! Woot!!

After all this time I don't think I have to say how much fun Doctor Horrible is. Everyone reading this has had to have seen it by now. I mean, I mention it enough don't I? It broke the Internet. It was one of Time's "Best Inventions of 2008". It just won a freaking Emmy! So if you haven't seen it, do so. It's on iTunes, Hulu, Amazon.com... honestly, if you can get to this blog you can get to the Sing Along Blog. No excuses will be accepted.

But seeing it with a room full of other people is an experience, both good and bad.

One ad lib that got a lot of approval was when someone called out, "You're forgetting something!" in the second Act as Dr. Horrible is ranting about Penny calling Captain Hammer sweet and getting off track about the Freeze Ray. (It's not a Death Ray. Or an Ice Beam. Why? If you've seen the Blog, you know. If not, I'm not going to tell you.)

What I don't approve of is trying to recite the lines along with the good (but, you know, evil) doctor. It's a Sing Along Blog, not a Talk Along Blog. Honestly, everyones timing sucked. They were enthusiastic, don't get me wrong! Just waaaaaay out of synch. I mean, if your going to say everything along with him, shouldn't it actually be with him? For all the same reasons I listed above why there is no reason that everyone shouldn't have seen DHSAB, there is no reason those who wish to act it all out couldn't practice their timing- at great length. And of course the audience wide recitals were of the best lines that are not just funny but also require the impeccable timing of someone like Neil Patrick Harris. Besides being kind of annoying, the bad synch with the lines also ruined the funny for anyone that might have been brought to the screening by their friends and had never seen it before and lost the effect of those lines because 100 other people stepped all over them. Think of it this way, if you were at a party with some great comedian and he was telling one of his (or her) more famous jokes that you knew the punch line too, would you jump in and say it just before he did? Or worse yet, say it before he even finished the joke? No. So don't do it just because that comedy is on a screen. Please.

Other than that, the screening was awesome. And funny. Then sad. Then funny. Then sad again.

It ended and the screen rose up to reveal Ira Glass and Joss Whedon sitting facing each other for their Q&A. Again, standing ovation. Again he was pleased and flustered. I think it'd be OK though to reveal a secret. The ovations are always heart felt, but I have a sneaking suspicion that Whedon fans like giving them because a) they are deserved and b) they make him blush and that's kind of funny. But shhh, don't tell anyone, 'kay?

Again, if you want to hear the Q&A, go to 826NYC.org. It's all there. Then you will understand my two tiny complaints:

1) Wooting. Anytime any actor was mentioned that had worked on anything in the whedonverse that was beloved by any portion of the audience, there would be much wooting. Which was cool, but it started to get annoying and on more than one occasion I couldn't hear the answer to whatever question was being asked because it was lost in all the woot. And one never knows if a recording of an interview is ever going to be available. (Example: It took until August for the Humanitarian Award speech to make it online.)

2) Shouts of "spoilers!" Look. For fraks sake, the finale of BSG aired in March. That was six months ago. That episode, along with every season of that show, is available online and on DVD and if you haven't made the time to see it yet, that's your problem. This is the second time where I have been present that someone asked Joss what he thought of that finale (because not only is he a writer that might have some interesting insight, he's also a huge fan) and again he was prevented from giving his opinion because people in the audience actually thought that they not having seen it yet was more important than his opinion of it. And guess what? They're wrong. When it happened in Boston during the Easter weekend, I could understand it. The finale had only aired a few weeks previous and chances are that a good portion of the audience were Harvard students and maybe watching a sci fi show wasn't a priority. But six months later? Give me a fucking break. I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HE THINKS ABOUT THE ENDING! Next time he's asked that question and if you are in the audience and hadn't bothered to watch the finale, plug your ears and let him have his say.

The Q&A ended and woot another standing ovation. Which flustered him. Hilarious.

Show quote of the day: "Every person I know is pretty poorly constructed."

From the iTouch: Pondering

2009-08-23T21:52:00.000-05:00

Quote of the Day: "Drawing on my fine command of the English language, I said nothing." ~Robert Benchley

Song of the Day: Her Diamonds by Matchbox 20

State of mind: giddy

Date: 8/23/09

The other day I was thinking random thoughts while performing some menial task and as the words of my thoughts drifted from left to right in my brain I suddenly wondered: how did one mull things over before language had been invented?

