Down and out in LA

This past weekend I drove down and back to LA on both Saturday and Sunday. Luckily, I didn't drive either time, but if you count that I was down there on Tuesday, too, that's a lot of time spent traveling over the Grapevine. Saturday I went with Matt and Donna to pick up Soldier Boy from the airport, and Sunday Billy and I went down for a volleyball ref meeting.

I was at Golden Valley for a soccer match yesterday, and had a girl drop unconscious for no apparent reason. I didn't even see if happen, since it was behind the play, but all of a sudden I heard the ref and my assistant yelling at me to stop play. I glanced back and saw her on the ground, but just figured she had been kicked, so it wasn't a big deal since play was away from her and she wasn't in any danger.

But when I saw that the coach had run on the field, as well as my assistant, I decided to stop play to tell the coach that players getting kicked happens, and he shouldn't freak out about it. This was the second time he had done so, running onto the field when his goalie just needed to catch her breath. When I got over there, I saw that she was unconscious, and so realized that it was a good thing I stopped the game. We ended up canceling the rest (about 8 minutes left) because they were keeping her still until the ambulance came, and we didn't have any lights.

That was the first time I've had to have an ambulance come to one of my games.

In other news, I got into Sac State, and will be starting there at the end of January. I'm looking forward to getting back into school, but not looking forward to the Calc review that I'm going to have to put myself through between now and then. Should be a good way to work myself back into the swing of things, though.

Back in black

So I'm back in the states, if you were wondering, and soccer has started full swing. Apparently the weather decided to turn cold while I was gone, as we now have started to use our heater a little bit, but I suppose that's to be expected - as soon as soccer starts the weather turns cold.

The UK was great, and I had a wonderful time. I will try to put up a few pictures sometime later on the site, but most of them are of buildings that a lot of people have seen already, so I don't feel like I'm in a rush to get them up. The only problem I'm having with jet lag is that I keep waking up way too early in the morning for my liking, but all that will take to cure is one late night and sleeping in. And I suppose it's not a bad thing to get up early in the morning.

"I'm a wee monster!"

It's been a long time with no post, but I've been busy. Tuesday night, I guess it was, I got the red eye bus up to Edinburgh, and arrived at 8:00 the next morning. Edinburgh is a very nice town, but it didn't give me a very warm welcome - it rained without stopping from before I arrived until after I went to sleep that evening. I hide in a museum for most of the day, and learned some fun things about Scotland, but still got soaked walking to and from it.

On Thursday I found a nice little tour of the highlands to join. There were only five of us in a little mini-bus, which made for a very personal tour, especially considering that two of the five couldn't speak English, and so were basically just along for the ride. I got to ask a lot of questions, and, or course, talked about football with the driver. We also got to listen to some nice Celtic music when he wasn't telling about the places we were, so it was an awesome day, altogether.

My bus got back at 7:00 Friday morning, and I decided to walk back from the station, firstly because I didn't want to wake Rachel up that early, and secondly because I wanted to see some of Westminster (the city, not the Abbey) in good light (all previous visits had been during or after dusk). It was fun seeing the city of London wake up, and was a nice walk. After that, since it was such a beautiful day, I walked around Hyde Park (largest royal park in London) and Kensington Gardens, and then hit the National Portrait Gallery until around 7. I saw Elizabeth, Shakespeare, Jane Grey, and some other tutors, and then spent a lot of time on their computer, looking up pictures of my favorite British actors and actresses that aren't actually shown in the gallery. Good times.

Today the plan was for the National Gallery and a pub for some football matches, but a bad allergic reaction to something yesterday and Benadryl today sort of knocked me out, so I made a quick run into the Gallery, saw three of the four turtles, and then explored Saturday afternoon and evening at Coven Garden, which was a zoo, although a very interesting one.

Tomorrow is our venture off to Fulham for a football match, which I'm looking forward to greatly. Before that, if I'm feeling ambitious, I might head to Westminster Abbey for services, but we'll see. I think we'll also be going to Wimbledon, just because I can. I thought about putting some pictures up, but have decided instead that it's time for bed, and I might put them up tomorrow. Although the really bad techno music from next door might mean that I put them up tonight.

Be Prepared

Today I wasn't particularly prepared, so I didn't get to hear somebody sing that song on stage. Silly me, assuming that there would be a Sunday evening performance of The Lion King that I could go see. So instead I Googled things to do in London on a Sunday night, and found absolutely nothing, aside from clubs, which I'm not really interested in.

The problem is that everything here closes so early, which I'm just not used to. Museums close around 6 PM, and the same with stores. So I finally realized that the London Eye might be open after dark, and decided to check it out. I saw that it closes at 8 PM, but didn't know if they let the last 'flights' go up at 8, or if everybody was off by then. I decided to risk it, and arrived at about ten 'till 8, making it on the last flight of the evening.

It was pretty nice because our room was almost empty, there only being four other people in there with me: two Americans and two Japanese. The view was pretty awesome, with London all aglow. Parliament was especially fantastic. My pictures couldn't turn out very good, but I think I got a few that are decent. And I figure I can just buy some postcards for good pictures; I was up there for the view, not pictures.

Yesterday I popped into St. Paul's to find out what time services were, and arrived just in time for a concert. It was Saturday Evensong, but they were giving away some music awards, so it was basically a concert. I couldn't understand any of the words, so I don't know what they were singing, but the music was very cathedral-ish, and added a definite atmosphere to the cathedral.

Scotland tomorrow!

My buddy and me! (it wasn't a doll!)

I've cruised about London for the past two days with my best friend Soren. He really is a great traveling companion. He always wants to go where I want to, and I can tell him to shut up when I want, and he does.

But in serious news, I have spent the past two days cruising around London on a tour bus. It was well worth the money, I must say. Yesterday I traveled around the heart of tourist London, and say most of the things to see from a great vantage point. While I really enjoyed my exploration tour from the previous day, it was nice on my blistered foot not to walk around everywhere. That's not to say that I didn't do my share of walking, but it wasn't across the whole town like before.

I also got to go to the Victoria and Albert Museum, which is awesome. I'll talk more about it later once I get pictures up. And right next to it is the Natural History Museum, and I can never resist one of those. It's pretty amazing, and has so much stuff in it - dinosaurs, rocks, bugs, mammals, whales - anything you could want to look at. It even had a dodo bird, which I think might be the coolest thing of the day. Obviously not a live one, but one that I think actually did live at one point. Gotta love the empire and the fact that Britain once ruled half the world, and so has stuff from half the world.

Issues

London is great. I was really looking forward to being able to walk everywhere, and aside from a blister on the bottom of my ankle (really, how do you get one there) I've loved my two days of walking around the city. I'm getting a bit mixed up because everything is so much closer than I think it is, but it's so cool to be able to walk to so many attractions in an afternoon.

There are a couple things that I'm having issue with.

1. Pedestrians rarely have the right of way in sidewalk.
2. Added to this, cars come from the wrong direction, and rarely have blinkers on. But so far I've only almost stepped in front of a car a couple times. Mostly I cross when the other people cross and I'm good.
3. No Mt. Dew. I need not say more.
4. The buildings are too tall. When you get among the buildings, it's very hard to get good views of the cool ones because everything is so packed.

Tomorrow (and probably the next day) I'm being a total tourist and going on the open bus tour of London.

