slap the death out of it

Generally speaking, we haven't seen much of this lately.

We're entering into the final weekend of regular season play in baseball, and I'm starting to question why I like the sport to begin with. It's a fickle beast, comprised of over 150 games each season, where the beginning and middle of the season matter very little. It's almost as if they don't matter at all, which is just annoying, especially with a team like the Padres. They defied expectations this season to become the number one team in their division for almost the entire year... That is until a spell of bad games in late August cost them their comfortable lead. Ever since then, they've struggled to remain on top.

Now, they're not on top. They're in second place, with a very tiny (if any) chance of moving into the post-season. It just breaks my heart. I had to stop watching games because I just couldn't take either the crushing disappointment of a team's downfall, or the intense end-of-the-game victories the Pads are so well-known for.

Don't get me wrong, I love the team, and I wish them all the best, but this season has been a roller-coaster ride that I would have much rather not taken. I'm too obsessive and I tend to put too much stock in the success of others (to compensate for my own and more tragic failures). It's sad. I'm sad. And pathetic.

Other odds and ends:

Which

To

See?

- Three movies are opening in my area this week that are begging to be seen: The Social Network, Let Me In and Catfish. I've read the script for the first one (it's excellent, by the way), seen the original of the second one (also excellent), and am super curious about the last one (even though I know more than I probably should). I'm torn. I can't afford all three. And, I'm just impatient enough to not want to have to spread them out over three weeks, not to mention other films being released that interest me. I hate being poor. Decide for me. The Social Network is currently on top, seeing as how it's getting crazy good reviews. I think I can wait on Catfish on DVD. And Let Me In would be a hoot in theatres (and even better with a lady friend...).

- It's been blustery all day here. Can't say I hate it, because it's so wonderful to see San Diego suffer meteorological mood swings. Sunny and temperate does indeed get very old. Another plus? We had a double rainbow. Pictures to come.

- I stopped posting on Twitter. It was the right thing to do, honestly. I often felt like I was tweeting to a brick wall, where only occasionally people would respond to what I had to say. It was making me feel narcissistic and self-important, and I couldn't take it anymore. Going off Twitter has helped me focus my thoughts on other things, which is good. If I have an idea for a tweet, I'll write it down, or blog about it. I still use Facebook, but only to keep in touch, and share cool videos. That's the only thing Facebook should be for, honestly: looking at pictures of friends and keeping up with each other's lives. Not FarmVille or Betty White campaigns or anything else that bugs the crap out of me.

- Speaking of things I dislike, I'm officially avoiding the words "Epic" "Fail" and "Win", in all of their many Internet inspired usages. Hate 'em. I hate how they've made the English language lazier, and I wish they would be phased out of society. It's okay to hate words, right?

- Are you all watching Raising Hope? It's adorable. Tuesdays on Fox.

- Also, Cougar Town.... When did it get so awesome? I think I just found my new spec script.

The L-Word *UPDATE*

UPDATE, y'all...

The Powers That Be dug the poster, so it's a go. Too bad they also saddled me with photocopying it and handing it out. Psh. Responsibility.

And finally, shout-outs to Jessica Kendrick, Eric Anderson and Spencer Holt for the correct answer to the easiest trivia question imaginable for well-read people. The Scottish Play is my favorite Shakespeare play, so much so that I can only refer to it as The Scottish Play. You know, for obvious reasons.

And yes, I get that I just gave shout-outs to the only three people who have probably read this blog recently. Whatever.

See what loyalty gets you, kids?

Your name on the Internet, that's what.

Marsilea quadrifolia

Ten episodes in, and I have to ask: Am I the only one watching this show? It's on just before Mad Men, and I must say, I'm hooked. 

It's The Office, if Dunder-Mifflin were an intelligence think-tank, and if Jim Halpert were caught up in his own personal Three Days of the Condor. 

A lot of folks jumped into the show expecting something more along the lines of The Event (a conspiracy-laden thrill-ride with cliffhangers and the like), but like I inferred just moments ago, this show, at its core, is a workplace drama, one that deals with the everyday lives of people who traffic in top-secret information; the people privy to information most Americans would much rather not know about. Sure, there's a conspiracy to pull you in, week in and week out, but the heart of the show is the team of four analysts (all ably acted by some very fine people), who must decipher cryptic texts, translate chatter, and make heart-wrenching choices that involve words like "collateral damage" and "shock and awe."

I mention this show mostly because I watched the most recent episode and was completely riveted, but also as a suitable substitute for the loss of Lone Star. See, as much as I (often) mourn the loss of great television, it's important to not dwell on it too much, and look elsewhere for other well-crafted and original forms of entertainment. So, Lone Star fans, consider Rubicon your "elsewhere." 

Give it whirl the next time its in a marathon (starting from episode one is a must). It's worth the DVR space, I promise. It has the slow-burn pace that has made Mad Men both incredibly frustrating, and impossible not to watch, so basically, it's can't miss television.  

The L-Word

Today I learned that "canceled" has only one L. I don't quite know why I've been spelling it "cancelled" for so long, and no one, not even Chrome's nifty spell checker seems to think its wrong.