Show quote of the day: "You're saying he's a dictator that doesn't know he's dictating?"

Easter Comes to August...

2009-08-23T15:55:00.005-05:00

Quote of the Day: "There is a case to be made for hating people... it's called 'History'." ~Joss Whedon

State of mind: On an even keel.

Click Me.

Show quote of the Day: "River, you don't fix the Bible."
"It's broken. It doesn't make sense."

District 9

2009-08-21T22:15:00.005-05:00

Quote of the day: "He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster." ~Friedrich Nietzsche

Song of the day: Mr. Hurricane by Beast

State of mind: tired

Date: 8/21/09

This is not a slick movie. It isn't filled with pretty people or mind blowing fight sequences that defy gravity and resemble a really angry ballet. It's messy, unflinching, ugly and at one point I recall thinking quite clearly, "I hate every goddamn person in this movie". But it's still one of the best films I've ever seen. Even if after it was over everyone in the theater rushed to get out, including me. I think we all wanted to be out in the light and noise of 'real life' and pretend that what happened in the movie isn't exactly 100% the truth of who we can be and who a lot of us are right now.

Show quote of the day: "A gentleman of leisure never packs his gun next to his socks. It's uncouth."

Status Update: Where I've Been- Cyberwise

2009-08-02T17:13:00.005-05:00

Quote of the Day:"Lost time is never found again." ~Benjamin Franklin

Song of the Day: Fix You by Coldplay

State of mind: Moist

Date: August 2nd, 2009

I can't make my normal rounds at work anymore, for reasons that make me ranty and incoherent. So I'm using my iTouch to get mail and use twitter, but that's about all I can do. I mean, have you ever tried to write a blog on something as small as a deck of cards? It can't be done. Besides, I can't create links with the cut and paste method I favor and what is a blog post without links?

I miss my morning routine. I'd get into work, sort my stuff and rearrange it all in order of importance or time, do deals that were to be delivered before noon, and get whatever else needed to be done finished. Then I'd take my break, grab a snack, and take a whirlwind tour on the internet. I'd check my email first, then I'd make my blog rounds. Witty comment here, hilarious observation there... then I'd stop at the 2 or 3 bulletin boards I was frequenting at the time and give everyone my 2 cents plus a few dollars.

Break over. Back to work.

What is so wrong with that? It's not like I turn off my computer when I'm not using it for work so what exactly is it costing anyone when I did this? Now I still take that break, but I can't do a fucking thing. Hurray for technology and nosey employers.

And don't bother telling me of all the cases where employers won the right to know whatever it was their employees were up to while using their equipment. It's still crap.

So, I haven't been around. I try and get online once I'm home, but frankly, I'm tired of looking at a computer screen so I don't, and it sucks.

What I've been up to:

Still working on the home office. It's something else I'm too tired to do when I get home from work so weekends are my only time to try and get it done. Almost there!

I'm reading the Sookie Stackhouse novels. If you are unsure what the hell a Sookie Stackhouse is, she's a waitress with telepathy that falls for a vampire in northern Louisiana after vampires "come out of the coffin" because a Japanese company has invented a blood synthetic vampires can drink instead of feasting on humans. I'm in the middle of the second and although they are leaps and bounds better then the Twilight series, they don't compare to anything vampire written by Anne Rice. That women just knew how to write blood suckers. The Sookie books fun and just a touch smutty. Shut up.

Went to see Coldplay with a co-worker last Monday and I've been resisting the urge to sell all my belongings and follow them on tour. Damn fine show. They played at SPAC and we were lucky enough to get a dry day for the show. (Sorry Texas. If I could, I'd send you some of our rain. I'm tired of it.) Nothing better than a happy crowd dancing to amazing music while under a clear summer night sky. And I've been reliving it with the free CD they handed out to everyone as we left. 9 songs, recorded from a concert in the UK. You can download them free too off the Coldplay website. Hint, hint.

Went to a company picnic and it didn't suck as much as I thought it would. Never mind that I had been suggesting one for the past 8 years. Whatever. It's not like I'm bitter or anything. ;)

Celebrating my mother's birthday. (It was yesterday.) We had cake!