Across the pond

I made it here safely, although my phone didn't. Either I left it in the car, or it has disappeared. I really hope it's in the car.

The adventures started early, at least for Rachel, who saw that my flight was getting in like 45 minutes early and had to race to the airport. Once there she realized that we had no way to contact one another and did not set up a place to meet. Luckily everything went smoothly, and there were no problems.

After letting me take a short nap, we decided to go on a walk though London to see some of the places on my list. It was nice a cold, which I loved, and I got to see a handful of the big attraction here at dusk and beyond when they weren't very crowded.

After this I got to meet Rachel's friend Ellen, and she, Rachel, and I stayed in the dorm talking about the differences between English and American schools and whatever else we felt like talking about. It was a good way to help me stay awake until 10.

Today I'm going to be a total tourist and go on a bus tour of London where you can get on and off the bus at various attractions. I don't have any problem being a tourist, because I am one. After that, who know, but I'll keep you updated.

I have been remiss

Some how I managed to post this on the quote page, but it was supposed to be here. Pretend you're reading this on Monday.

So Jessica told me last night that it had been a month since my last post. It has, which is quite pathetic of me. Granted, it has been a busy month, but I still should have been posting. The only excuse that I can think of is that I've been slowly using Facebook and that has taken all my posting time on the internet.

So today I'm jumping across the pond to visit Rachel, which is going to be an awesome trip, I hope. We have some madness planned, and some madness will hopefully be planned once I get there. I'll be posting from over there, so you'll get to hear about some of the exploits from here. I'm going to jump out on a limb and promise a post every other day (depending on internet availability), so check back often!

That's it for now, I'll check back when I'm in a different time zone!

Is nothing sacred?

I realize that creativity has been so lacking lately that artists of all kinds must remake, rerelease, cover, steal, and sequel-ize, but I thought some things were off limits. For example, if I ever saw a remake of Casablanca, or Casablanca II: Ilsa's Return, I think I would never watch another movie put out by anybody involved in the project (down to the second best boy).

You can imagine my shock, dismay, and really, disappointment when I heard a rap/techno remix of the puppet show song from "The Sound of Music." It was on a warm-up disc for volleyball, and I was surprised that young kids would put something like that - even a few lines of it - on a warm-up CD. My initial surprise turned to horror when it broke into the vamped up, techno chorus. Most of the song didn't even resemble the original, it was just a few lines of yodeling, and the intro (at least that I could tell, it was very hard to understand the words).

What's next - Gershwin? Disney? I can just see kids getting down to pumped up versions of " 'S Wonderful" or "So This Is Love." Perhaps next year's prom will have "Cheek to Cheek" on the playlist, although I doubt it will be the same cheeks that Few was singing about.

Some things should just be off limits.

A little perspective

I'm often criticized for so closely following AFI's film lists. People seem to think that I only will watch films that are on the list, and think that, "This list... is an absolute good. The list is life. All around its margins lies the gulf." Just to be clear, I don't think this, but know that these lists are good starting spots for a deep appreciation of film.

Recently, a blogger asked for "the fans" version of the AFI list, and gave a little different criteria for the list. In the most recent release, AFI only allowed for four "write ins," while 96 of the films had to be on their 400 film nominated list. They also obviously gave the voting to people who are involved in film - critics, directors, producers, and the like.

This guy gave the vote to anybody, and allowed as many write ins as desired, but strangely enough, all of the films that made his list were on the nominated 400. Makes sense that people are going to think of what they see. Anyways, check out the results here, along with a nice write up of each film, and an iconic picture. He also includes comparison with the original lists for those people who care.

A New Saga Begins

It's the start of a new school year, which means it's the start of the new television season, too. This isn't such a big deal as it used to be since cable has so many quality shows on during the summer, but some people who haven't discovered those gems, it's the return of new episodes to watch. Most of the shows that I watched last year are no longer with us, which means that I am in need of one or two new ones to watch. Heroes is still around, as are Battlestar Galactica and Smallville, but both of those I much prefer to watch on DVD, which left me with just one show to watch during the week.

The good news is that with the success of Alias in the past and all the spy movies lately, studios are willing to develop spy and action shows, even if most of them are drama filled. Also, with the recent huge success of most things supernatural or metahuman, television is trying desperately to get on the band wagon of superpowers.

All of this is good news for me since I enjoy one of those generes immensely, and the other when it's done right. Almost all of the new series (that I'm aware of, at least) show a trend of tv falling into fewer and fewer categories. The sitcom is slowly dying (although shows like The Office refuse to acknowledge this), which generally makes me immensely happy. Hour long television falls into crime (procedural, forensic, and action being the sub-genres), fantasy (metahumand and supernatural being the sub-genres), reality (crap and crap being the sub-genres), and hospital shows (drama and comedy being the sub-genres. I really only will watch two of those genres.

So here are my thoughts on some of the new shows this season.

Chuck - Mondays on NBC
crime, action

Jumping from Alias' idea that girls kick butt, "Chuck" is a show about a mild-mannered nerd who works for the equivalent of the Geek Squad (called the Nerd Herd). His college roommate is a CIA spy who goes rogue and emails Chuck all of the NSA and CIA's secrets, which are then downloaded into Chuck's head.

Enter two agents: one from the CIA, and one from the NSA. The one from the CIA is subtle and embodies the motto of "girls kick butt," while the one from the NSA is Adam Baldwin doing an impression of Jayne in a suit (if you don't get it you're a loser who needs to watch Firefly). They duke it out, there's a decent car crash, and a bomb is dismantled. Your average pilot for a spy show.

The awesomeness is seen in Chuck's complete nerdiness. In order to receive the email, Chuck has to input a command code from a text RPG that he and his roommate created in college (just like Gemstone). The awesomer part is Adam Baldwin in all his Adam Baldwin goodness. He's the ultimate trigger-happy mercenary who is a comic genius.

Potential: Sadly, I don't see this one sticking around. Many of the supporting characters are incredibly annoying, and I think Chuck might be too nerdy for the mainstream. That could have just been in the pilot, though, and we'll see what subsequent episodes bring. I hope it sticks around.

Heroes - Monday on NBC
fantasy, metahuman

For those of us that are aware of "The 4400," "Heroes" is just a time filler until the summer, but it does still have it's charms. Instead of explaining the events that happened immediately following the season finale, this season starts Four Months Later, as Chapter 1 is titled. This can be fun because then we get to figure out what happened, but I have a feeling most of this season will be clean-up, which is cheating and lame. The regulars from last year (that survived) have almost all made appearances, including my favorite, Mr. Bennett.

Hiro has gone back in time to meet his hero, who turns out to be one of my heros, David Anders (he was on Alias). The addition of David, and Kristen Bell later, solidifies this as watchable, even if I am a bit worried about the plot.

The Good: David Anders as a samurai and three spoken languages (now with Spanish!)
The Bad: "Who am I?" - I hate this plot device
The Ugly: Nathan Petrelli's beard.

Journey Man - Mondays on NBC
fantasy, supernatural

Taking a page from Quantum leap and revamping it for this century, "Journey Man" is about a journalist who finds himself inexplicable traveling back in time. He doesn't know why, but the jumping follows around a guy who he decides he's supposed to save.


I think what will make or break this show are the relationships between the characters. It seems that Journey Man's former fiancé (who was thought dead), is a Journey Woman. After she died (or so he thought), he ended up marrying his brother's girlfriend. So he's faced with a dilemma - while time traveling is it really cheating if he hooks up with a person who, at the time, he was dating? Only time will tell.