Well, today I also learned that I'm far more British than I realized, since "cancelled" is the preferred spelling of my neighbors over the country and across the pond (here is another example of how living in California makes my life difficult... I'd use less descriptives if I was an east coaster.)

The reason "cancelled" (how defiant!) is on the brain is cause Lone Star bit the dust. Inevitable, but whatever. It still sucks. The show was great, and it had loads of potential. What really sucked was while watching it last night, I realized half-way through the episode that no one besides myself and 3.2 million other individuals were enjoying this show, and that its fate was already a foregone conclusion.... So I tuned out, and played on my laptop for the rest of the hour. I kinda got the gist, but by no means was I fully invested. Sad.

My heart breaks for Kyle Killen, the creator of the show. Dude can't catch a break. His first feature film, The Beaver, has been shelved indefinitely thanks to its star, Mr. Mel Gibson's off-screen brouhaha, and now this... his critically-lauded show is the first one to get the axe.

I imagine he'll rise above, because he's clearly very talented. And quite fertile, it seems...

But, if Lone Star taught me anything, it's that I should never try to go against the grain. If the world demands NCIS, well then by golly, I better deliver a derivative knock-off of NCIS!

It also introduced me to Mumford & Sons, an alt-folk band from the UK. I highly recommend.



And yeah, I'm slow to hear new music. I guess once I finally get a hold of a song, the hipsters can then officially stop listening to it. ("Buzz-kill!" they cried, ironically...)

In other news, I made this for the upcoming Ward Halloween Party:

For a treat, enlarge it, and read the border. The person who tells me where it comes from
gets my respect, and maybe a shout-out on an obscure blog.

It's pretty amateur work, but I dig it. The inspiration stems from a number of places, including The Daily Prophet as seen in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the back cover of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, and a random wedding invite I saw months ago. I also had the old ads of the 1920s on the brain. 

But, I have to ask, is this inappropriate? Is it too busy? Too graphic? Too interesting for a church activity? Can any of you picture this on the hand-out table at the back of the chapel? Your input is important. I haven't turned it in to TPTB yet, so let me know soon. Seriously. 

Profit

Netflix sent this to me recently, mostly because I'd forgotten to update my queue with my preferred choice (which I'm usually pretty good at doing). I'd put this one on there years ago, and it had slowly made its way to the top, but I've been casting it aside for months now with new releases and other things that have caught my eye.

But after all that, there's a happy ending to this story: the show is actually pretty darn good. Like, it's Dexter good. Much like Dexter, the show's lead (Adrian Pasdar, seen most recently flying around like a doofus on one of TV's biggest disappointments of the last five years, Heroes) is an anti-hero; a corporate shark, ready and willing to manipulate any and all who stand in the way of his rise to success. He's unmatched in his abilities to make any negative situation work in his favor. Granted, most of that success is based on all-too-perfect (read: written) circumstances, and a series of fortunate coincidences, but when the main character is so compelling and sooooo bloody disturbing, it's hard to fret over those faults. You just can't help but watch with shock and awe.

But before we get down on Jim Profit, there is a layer of sympathy underneath the mask of deceit. I won't get into details, but let's just say the pilot's final image gave me chills.

The most tragic thing about Profit, however, was the fact that it never connected with audiences. Too dark and too disturbing were the war cries. Because of that, only nine episodes exist.



It's also important to note that this show was unbelievably ahead of its time. Nothing of this nature had ever been on television, let alone network television. It is often cited as the predecessor to shows like The Sopranos, Nip/Tuck, Mad Men, and the aforementioned Dexter. As of late, it's even been mentioned frequently in the same breath as Lone Star, another Fox show that's heading for the chopping block soon (if y'all don't start watching it, Mondays at 9).

It's worth a trip, if you're willing to put up with 1996 again. That's my only gripe. Network TV has come so far since 24, Alias and LOST made production values as breathtaking as the story, so it can be a bit grating to the senses (the music is 100% synth orchestra, and the fact that the show was filmed in Vancouver is all too obvious). But, give it a shot.

Last bit: Buffy and Angel fans should be aware that this was the show that put David Greenwalt on the map.

Furry

My nephew, already adorned in fuzzy fabric...

My nephew, as of late has been completely and utterly obsessed with two things: Finding Nemo and The Lion King.

Nemo, or Meemo as it's known around these parts, has faded into the background (thankfully). But it's only given rise to the latter film.

Without fail, he begs and begs and begs to watch the Guyguy Show (his words, guyguy meaning "cat"), each and every time he comes over, and we tend to oblige, if only to give us maybe a half-hour or so of peace*.

So, I find little coincidence in the fact that my friend, Tati, posted this gem on Facebook just last night. A cautionary film, no doubt, further evidence of the possible future consequences of my bad babysitting.



Who knew there was a Lion King Meetup each year at Anthrocon? I sure didn't. I was too busy picking my jaw up off the floor over the fact that Furries have a convention of their own. (!)(?)(*shrug*)

*Peace: a break from constant toddlerian badgering, quietly accompanied by the musical stylings of Sir Elton.