Laughing at my sister, who at the age of 39 went into the hospital on July 13th thinking she was having a bladder attack only to discover she was in fact pregnant and in early labor! A baby girl was born by C-section, right after my sister burst into tears. In my defense, her other daughter who was with her when she got the good/bad news busted up laughing too. So... it must be genetic.

Watched the 5 part Torchwood special Children of Earth. It was devastating it was so good. They really went to the dark places that most sci fi likes to skirt around. And they didn't pull any punches at the end. It came out on DVD on the 27th of July but I haven't gotten it yet. I don't know if I can watch it again! It just tears you up in ways that are inexplicable, and yet delicious. If you haven't seen it, I say go for it. Then you'll understand.

Not much else. Laundry, grocery shopping, blah blah blah.

See? This is what my company is trying to protect you from. Well, they can take my internet when they pry it from my dead cold hands!! (Or they shut it off. Whatever.)

Show quote of the day: "When something seems to be too good to be true, I shoot it just to be sure."

URGENT: Call on the Iranian government to release human rights activist Shadi Sadr‏

2009-07-18T11:43:00.004-05:00

I got this in my email yesterday from Equality Now:

EQUALITY NOW CONDEMNS THE ABDUCTION AND ILLEGAL ARREST OF IRANIAN HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST & LAWYER SHADI SADR

Equality Now is deeply concerned for the welfare of human rights activist and lawyer Shadi Sadr who was allegedly beaten, manhandled and arrested without warrant in Tehran on 17 July on her way to Friday prayers. Her friends who were accompanying her have reported that she was dragged into a car by plain-clothes officials. Shadi struggled out of the car and managed to escape with her friends’ help, but was pursued by other officials who beat her violently with a baton and then drove her away.

Please write to the Iranian Embassy in your country calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Shadi Sadr who was arrested without justification. Express your extreme concern about her assault at the hands of plain-clothes security officials. Ask for the release of all those currently detained for the peaceful expression of their beliefs.

Contact information for Iranian embassies around the world can be found on the following websites:

http://www.offshorewave.com/embassies_show.php?country_id=98
http://www.embassiesabroad.com/embassies-of/Iran

Please keep Equality Now updated on your work and send copies of any replies you receive to: info@equalitynow.org

SAMPLE LETTER

Dear Ambassador:

It is with great dismay that I have just learned of the beating and abduction of Iranian lawyer and human rights activist, Shadi Sadr, as she was on her way with friends to Friday prayers. Ms. Sadr was allegedly beaten, manhandled and arrested without warrant in Tehran on 17 July 2009 by plain-clothes officials. Ms. Shadr at first managed to escape with her friends’ help, but I understand she was pursued and captured by other plain-clothes officials who beat her violently with a baton and then drove her away.

I am deeply concerned for the welfare of Ms. Shadi Sadr and urge the Iranian government to release her immediately and unconditionally. Ms. Sadr was arrested without justification. This and her alleged brutal assault at the hands of plain-clothes security officials are unacceptable. I also ask the Iranian government immediately to release all those currently detained for the peaceful expression of their beliefs.

Sincerely yours,

The Trouble With Twitter

2009-06-21T14:01:00.005-05:00

Quote of the day:"In a gentle way, you can shake the world." ~Mahatma Gandhi

Song of the day: Turn The Car Around [Shattered] by OAR

Date: June 21st, 2009

State of mind: running in circles.