Potential: Seems to have a good chance at surviving the ax, as long as NBC doesn't listen to people like my brother who "didn't understand what was going on." It has mysteries to solve, people who need closure can get it every episode while there is a larger mystery going on over the whole season. There are also interesting characters, and plenty of room for them to grow personally and in their relationships. But we'll see. I liked it, so that means it must already be halfway to the dumpster.

All in all, Monday night is looking to be a bit busy. We'll see how long they last, though.

Coming up soon: Life, Bionic Woman

Headlights in my rearview

I love driving at night, which is a good thing because I've made so many long trips during the dark. The only thing I hate about driving at night is that recently some car makers have decided that it's fun to turn regular headlights into brights. And the car makers that haven't decided to do that have decided to sell their cars to idiots that like driving with their brights on. If you are going to drive with your brights on, you must be enough on your game that you turn them off before you are about to pass me the other way (or just tailgate me and don't ever turn the brights off, that's cool). If you can see my headlights, I can see yours, so turn them down!

Really, you can only be as safe on the roads as the other drivers are, and it's very difficult for me to be safe when I'm blinded every few minutes by idiots with their brights on. It's really just safer all around for us all to have lower watt bulbs, because then your eyes adjust.

Okay, done whining. Until the next time, at least.

The Awful Truth

So I'm off to SB again to watch Natalie DEWM herself to a life of happiness. She's the first, so I have a feeling it will be a little strange, but two days of wine tasting before the wedding will probably help things, as will sitting on Santa Barbara's East Beach for the ceremony.

The Mummy Returns

Okay, so cheerleaders aren't really mummies; they're worse. I've never been a fan of cheerleaders. I guess they have their place, but that place is as far away from me as possible. Now, if I'm being honest, there was one time when I appreciated cheerleaders. My senior year our soccer Valley Final was in Clovis, and we took some cheerleaders with us, not to cheer, but to convert Clovis' stadium into our own little Griffith Stadium away from home. Many people commented that if you didn't know better, you would have thought that we were the home team since there was so much Driller representin' going on.

But since volleyball season has started again, so has the cheerleaders' habit of sitting right behind me and yelling. They can't manage to sit on the side their school is on, no, they have to sit right in the middle behind the official. And it pisses me off.

Stupid cheerleaders should stay with the stupid football players where they belong.

Beach Blanket Bingo

I don't know why, but I've been neglecting my blog lately. Perhaps it's because nothing has happened that is note-worthy, or perhaps it's just because it's the fall and that sort of thing tends to happen.

Anyways, over Labor Day Weekend I spent a fun time in Santa Barbara with my parents and grandparents. Unfortunately, it was obscenely hot (it would have been more comfortable to be in B-town due to the lack of AC in SB), but was very comfortable on the beach and in the pool, where I spent much of my time. My grandmother was recovering from knee surgery, so I kept her entertained with movies, and we watched some sports together.

I went in the ocean and played around a bit for the first time in probably two years. I've been to the beach many times, but it's always in the winter, or when it's too cold to swim (or I'm not properly attired).

All alone

I currently have 0 friends, so movies have become my friends. I think I've watched 6 in the past 3.5 days. This isn't anything new, as I've done it before, but that was mostly when I was working and too exhausted to do anything else after a long day.

Not that I'm complaining - watching movies is a perfectly fine way to spend a day, especially when you consider that I've been winterizing my room at the same time. Or I guess I should say "fallizing" my room, since I'm not insulating pipes or anything, I'm just getting all the clothing that I need for the fall and winter out of boxes.

Family Ties

Most of you don't know this, but there are five of us in the family within about three years. These same five grew up about five minutes away from one another, and always went to the same school. Matt was born in Jan, then Billy and I in October, then Jenny in July, and finally Robby rounds out the group in the next December. Granted, the first four are the closest, but there's no way to exclude Robby. Now both of my cousins are married, and one has a baby while the other is expecting in January. And everybody still lives in Bakersfield.

It's absolutely pandemonium when the whole family gets together. Like tonight.

We always play cards (either poker or Oh Hell), and if the neighbors can't hear us, I'd be amazed. After two bottles of wine (between four people) and margaritas all around, it's amazing that anybody can still try to win (but we're Jennings, so we hold our liquor well).

Tonight was fun because my dad (who had the least to drink) managed to spill a full glass of wine (thankfully white) on me while he was dealing (he was promptly banned from dealing again). And we had a fun rimmer to play with while making the margaritas. Matt and I are always assigned to making the margaritas, which is fun. He rims, while I blend. It works very well, and nobody has ever complained about our concoctions. Matt and I also have the same taste in wine (the only two to like reds), so I know I will never be alone in killing a bottle when he's around. That's a useful thing.

All in all, a very well spent evening. As much as my immediate family may annoy me, my extended family makes everything better. Even if they are getting married and having kids (in no particular order).

Because voting leads to suffering...

... those of you that can finish that quote go ahead, but I feel like I might be attacked if I said that online. Anyways, I just saw this, and couldn't help laughing. It made me think of Little Buddha and all the fun that watching that movie entails. Maybe they'll make a sequel when the new Dali Lama is reincarnated (with China's approval, of course).

I don't know how to speak in a normal voice!

Or at least Jack Bauer doesn't. He's always either whispering or yelling. This week's quiz is from "24" (Chris, you were pretty close with guessing "Alias"). It seems to only be the first season, but I'm not really sure. One of you "24" experts out there will have to tell me. I figure you guys who haven't answered yet probably won't unless I remind you, and I'm not going to do that, so you can answer later whenever you think to check my blog.

1. You are rock solid - the person everyone knows they can trust in a crisis to make sound decisions. People have faith in you because you are fair and sensible, but your pragmatism never eclipses your idealistic nature. You believe in a better world for all. You're President Palmer.

2. Apologies and regrets aren't in your repertoire. You work hard, to the brink of obsession, and for you the ends always justify the means. You know that when you operate on instinct, your wits rarely let you down; maybe that's why you don't think the rules ever apply to you. You're Jack.

3. Not to put too fine a point on it, but you tend to be blunt, even rude sometimes. Maybe it's because you're a nerd at heart - a social outcast who resorts to sarcasm in order to relieve the resentment you have towards the entire world. Now put away that stun gun. You're Chloe.

4. No one blames you for being a bit of a mess, since fate has delt you a pretty chaotic hand, but you don't do yourself any favors, either. You're constantly shifting your life in dramatic ways, always running into trouble while searching for some elusive slice of happiness. You're Kim.

5. You play it real close to the vest, don't you? Few people know the real you, probably because you're a cautious person by nature, choosing your words and actions carefully. You prefer operating covertly, influencing things behind the scenes, whispering in the ears of those in power. You're Mike.

Becca - Jack, Chloe (3); Palmer, Kim, Mike (2)
Chris - Kim (3); Chloe (1)
Jessica - Chloe (4); Jack (0)
Will - Chloe (5); Palmer (0)

I'll probably be in SB next week, so I don't know when the next quiz will be.

Better late than never

It's been a while. Sorry.