While on twitter last night, following more news of protests and violence in Iran, I ran across a tweet with a video of a Basij HQ that was on fire due to a gas leak. The tweet claimed the facts about the video where "BBC Confirmed" and unthinkingly, I re-tweeted it. A few moments later, I was asked, "Confirmed by BBC where?" Good question. One I should have asked. But it was about 2 in the AM and clearly I wasn't asking the right questions and after an unsuccessful search for any confirmation I went to bed without addressing my tweet. And maybe that is why my unconscious brain wouldn't let me attend the red carpet premiere of Serenity 2. Gorram brain. Screw you!
Anyhow, as it is a day later, all I could find about the video was a discussion on PersianHub.org where several posters discussed the video and a few heard the same calls by people who must have called into a BBC show to discuss it. Not sure what that means. It might just mean that the video was aired on a BBC news program somewhere, but that doesn't mean the BBC confirmed what was in the video either. And today, CNN put up links to the video as well. Does that mean CNN confirmed the facts of the video, that is was indeed a Basij building and that 5 members of the Basij were inside and perished? Or are they regurgitating a video that is being widely spread on twitter? Who is creating the news, and who is checking that it is all correct? I have no clue. And it's making my brain tired.
Videos of the protests in Iran are streaming out as fast as the citizens of that country can make them and upload them, so there is no disputing that unrest is happening. Groups are gathering in large numbers and they are being met with violence. The rest? Who the hell knows! Ann Curry (also on twitter) posted a warning about forwarding unconfirmed news, but now I wonder how to know the difference. I suppose with all things it's best to take everything with a grain of salt.
And to hope for the best for all those people.

And if you are following me on twitter, you may have noticed that my avatar has gone green and that many other people have done the same. "Sea of Green. Sea of Green." It's one of many mantra being used by those protesting the results of the June 12th election. Green was the color of Musavi, the main opponent against current President Ahmadinejad. The results, which seemed to be announced way to quickly to be real since they were individual hand written ballots being cast, apparently gave Ahmadinejad the win by a landslide. However, there are many (also I guess, unconfirmed) reports of major election tampering. I've read tweets by people that saw ballots being burned, that ballot boxes that were being delivered from polling places to wherever they were to be counted had been opened and all the boxes that had been opened were 100% for Ahmadinejad. No matter how popular a leader is, that's just completely unrealistic that 100% of the people would vote for him or her. I mean, you have all met the human race, right? We don't 100% agree on anything. So, I can understand the anger and frustration. It seems the fraud was so blatant as to be insulting. (Not that subtle fraud is any better.)
Does this, and my avatar color, mean I want the winner to be Musavi?
No.
I have no clue who would be a better leader for the country of Iran. I'm from NY. What the hell do I know about Mid-East politics? How should I know what would be best for the people of that country that I actually don't know a lot about. Or, anything really. All I know about Iran is what I remember hearing about during the Iran Hostage Crisis when I was a kid and what I read in the graphic novel Persepolis, and one article that was in the Smithsonian a few years ago. (It spoke of how the "Death to the USA" propaganda was a heeded by the population as we do the Pope here. Mostly ignored as background noise and that a majority of the population felt that blaming the US for their problems was just a tactic by a government that wasn't doing anything for them. And it also mentions that after 9-11, many candle light vigils were held on our behalf. How come that was never mentioned on the news here? At least, that I recall...)
My empathy with those people in Iran isn't about wanting their guy to have been the winner. It's about recognizing that they are demanding that their government be better than the leaders they have are. They are demanding what they were promised, an election, one where the actual winner of that election become their new President. I don't think that's too much to ask.

Accounts I am following on Twitter with videos and information about the protests in that country:
https://twitter.com/ProtesterHelp
https://twitter.com/madyar
https://twitter.com/persiankiwi
https://twitter.com/Change_for_Iran
https://twitter.com/globalvoices (Which has news from all over the world as well.)

There are simply too many videos and articles to link here that tell the whole story. Frankly, it's overwhelming. I think when the minds behind twitter asked the question, "What are you doing?" I don't think they ever conceived of the day when the response would be, "Witnessing revolution." Despite how much the events of Iran will not effect me personally, I still have the same general feelings I did during and right after 9-11. I was pinned to the TV as the coverage of what happened continued almost non stop for three weeks and as this horrific thing was unfolding I still had to go about my daily life. I went to work, when shopping, did as many mundane things a person could do all while people had died and others were dealing with the aftermath. It's a mind frell.
And all I can really do, is hope for the best for those people.

Edit, to add:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Irandecision 2009 - CNN's Unverified Material

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Jason Jones in Iran

Guess The Daily Show is ahead of me by a few days.

Show quote of the day: "Doctor, I'm well acquainted with human characteristics. I'm frequently inundated by them, but I've trained myself to put up with practically everything."

@twitter #fail

2009-06-13T14:52:00.003-05:00

Quote of the day: "He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster." -- Friedrich Nietzsche (quote found on twitter. Posted by @gojiro

Song of the day: Separate Ways by Journey. No, I'm not kidding.

State of mind: Baffled, but willing to tinker.

Date: Not Friday ... but it is some day’s Tomorrow.

I've been scribbling notes for days on this blog post because there is so much to say about twitter. Which I think is some form of irony. And all because Red commented her frustration on following some conversations while on twitter. Inspired by that frustration, I started a listing all the features, some twitter lingo, twitter events like Follow Friday and #hashtags, finding articles both pro and con twitter all for a thorough post on this, the latest net phenomenon. I even have a new favorites folder labeled “twitter”, several post it notes of ideas scribbled while at work, a few hand written drafts… and then I remembered K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple, Stupid.

She just asked about following what others were saying. How about I just answer that, hmm?

It can be annoying, trying to follow a conversation on twitter. Especially now that the minds behind twitter have decided to take away the option of seeing all tweets by those people you follow, even if it is an @reply to someone you do not follow. Before, you could choose to see all their tweets no matter to who or to only see those to you, to anyone else on your list, or those tweets not designated for anyone in particular. Truth be told, I had mine set to only seeing those tweets to and from people on my follow list because seeing all of the half conversations between one of my followees and someone I didn't follow clogged up my feed and I don't have as much time as I used to for web browsing (aka: time wasting). (This thanks to a cyber snoop at work. Now when I don't have actual work to do or when I take a break, I have to resort to daydreaming or playing Freecell because neither are online and "take up the company broadband". Pu-lease. If that were the case, why would have have installed a key stroke recorder? I can't even use Word at work to compose a letter (or blog post) without someone else being able to recreate it at their leisure. So, if it's not about our broadband usage and if we can all get our work done and do a little online shopping on our breaks, then WTF!? ... Pfft. Whatever.) Um, anyhow... A lot of people liked the option to see all tweets by anyone they followed because as the Robert Frost poem says, 'way leads to way' and they were able to find other interesting people by stumbling upon their page via @reply tweets. They figured, if someone they liked enough to follow found merit in someone else, maybe they should too. Now those tweets don't even exist for them and I've read it said that it's like being at a party with one ear clogged up from a sinus infection or one half of the room speaks a language too high pitched to register. How fun does that sound? All of twitter is one large conversation. Why would twitter make it impossible for people to mingle with as many other people as possible? (Yet, they are going out of their way to offer the accounts of celebrities as the ones to follow when you join up, rather than let people find followees organically. Because, let's be honest... aren't celebrities the only people we, the dirty uncouth masses, should care about following?)

Sorry. Got a bit ranty there for a moment. Back to the simple:

However, even though twitter took away that option there are still an obnoxious amount of conversations that are a pain to follow because you have to keep hitting the "in reply to..." button and read the conversation backwards. But back in the day (like a few months ago) I recall there being a twitter app that made it possible for tweets to be organized in threads that made it easier to follow who was saying what to whom and in the order they said it. Tweetree.

So, there you go, Red! Tweetree.com. Check it out and I hope it helps.

See? Easy.

The rest, I'll post later.

Except I do want to say this:

I do love it. It is a random site, inspired into creation by the status lines of AIM users and their witty reasons why they were AFK (Away From Keyboard). Despite my ranting above and as has been said on t-shirts, twitter is not a chat. And according to one of the creators of twitter during an interview on The View, it also isn't a social networking site. It isn't MySpace or Facebook. I can follow whom I choose and can choose who follows me. It isn't automatically mutual, forcing the Internet and everyone on it together with some kind of electronic passive aggression. Honestly, sometimes I expect MySpace to spontaneously burst out into Kum Bye Ya. Guess what? The entire Internet is not all friends. Shocking, I know.

I use twitter to follow news sites like CNN, the NY Times, and Global Voices that update with the latest goings on, entertainment sites with movie and TV insider info, NASA in many forms, some celebrities (mostly famous for roles they played on one Whedon show or another), some fictional characters, one cat, and people I've run into on multiple message boards. I've found quotes, poems, pictures, funny You Tube videos, stories of the odd and incredible, images of galaxies far far away and images of our own Earth in action. Before, browsing the Internet was a solitary thing. But with twitter, it kind of feels like the Internet is talking to me. It is odd because MySpace and Facebook are designed to connect people, yet with twitter I feel more connected to the Internet as a whole, as if it is a living entity with actual people on the other side of my screen, where as those other two sites just make me feel like someone sitting at home tinkering with a website.