1. If you were a Molotov Cocktail component, you'd be...
a) gasoline
b) bottle
c) rag
d) cork
e) igniter

2. If you were a time of day, you'd be...
a) morning
b) noon
c) evening
d) night
e) late night

3. If you were a breed of dog, you'd be
a) German shepherd
b) poodle
c) mastiff
d) mutt
e) foxhound

4. If you were an amendment to the Constitution, you'd be...
a) Freedom of Speech
b) Right to Bear Arms
c) Right to Avoid Self-Incrimination
d) Due Process and Equal Protection
e) No Unlawful Search and Seizure

5. If you were a kind of tape, you'd be...
a) duct tape
b) cassette tape
c) double-sided tape
d) caution tape
e) red tape

6. If you were a U2 song, you'd be...
a) "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"
b) "Mysterious Ways"
c) "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of"
d) "I Will Follow"
e) "Beautiful Day"

7. If you were a famous plane crash victim, you'd be...
a) Will Rogers
b) Glenn Miller
c) Patsy Cline
d) Joseph P. Kennedy Jr.
e) Buddy Holly

8. If you were a classic spying technique, you'd be...
a) false flag operations
b) honeypot
c) black bag operations
d) dead drop
e) agent handling

9. If you were something you remove at airport security, you'd be a...
a) belt
b) shoes
c) laptop
d) pocket change
e) cell phone

10. If you were a conspiracy theory, you'd be....
a) the grassy knoll
b) Area 51
c) Elvis sightings
d) Apollo moon-landing hoax
e) Freemasons control the world

Same rules apply. Don't pick what you like the best, but what best describes you. You can pick more than one answer if you'd like. Comment the answers, and check back in a week or so and I'll post the results.

Hazy days of summer

So not only is Bakersfield getting all of the pollution from the entire central valley, but now we have to deal with bad air from the southern coast. Arvin has the worst pollution in the country, and it's only going to get worse. But at least we know that this pollution isn't caused by too many people driving big SUV's by themselves, but instead millions and millions of trees going bye bye.

For the past two weeks we have had a huge plume of smoke traveling across the coast mountains from the Los Olivos area to grace Bakersfield with it's presence. It has made for some really cool sunsets, but unfortunately, some very disgusting skies.

Remind me again why Bakersfield is one of the fastest growing cities in the US?

To a 10 year old I'm huge.

I went with my dad to a West High faculty BBQ last night, and was made to sit for an hour and a half while this guy talked non-stop. I know that in movies and shows there can be characters that just don't stop talking no matter what, but I didn't think that these people actually existed. Apparently they do. What's worse is that my dad new I was wanting to go, and he just kept listening. He now owes me, even if I did get margaritas and wine out of it.

Also yesterday I was waiting for teenager #2 to get her hair cut, and was sitting in the waiting area with a mother and her two daughters. I brought my DS for entertainment, and as I looked over, I noticed that the 6 year old had her DS with her. I probably should have been a little bit embarrassed about it, but wasn't. # 2 accused me of being like a little kid when she saw me with it for the first time. I said, "Yep."

Holy Night Soil, Batman!

Tonight was the beginning of season 3 of Weeds, so the three of us townies made a party of it (although no pot was involved) by creating a drinking game out of the show. Unfortunately, we didn't think much about the rules we were making, and only one ended up applying, but it applied a whole lot. The rule was every time they swear, you have to take a drink of the Happiness wine. Even when we dialed it down to only two words applying, we still got through the bottle rather quickly.

After the show, we were killing time, and decided to watch some of Meadowlands. For some reason, however, instead of watching the show, we got into a discussion about late 80's and early 90's stair placement in sitcoms. Chris commented that in all your family sitcoms (Full House, Family Matters, Boy Meets World, Blossom, Sister Sister) the stairs is placed directly behind the door on the left side (usually, although the last two are different) of the living room. There is no foyer, and the kitchen is directly through the door from the living room.

We discussed why this might be so (the composition of the shot, inability to pan, so you want them coming downstairs right by the door to answer it), and I think that Jessica and I won, in that there are lots of reasons for this, and they all come down to either money or ease (usually both). Chris should know better than to get into a "discussion" with two philosophy majors. Even if it's friendly, we don't aim to lose.

After that, we decided that we had thrown enough bull around, we might as well see how the masters do it, so Chris turned on a episode of Penn and Teller, which was all about colonics. It was very interesting, and somewhat disturbing (giant sized colon, anybody?). All in all, it was a great evening, made all the better by perhaps a little too wine, a little too quickly (darn Showtime and HBO allowed to use bad language!).

Quote of the evening - Penn or Teller: If it was called bull-night soil, you'd be able to see it on your TiVo.

Other quote of the evening - Chris: It's raping my memory! (He meant to say erasing).

You break it, you buy it!

I really can't believe that people treat Borders and Barnes and Noble like a library. I can sort of understand why there are cafes in there, since people go to study and everything. But the people who just go to sit in the chairs and read books the don't intend to buy baffle me. Especially when these people bend the covers back. This probably bugs me especially because I hate people in general that bend back covers, but even more when they don't own the books!

For each generation...

The results are right here!

Buffy the Vampire Slayer first aired on March 10, 1997. This cross-genre series from Joss Whedon (my hero!) builds an elaborate mythology around its demon-hunting star and shows the real dangers of trying to make it through high school (and college).

1. People gravitate towards you, making you a born leader, whether it's because of your dedication, honesty, or naturally effervescent personality. Beneath the serene surface, however, lies an angst-ridden and haunted heart; as strong and confident as you are, you often manage to be hurt by the ones you love. You're Buffy!

2. You're the adorable prodigy, the one who things clearly before addressing a problem, no matter the size. Being so brainy has left you with some self-esteem issues, however, and you do your best to supress them, mostly by trying to be everyone's best friend. You're Willow!

3. Though you're a natural comedian, one with a quick wit and an everyman charm, you often have trouble making things happen for you. It's most likely your fear of success - and a small trace of bitterness - that keep you from achieving your goals. You're Xander!

4. Mysterious and brooding, you have a long memory to go with your complicated past. You are passionate, yet deeply conflicted, afraid of being around others to the point that you jealously guard your privacy, preferring to remain a loner who harbors a dark side. You're Angel!

5. You may be blunt and demanding, but if you don't ask for something, how on earth can you expect to get it? Fashionable and self-important, your opinions are more valuable than everyone's else's, especially because you're always right and they're always wrong. So let them know it. You're Cordelia!

Becca: Buffy and Xander (5); Willow (1)
Carly: Angel (4); Xander (0)
Chris: Willow, Xander, Cordelia (3); Buffy (0)
Jessica: Willow (5); Angel (0)
Tim: Buffy, Willow (3); Angel, Cordelia (1)

The stuff that draems are made of.

I don't often (that I can remember, at least) have the normal sort of dreams that "everybody" has. That I can remember, I've never dreamed that I was naked at school. Nor have I had the flying dream. I can't think of any other "standard dreams," but I'm pretty sure I don't have them. I've often wondered why I haven't, in particular the flying dream. I think it would be amazing to be able to fly (that and being insubstantial at will are my dream superpowers), so it's kind of strange that I wouldn't dream about it. I'm sure there's some psychological reason for it.

I do have lots of epic fantasy dreams, though. And lots of dreams involving sports. I'm sure there are psychological reasons for those, too.

"Who's got you?"

My love of Superman is well known, I think. If it isn't, I'm stating yet again that I love the Superman mythos. Most people have become anti-Superman. They think that things are too easy for him. He's too powerful, and doesn't even have to try to fight crime. These are the people that love Batman because, "he's just a regular guy!" Yes, he's a regular guy with billions of dollars to burn on toys. Puleez.

Anyways, for this month's piece of entertainment, I've chosen Smallville. When this show first came out, I was a bit hesitant to watch it for a couple reasons. First, it was a WB show, which isn't exactly known for its quality. Also, I like the Superman story the way it is, so I wasn't sure I would like this new imagining of it.

While I don't think Smallville will ever win any sort of awards, there are some very good parts of the show. First of all, after the first season they decide to get rid of the whole "nerd" image. It didn't really work with Tom Welling playing Clark. Unfortunately, individual plots are rather lame and contrived in the first season, but the show hits its stride for season two, which continues (with a few interruptions), especially into season four, with the introduction of Lois Lane.

But the real star of the show is Michael Rosenbaum, who plays Lex Luther. The characterization and portrayal of Lex in the show is up there with Snape, I think. This is especially true of season 2-4.

The show also isn't afraid to make little nods to previous endeavors. Martha Kent is played by Annette O'Toole, who play Lana Lane in Superman II. They also had Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder guest star in a couple episodes. The first one with those two is my favorite, I think.

Now if they would just kill off Lana, I would like the show even more.

Completely Random Note: Sidesaddle must be the dumbest invention ever made by man. (I'm watching Tombstone).

Weekend at Bernie's

I've been neglecting, I admit it. I'd like to say that it's been because I'm crazy busy, but really, I don't know why I haven't posted lately. I have been playing a lot of Guild Wars, kind of a last hurrah with some friends before life starts again in the fall.

There was a wedding a couple weeks ago, which was rockin', as much as possible, at least. Good music was played (contrary to Jessica and Lauren's wishes), and I think a good time was had by all. Next up is Natalie's, which shall be another big party, this time on the beach.

I recently bought a Nintendo DS, which I've been thinking about getting for a while. It's a surprising little system! Not only can you play DS games, but also Gameboy Advance games, which means that I can get some old school SNES games (like Zelda and FFVI), plus all the new, touch screen games of the DS (like FFIII). Plus, if I ever cared to, I can play against other people through Wi-Fi hot spots. And it has Tetris and Sudoku games. What more could I ask for?

My dad and I are headed out to Bass Lake for tomorrow and Wednesday. The plan was to beat the heat, but if things are the way they were today, there won't be any heat here to beat. But maybe that will make the mountains even colder! We'll see.

Roll credits!

I dig the new trend of not showing people during the opening credits of a television show. Of course, it may not be new, but it's new to the shows that I watch. I first experienced this on Alias, but only for the first season or so (and since I saw that first season in the span of about two days and generally skipped them anyways, I didn't pay too much attention). After season 1, the credits changed to a montage of different alias, which was pretty danged cool, don't get me wrong, but I liked the black screen with the letters flashing.

My two favorite current credit roles are probably The 4400 and Weeds. Both show the names of actors, but don't show their faces, or shots of them from the show, like most other television shows do. The 4400 shows a series of scenes that would have happened when people disappeared mysteriously over the years (along with a perfect theme song), and Weeds shows the monotony of suburbia (also with a perfect theme song). These credits set the tone for their songs much better than the other option, in my opinion.

Another one that does this is Saving Grace, but it's not a good. This could be because I've only seen two episodes (it's a new TNT show), but the images that the credits show aren't as appropriate, in my opinion. I still like it, but it's not quite as well done as the other two shows.

I'm sure there are some other shows out there that use this particular method of opening credits, but I don't watch them (I really don't watch all that much television).

You threw a knife at my head!

Sorry for the lateness. Busy weekend.

Comment your answers, and in about a week I'll put up all the results. And if you don't answer, I'll just have to answer for you, and you won't be able to complain about who you are.

Oh, and I'm not going to tell you which show I've picked until after you've answered.

Note: When answering the questions, don't pick your favorite of the possible answers, pick what best suits you. And if there's two that are equally true, you can pick more than one answer for each question. Just don't do it often, because it makes work for me. Also, if you don't know all of the options, just go with your gut. It's not necessary to research the answers.

1. If you were a former teen pop star, you'd be...
a) Tiffany
b) Alanis Morissette
c) Donnie Wahlberg
d) Isaac Hanson
e) Brandy

2. If you were a hotel, you'd be a...
a) bed & breakfast
b) boutique hotel
c) single room
d) five-star resort
e) youth hostel

3. If you were a puzzle, you'd be...
a) crossword
b) jigsaw
c) Sukoku
d) Jumble
e) maze

4. If you were a vowel, you'd be...
a) A
b) E
c) I
d) O
e) U

5. If you were a Judy Blume book, you'd be...
a) Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret
b) Tales of A Fourth Grade Nothing
c) Superfudge
d) Otherwise Known As Shelia the Great
e) Forever

6. If you were a shade of red, you'd be...
a) crimson
b) magenta
c) mauve
d) scarlet
e) cardinal

7. If you were a track and field event, you'd be...
a) high jump
b) shot put
c) javelin
d) relay
e) hurdle

8. If you were a phobia, you'd be...
a) acrophobia (heights)
b) agoraphobia (public places)
c) coulrophobia (clowns)
d) arachnophobia (spiders)
e) claustrophobia (small spaces)

9. If you were something from which to drink, you'd be...
a) thermos
b) chalice
c) coffee mug
d) water bottle
e) wine glass

10. If you were a section of the newspaper, you'd be...
a) front page
b) science/ technology
c) travel
d) sports
e) letters to the editor

Wordplay

There's so much that is amazing in HP that it's hard to hit all of the supa-cool things, but I've always admired the naming conventions of JK. In 5 out of 7 books, the big mystery of the book revolves around the book title, and even in the two where the meaning of the title is revealed early in the book, in on there are still mysteries that involve the object in the title. And the one that who's title doesn't involve mystery is my favorite book, so I don't really care. In fact, it might be the lack of driving mystery that helps it to be my favorite.

Usually in the books, Rowling takes something that we're familiar with and can understand and make guesses. This last one was different for me, though. I couldn't quite grasp the "deathly" part of the title because we don't really use that word much on this side of the pond (I'm not really sure if they do on the other side, honestly). Nor, really, do we use the word "hallow."

While I now understand the use of "hallow," I'm still not sure about "deathly." Could somebody please explain it to me? (In email, not here, since this is a spoiler-free zone). In fact, more to come later on how much I hate spoilers.

Oh those summer nights

I love summer nights. The first thing I love about them is that they happen so late. As a kid I loved being able to play outside until 8:00, and even today I love that I can be outside to late. Plus, there's something about dusk that appeals to me. While the essentially look the same as sunrises, sunsets are just better to me. Perhaps that is because they don't occur at a time that all sane people are asleep. I do have plenty of experience with sunrises, however, since when I worked at Bolthouse I would usually have to drive into them. And I much prefer sunsets.

Usually in Bakersfield, our sunsets are huge things. They're almost always colorful, thanks to all the crap in the atmosphere. When I was up in Spokane, they would have half the color that we have in Bakersfield and think it was an amazing sunset. I had to disagree. Most evenings, there is color all across the horizon, from the horizon line to about 60 degrees above it. But tonight was different.