Plus, instead of randomly surfing the web, I can tailor my twitter so that the things I'm interested in come to me, which I find pretty efficient. Well, as efficient as a time waster can be.

Show quote of the day: “Do you know how hard it is to clean clown makeup off a bone saw?”

Found on Twitter. (A place holder. ;) )

2009-06-09T07:25:00.002-05:00

The Internet hates me.

2009-05-24T10:26:00.004-05:00

Quote of the day: "Only vegetables are happy." ~ William Faulkner

Song of the day: American Eulogy: Mass Hysteria/Modern World by Greenday

State of mind: frustrated with technology

Date: May 24th, 2009

Just went over to CyberCityBibliotheca and I can't post a new topic or respond to anything in any of the threads. Is that why it's been so quiet? (As compared to what, I don't know... ;) )

I finally get my email back, but now I can't chat with folks on my own frelling message board. WTF?

Anyhow, I started a twitter account for CyberCityBibliotheca under @CyberCityBooks. The intent being when new threads were started, I'd post the link to anyone in the twitterverse, maybe get some new blood. (And by new, I mean people that won't give me crap for being a fan of Nathan Fillion. ;P )But seems that would be pointless if no one can actually post.

And I still don't know why some people can't register onto the site. Twichie never could and LL's brother (oh god, there are more of them!) couldn't either.

Frak.

Frell.

Frelling frellity frak.

So... what's up?

Show quote of the day: "I'm here for you, you brave little soldier. I know your pain. Come here! You're too precious for this world"

Locked Out

2009-05-01T22:38:00.003-05:00

Just an FYI, I locked myself out of my email account. Don't ask. So if any one has to email me, I can be reached at NYPinTA @ gmail dot com.

Show quote of the day: "They're carrots! Medicinal carrots."

Sneak Attack

2009-04-18T16:32:00.018-05:00

Quote of the day: “Betrayal is the only truth that sticks.” ~Arthur Miller

Song of the day: Lost by Coldplay

State of mind: reflective.

Date: April 18th, 2009

John pushed me down. Just knocked me down on my face on a rainy day. What did I do to deserve such harsh treatment? I think I know...

Originally during the back and forth to nail down details of my trip to Boston, I suggested we all meet up for lunch- my treat. And I did mean it. But on the actual day, Michelle couldn't come and we never really did decide on a place to eat. So when John finally made it to Borders Cafe on Church Street, and not the Borders book store at some mall, no solid plans had been made and I had stuff I wanted to put in my car that was just around the corner and thought we would find someplace to go from there. But after we dropped off my stuff the wind really picked up and I wasn't thinking of lunch, I just wanted was to find a place out of the weather to sit down so we could figure out what we were going to do, and I spotted a cafe across the street that seemed to fit the bill. Inside it was overflowing with other people that apparently had the same idea and was incredibly noisy, which made it hard to concentrate so when I heard John say he was thinking of getting something else besides a coffee, I thought he meant one of the cookies or cupcakes they had on display at the front counter. I hadn't noticed they sold sandwiches as well. In the chaos, he ended up in front of me and he ordered first, then I ended up at another register to order my hot chocolate so even though I had offered to pay for lunch in our emails, I didn't realize he was getting lunch right then and he ended up paying for his own.
That must have been my mistake. My Waterloo...
After "lunch" we decided to head over to an area in Boston that he was familiar with so we could go on a small tour and take lots of pictures. It was a short train ride and on the other side of the river the wind had let up so walking around outside wasn't that bad. One can not be from the North East and not be able to handle a little rain.
First we walked around outside in a park that I'm sure will be pretty in a few weeks, looked at the space a duckling statue should have been, and got some cool shots. (We also passed the infamous doorway to John's work were the local homeless like to leave... presents, but I didn't take a picture of that.)

Then we went to a very large mall, mostly because it was indoors and walking in the rain was getting a little old.