I don't know if it was because I was out at a later time (I don't think so), or because the rain wiped away most of the pollution, but tonight's sunset was the way that I like them. Instead of just oranges and reds, there were purples and blues, plus orange. The clouds made for different colors, and patterns in the part of the sky where there were no colors. Plus, since there wasn't as much pollution to diffract all the light. It was more concentrated. Instead of being spread all across the horizon, there was a concentration of orange, but most of it was darker. It felt more like dusk.

Of course, I'm not doing a good job of describing it, but it was pretty cool. It was a much better end to the day than I started, since I had to call a plumber (who then had to rip out a part of the downstairs ceiling) and later my car wouldn't start. At least the week can't get much worse (I really hope).

I'm being arrested for being a plumber.

I was told recently that the picture in my profile was of Zombie Becca, so I've decided to change it. Unfortunately, I don't have many pictures of myself, so I had to search for this one. It's either at Zion or Yellowstone (Zion I think), and there's a baby waterfall behind me, which you can't see at blogger's poor size and resolution. Oh well.

I found my first season of GG (someone (I'm not saying who) had stolen it and decided to not tell me), and it's good to know I didn't just misplace it.

Now I must go because we have an exploded (hopefully I'm just exaggerating) pipe someplace upstairs and the plumber is here.

PS If you know what movie the title is from, you need to watch better movies.

Fin

Wow. Just.... wow.

Harry Potter must not go to Hogwarts.

The end is here. Oh sure, we have two more movies coming, probably over the next four years, but the surprise and suspense will soon be over. The anxious anticipating of millions of people around the world will never quite be like this again. Sure, they'll all look forward to the movies, and the, dare I say, magic, will be gone. And I will surely miss it.

On a worldwide scale, I don't think there has been anything that even resembles Harry potter in terms of literature (or really, anything). Sure, there have been books that have exploded, but because of the times, the shrinking of the world, and honestly, movie technology, Harry Potter far exceeds them in sheer awesomeness. Magazines and people keep asking, "What will be the next Harry Potter?", and I'm sure many new series will be hailed as it over the next years, but it's a lie. There will never be another Harry Potter.

Personally, I've read a lot of books, especially fantasy, and particularly serial fantasy. And while I have been excited for each new release in a series (more excited for some than others), never has the whole world been excited with me. And while a few friends have enjoyed the same books that I have (yay them!), never have almost every one of my friends been waiting for that release date along with me.

It really pissed me off in the early days of HP when people would dismiss HP because it's children's literature. Unfortunately a lot of people probably still think this. These are the same people that dismiss The Chronicles of Narnia as children's literature. They are children's books, but they are also so much more. I challenge anybody to find a more complex, ambigious, love/hatable, and discussable character anywhere than Snape. (Irina Derevko in "Alias" comes close). He alone takes the series out of the "dismissable" genre of children's books into something entirely different (I say "dismissable" because some of my favorite books are considered children's literature and I don't dismiss it at all). But if you think that he is the only thing adult about the series, then I get to punch you.

I don't know if Rowling purposely matured the style of the books as Harry matures (probably not), but that's what has happened. The entire series is seen through Harry's (admitedly questionable) eyesight, and as he matures, so does how he (and we) see his world. The first book is much like The Hobbit in that it's all about goofiness, a new magical world, interesting people, and solving puzzles. The second book is much of the same, although Rowling is preparing us for the dark turn that will happen in the next book with a handful of characters almost dying.

One the second book ends, however, the real series begins. For the first time (at least for me) we feel as if Harry is actually in danger. There's a sense of foreboding in the book that hasn't been present in the first two, and it's just plain dark. This is not the style of your typical children's book. Then the fourth book comes along which draws and shapes the anticipation of something bad happening until it actually does.

The fifth book is my favorite book because there's a dark comedy hiding underneath it's children's exterior. Most people just see the dark, with Harry whining and complaining his way through most of the book, but Rowling decides to make it a dark comedy by exaggerating Umbridges hatability and pitting her against Fred and George. This is no longer children's literature, but literature which prominately features children in it.

The sixth book is no longer really about children, as Harry has matured beyond his years, and Ron and Hermionie are almost ignored, or only put in for comic effect. The story is really about Harry, Snape (as the Half Blood Prince and himself), and Dumbledore, with a bit of Tom Riddle thrown in for flavoring. Sure, there's childish drama about snogging, jealousy, and other run of the mill teenage problems, but that's not the heart of the book, it's just thrown in because it's funny.

All this to say that I'm going to miss waiting for the next Harry Potter book to come out, and I'm going to miss guessing how the characters are going to react. I know I'll be re-reading these books for years to come, and probably talking about them to whomever will listen, but the mystery, the potential, the fear of the next bad thing to happen to Harry will be gone. Instead, it will just take its rightful place next to the Lord of the Rings, the Chronicles of Narnia, and the Belgariad. And actually, as much as it pains me to say it, depending on this last book, it might surpass those. We'll see tomorrow.

He's snarkastic

Does anybody out there have my first season of Gilmore Girls? I seem to be missing it.

On an unrelated note, I love Finding Neverland. One of my favorite recent movies, right alongside Eternal Sunshine.

Mister F

Well, it's been a bit delayed due to a visit down to LA, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (book and movie), Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, and 9 glorious hours of goblin and orc slaying, but here are the latest results for the online quizzes!

As I hoped you guess from the title, I finally choose "Arrested Development" as the subject of the quiz.

"This series takes on the interpersonal relationships and dynamics surrounding the always dysfunctional Bluths following the arrest of the family patriarch.

Michael: Traditional and idealistic, you're the kind of person who gets more out of doing things for others rather than yourself. Though you're a natural leader and take pride in being a self-starter, you also have a bit of an edge, no doubt from putting up with your family so long.

Gob: You're a loose cannon - a spoiled and demented con artist whose idea of a good time often crosses the line from playfulness into bullying. Your own best audience, you have a gift for standing out in the crowd, thought it might be because your act is so cheesy.

Buster: Sheltered and repressed, you're a simpleminded wallflower, a creature of habit who's constitutionally averse to change and would rather hide in his room. So what if you're out of touch? Maybe if more people never left the house, the world would be a less frightening place.

Lindsay: You're the definition of a hopeless romantic, on who, considering how fashionable you are, is as bad at getting a date as you are at keeping one. Constantly getting in your own way, you end up sabotaging yourself at every turn, though you always look good doing it.

Tobias: Quirky, compulsive, and more than a little conflicted, you have a natural talent for self-deception. Pretentious and performance-oriented, you think you have it all figured out, though your endless and tiresome journey of self-discovery may yet turn up the real you in the end.

Lucille: You're a cruel one - a haughty, ruthless sort who takes pleasure in making others uncomfortable. Acerbic and blindsiding, you demand that people indulge your most delusional requests. You lack a single nurturing bone in your body. To say you're old-fashioned is to insult the elderly.

Becca - Michael, Buster (3); Lindsay (0)
Carly - Lindsay (4); Michael, Lucille (0)
Chris - Tobias (4); Michael, Lindsay (0)
Jessica - Lindsay, Tobias (3); Gob (0)
Robert - Michael, Buster (3); Gob (0)

This was the first time that everybody had a character with zero answers. Also, for an alternative description of these characters, check this out. (For those of you who haven't seen it already).

We didn't need voices; we had faces.