After walking the entire mall, we ventured again outside and took the last few shots of the day before I had to get back to my car and John had to get back home, so at his suggestion we started along a surprisingly deserted street. He claimed there were more signs and interesting things to photograph and I, like an idiot, followed along.

And that was when I "tripped" and I found myself face first on the sidewalk, my knee taking the brunt of the fall. I lay there for a moment stunned, sure I broke something. My arm, my glasses, maybe my umbrella. However, nothing was permanently damaged. He helped me up, which I suppose is only right, and I insisted that I had to sit down. The only place nearby that looked open to the public was a sushi bar. I hobbled inside and threw myself down on the bench in the corner, then began to laugh. I had to! I had to pretend I didn't know what he had done. I acted as if it was all my fault and that I hadn't seen that the sidewalk was in two levels and my foot kept going when I thought it should have hit pavement, throwing me off balance so that I fell over... it was an Oscar worthy performance. But being the amateur actor that I am, I distracted John by ordering some sushi, which turned out not to be sushi at all really, and a pineapple smoothie, and John got a passion fruit smoothie. After eating and deciding that I was all right enough to walk, I paid for everything and we left.
Why would I offer to pay for the smoothie of my attacker, you might be asking. Well, we had to get back to my car and I really didn't feel like getting shoved in front of the train.

Show quote of the day:
"Lost my mojo."
"Have you re-traced your steps?"

Place holder. (You Tube clip.)

2009-04-14T21:03:00.000-05:00

More later. (From me, not You Tube.)

Cambridge

2009-04-10T09:03:00.003-05:00

Quote of the day: "A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving." ~Lao Tzu

State of mind: mild panic.

Date: April 10th, 2009

I keep saying I'm going to Boston when in fact, I'll be in Cambridge which is right next to Boston. As someone who is always thought of as a city girl just because I come from the state of New York and thus people get the entire state confused with one city of the same name, I get how if one were from Cambridge they might get annoyed by people always referring to it as Boston.

So. I'm going to Cambridge.

After I do some laundry. And pack. And print up my maps. And figure out my freaking iTouch because it won't synch with my library of songs that I painstakingly downloaded over one whole weekend and I am not buying all those songs again through iTunes just to get them on there.

Oh, and I have to gas up my car.

See ya in a few days. (Unless you live over there, in which case I'll see you tomorrow.)

PS I didn't use a quote on the back of my iTouch. I went with my initials. And now I'm thinking that wasn't such a hot idea if I decide to sell the damn thing. What are the odds of someone else having the same letters to start their first, middle, and last name? Pretty damn slim, I bet.

Show quote of the day: '1+1=1' "You want to know how I survived 12 years in prison?"

Test

2009-04-04T13:51:00.004-05:00

This is a test of the emergency blogging network. If this had been an actual blog, I'd make more grammar mistakes. And there'd be songs and quotes and ranting and commas galore! Let's all sing!!

Or not.

This concludes the test of the emergency blogging network.

Quote of the iTouch. You tell me.

2009-03-27T23:19:00.004-05:00

Quote of the day: "It is better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it." ~Gerard Patrick Roeling (Which isn't always true. Who needs herpes? Or cancer? Or a terminal case of the dumb?)

Song of the day: Lost by Coldplay

State of mind: undecisive.

Date: March 28th, 2009

I finally made up my mind to purchase for myself an apple iTouch. It's been on my list for a while now but I've been resisting for a few reasons. Most of them green and made of paper. However, I found the cash with some funky math and was going to take the plunge and order one but as I was making my way through the ordering process, I came to the screen for optional free engraving on the back.

Uh oh.

A chance to personalize my shiny new toy? I couldn't pass that up. But with what? My name? My screen name? A witty quote? Like I don't have hundreds, nay thousands to choose from! So, in logic that makes sense to me, I'm looking for more. I'm casting my net on the net just in case the perfect quote isn't in my data banks already. In 58 characters or less, tell me what you think is engraving worthy. The most popular will be... the most popular, because like NASA I reserve the right to still pick my own. So, Colbert Nation, don't bother stuffing this ballot. (As if.) But who knows, someone might tickle my fancy and end up on the backside of my pretty (but as of yet still un-ordered) gadget.

Show quote of the day: "It's so soft. Like kittens."