One of the things I love about watching older movies is that I can compare today's society with yesterday's societies. This can occasionally be done by creating a period piece, like the recent Pride and Prejudice, or biopics, but I really enjoy watching an old comedy or drama and comparing how different movies are today.

In particular, lately I've seen two "battle of the sexes" comedies from different eras, each made by the famous match-up of their respective decades. "Pat and Mike" is from 1952 and is a Tracy/Hepburn movie. "Lover Come Back" is from 1961 and is a Hudson/Day movie. I'm not going to go into specifics of how each movie differs from the other and everything, but people often wonder why I like old movies so much, and this is one of the main reasons, and I think it's most obvious in romantic comedyish movies.

Of course, it's also fun to watch movies that feature families and see how different that life is from now (recent example: "Close Encounters of the Third Kind"), but a lot of times, movie families aren't typical, because if they were, they wouldn't be real interesting.

I think you can in Europe.

There's a lot of things I like about languages. In general, the fascinate me. I especially like seeing how language changes and evolves over the centuries (I actually enjoyed HOTEL in Adams' class freshman year). But sometimes I just don't understand it, or rather, I don't understand the relationships between some compound words.

I was thinking the other night of the words inflate and deflate. Now, the root of these is flate (but we don't have the word in the English language, I check Wiktionary). Of course, it's a Latin root (meaning to breathe or blow), and the prefixes in- and de- have been added to the root, in- meaning into, and de- meaning to reversal or undoing. But it strikes me that these prefixes aren't opposites, and therefore the word deflate shouldn't be the antonym to inflate. Seems like exflate or unflate would better choices, or even deinflate if we're going to be technical.

But of course languages aren't technical, and this is doubly true of English (I blame the French, damn Normans). We don't normally have double prefix words, even though they would make sense. There are some, like antidisestablish, deconstruct (reconstruct, too), and some others that I can't think of right now, but generally if we want to show the opposite of some Latin derived word, we just switch prefixes, which really, we shouldn't do.

Don't even get my started on why we use certain Latin roots with prefixes, but not without. Like flate, and whelm (actually, I just looked and whelm is an English word, meaning to cover with water. And somehow from that we got our current usage of under- and overwhelm).

The Searchers

I've never been a big fan of westerns. I like the idea of westerns, and have loved to see it's metamorphosis into the space western, but the westerns that were made around the 1950s, well I've just never had a big appreciate for them.

Of course, there are exceptions, like "High Noon" and "The Magnificent Seven," but if we're talking about the traditional Cowboys vs. Indians western, I'll pass. I must admit that I haven't seen some of the big name westerns like "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" and "Shane," but in general I don't see the point of a movie where your homestead or outpost gets attacked by Indians, so you must go out and hunt them down and kill them for vengeance. It just seems like it would get old. All the ones with that plot line that I've seen have no character development (or very little if you're being generous), and very little in the way of interesting conversation. I just don't see the point in watching a movie if those things are lacking.

A great surprise was "The Searchers," which has exactly the plot outline above (homestead gets attacked, everybody is killed except the youngest daughter, so they go on a endless quest to rescue her), but does it amidst one of the most beautifully filmed movies I have ever seen. What puts this movie over the top, however, is that the hero is actually interesting. John Wayne plays a guy that I would despise normally, but you still find yourself rooting for him, and in the end when he redeems himself, you're glad to see it, even though you know he hasn't changed, not really.

There's a reason John Ford is the king of the western, and I think "The Searchers" is it. I love Ford for doing "The Quiet Man," but I think I respect him even more now that I've seen "The Searchers" (oh, and this little film called "The Grapes of Wrath," too).

The circle is now complete

I used to pretend and tell myself that I wasn't a complete nerd. There were a couple of nerdy activities of which I didn't take part. Reading comics and playing D&D were two examples of these. Now, granted, these are more activities from the 70's and 80's than today, but are still fairly prevalent in nerd culture today. (Although growing up I thought comics were the realm of the "dumb idiots" since there were very few words and large pictures. Television and movies have since told me otherwise).

But I've fallen into the swirling vortex that is DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, Vertigo, and dozens of other comic publisher - I've gotten trapped by the plastic covers and mesmerized the by glossy covers.

I thought that I could avoid this pitfall by sticking with graphic novels. After all, those aren't really comic books; they're not released in serial, and they have a beginning and an end, unlike most superhero comics. Even if I couldn't stay away from comics, I could at least avoid recent comics, and concentrate instead on older ones that have been compiled into books. That way I could feel superior by calling them "graphic novels," and more importantly, I wouldn't be stuck waiting a month for my next one to continue the story.

But Joss Whedon had to go and screw things up, the jerk! He had to start writing a Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic that continues from where the show left off. The comics are even labeled "Season 8, # 1" instead of as issues, which even gives hope for seasons 9 and so forth. You might be thinking that these can't be good, but Joss has done a lot of comic writing previously, and the comics portray the tone of the television show very well.

I know this because I now have all four, and am anxiously waiting for the next one to come out in August. Not only that, but I've discovered that Serenity also has a comic series, and I'm going to have to buy that now. I guess I'll just have to embrace my nerdiness from now on, instead of kidding myself.

Quiz Show

It's that time again! Time for another fun quiz!

Comment your answers, and in about a week I'll put up all the results. And if you don't answer, I'll just have to answer for you, and you won't be able to complain about who you are.

Oh, and I'm not going to tell you which show I've picked until after you've answered.

Note: When answering the questions, don't pick your favorite of the possible answers, pick what best suits you. And if there's two that are equally true, you can pick more than one answer for each question. Just don't do it often, because it makes work for me. Also, if you don't know all of the options, just go with your gut. It's not necessary to research the answers.

1. If you were a hit by a one-hit wonder, you'd be...
a) "Mickey"
b) "Take on Me"
c) "Who Let the Dogs Out"
d) "Bette Davis Eyes"
e) "Sister Christian"
f) "99 Luftballons"

2. If you were a card game, you'd be...
a) bridge
b) war
c) solitaire
d) go fish
e) hearts
f) euchre

3. If you were a brand of soap, you'd be...
a) Ivory
b) Dial Antibacterial
c) Calgon
d) Lifebouy
e) Irish Spring
f) Neutrogena

4. If you were a famous family, you'd be...
a) the Kennedys
b) the Jacksons
c) the Rockefellers
d) the Vanderbilts
e) the Osbournes
f) the Partridge Family

5. If you were a magic trick, you'd be...
a) "Pick a card, any card."
b) saw the assistant in half
c) rabbit out of a hat
d) vanishing act
e) escaping from chains
f) never-ending scarf from sleeve

6. if you were a vegetable, you'd be....
a) eggplant
b) spinach
c) clerey
d) iceberg lettuce
e) radish
f) cauliflower

7. If you were a Robin Williams movie, you'd be...
a) Club Paradise
b) Mrs. Doubtfire
c) Hook
d) Jumanji
e) Deconstructing Harry
f) The World According to Garp

8. If you were a football penalty, you'd be...
a) false start
b) pass interference
c) delay of game
d) holding
e) roughing the kicker
f) clipping

9. If you were a type of house, you'd be...
a) ranch
b) Colonial
c) Victorian
d) Tudor
e) split-level
f) modern

10. If you were a cheese, you'd be...
a) American
b) Swiss
c) sharp cheddar
d) Brie
e) Monterey Jack
f) Velveeta

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Wow, I almost didn't realize that it was time for a new show. Thankfully, Chris updated his site with his music of the month (good band, check them out), which reminded me.

I decided to go back to a solid favorite for a couple of reasons. The first is that none of my friends have ever really watched Buffy, and it's a fairly important series. Not just important, but also good. It artfully combines horror, science fiction, sarcasm, and even a little bit of drama in a way that hasn't been done, well, ever. The second is that Jessica told me about this, which is very exciting, and I have to go to it.

There are a lot of reasons that Buffy is important, even beyond the fact that it's great television. Joss Whedon has gone on to do more great things (can anyone say "Firefly?"), a large number of the writers have gone on to either create or write for other great shows. Another huge thing Buffy brought us was the idea of a self-contained season, meaning that each season has a plot and conclusion, and while they all tie together, each one can exist on their own.

But Buffy also paved the way for shows like Alias and Veronica Mars (and a handful of other shows that I don't watch), in that Buffy had a strong central female character. This really hadn't been done before Buffy. It also showed that supernatural and occult ideas and concepts wouldn't flop on television, and we've since had far too many shows go from there for me to list.

I own Seasons 1, 3, 6, and 7, which are the four best and most important seasons in the series. Four and Five I try to pretend don't exist. Here's a breakdown of each season (with a few spoilers, so beware).

Season 1: There's a new slayer in town, and her name is.... Buffy? While the name sounds like she should be a cheerleader, Buffy soon tells the demons of Sunnydale that there's a new sheriff in town. Has one of the best evil demons of the show, The Master (even if the name wasn't original, he's still pretty cool).

Season 2: Lame because it focuses on the Buffy-Angel romance, which I never really cared for. Angel wasn't my favorite character, and I can't say I was disappointed when he died (great ending for the season, though).

Season 3: Has the introduction of a new slayer (Faith) for Buffy to compete with. Also has The Mayor, who's the big bad for the season, and is a great character. Buffy manages to graduate from high school, and promptly blows the place up. Go her.

Season 4: Buffy goes to college and meets Riley (one of the few good things in the season - the actor, not the character). There's a new team trying to play the game, but Buffy soon shows them who's boss.

Season 5: Buffy has a new little sister, and she's a teenager? Um, okay. We'll just try to forget that this one exists as Buffy has to battle a goddess who, in her free time, is a male hospital intern. Riiiight.

Season 6: A return to form for the Scooby-team. Buffy is brought back to life by some bad-ass magic, and Willow turns evil. Also has the best trio of villains ever, who are complete nerds, and allow Joss to input all the geek-pop culture references he could want. (The van that they use as a mobile headquarter plays the Imperial March as it's horn). Of course, one of the main characters bites the bullet, and Willow goes mental and fillets a guy. Which is pretty sweet.

Season 7: The final season, and the show goes out with a bang. The Watchers (stupid British pricks) are blown up (woohoo!) and Buffy has to bring all sorts of would-be slayers under her wing in Sunnydale. Cue Caleb (Nathan Fillion, my hero), "The Preacher," who takes his cue from Robert Mitchum in "The Night of the Hunter" and is incredibly creepy, and it's a quality season. One of the best, in fact.

The Verdict

So, it's been a week, and here are the results for the latest quiz.

Some of you already know, but the show I picked for this week is The Office, since I think most of us have seen at least a couple episodes, and are at least somewhat familiar with the characters. First, the characters and their descriptions:

Dwight: You've always been a little.... different, but that's just because everyone else is too stupid to see what a total genius you are. Arrogant and a total stickler for the rules, you never seem to understand why some people are always avoiding you.

Pam: Easily intimidated and a hopeless romantic, you try to get through life by flying under the radar, but somehow you always end up hitting speed bump after speed bump. You're kind-hearted and also easily intimidated - if only someone would show you the respect you deserve.

Jim: You have so much promise, but you're more than willing to let a defeatist attitude overcome your ambition. Though you have lofty goals and are capable of receiving great praise, you'd just as soon strike a rebellious pose and avoid the grunt work.

Michael: Sometimes it's better to listen than to speak, but that's a lesson you've unfortunately never learned. Often loud and inappropriate and always eager to be a part of the gang, the only time you're the life of the party is when you're by yourself.

Ryan: There are those in life who drive and those who are driven, and you are nothing if not driven. Ambitious and energetic, you are a go-getter who manages to keep his eye on the ball, even as those around you aimlessly wander astray.

And now, the final tally. I've decided to include the score after the highest and lowest characters are listed, because I find the statistics interesting, and I don't care if you don't. Props to Carly for managing to give every character the same score.

Becca: Jim (4); Dwight, Ryan (1)
Carly: Everybody (2)
Chris: Michael, Ryan (3); Dwight, Jim (1)
Jessica: Michael (4); Dwight (0)
Rachel: Dwight, Pam (3); Jim, Michael (1)
Robert: Dwight, Michael (3); Ryan (0)

Great Expectations

So, the AFI list came out last week, and most of the things I hoped for came true. My overall percentage actually went up by 1%, although most of that was in the bottom 50 films. Oh well. "Star Wars" went up and "Gone with the Wind" went down, although they didn't pass one another, sadly. Also, "The Fellowship of the Ring" got on the list, at number 50 (way too low), but I think that might have to do with the fact that all three lists were on the nomination list, so I think some votes were lost that way to the overall trilogy, since I'm sure most people didn't vote for more than one of the films.

Sadly, "Citizen Kane" retained its top spot, but at least I've seen it. There were some interesting developments, one of the most interesting being that "The Searchers" made it to # 12, from its previous spot in the Bottom 10. Also, "Intolerance" took the place of "The Birth of a Nation" as the oldest film. "Intolerance" jumped to the number 49 spot from previously not being on the list. "The Matrix," which I was sure would make it, didn't manage to climb on the list. I'm not really sure how film people can convince themselves that it wasn't both a great movie and important to movie history, but then, they're probably all old. There were 43 new movies available for addition to the list, but only 4 managed to make it, and all of those #50 or lower. 19 other new films were added to the list, but they were all previously available.

The economist and philosopher in me want to know the constituancy of the voters to find out their ages, race, and other pertinant information to try to see if there are reasons for the way they've voted, and to find out if average ages and what not have changed since the first list. I have to imagine that the average age of the voters is fairly old, which is fine, but I think it does skew things a little bit. There are a ton of movies from the 70's, which I think might have something to do with the fact that many of the voters could sympathize with movies of that age, since that's when they were coming of age. But I could be wrong. I'll probably never know.

Quiz Show

It's that time again! Time for another fun quiz!

Comment your answers, and in about a week I'll put up all the results. And if you don't answer, I'll just have to answer for you, and you won't be able to complain about who you are.

Oh, and I'm not going to tell you which show I've picked until after you've answered.

Note: When answering the questions, don't pick your favorite of the possible answers, pick what best suits you. And if there's two that are equally true, you can pick more than one answer for each question. Just don't do it often, because it makes work for me. Also, if you don't know all of the options, just go with your gut. It's not necessary to research the answers.

1. If you were a kind of paper associated with the workplace, you'd be...
a) letterhead
b) legal sized
c) shredded documents
d) a Post-it Note
e) a business card

2. If you were a way to cook eggs, you'd be...
a) scrambled
b) sunny-side up
c) over easy
d) soft boiled
e) poached

3. If you were a way to get to work, you'd be...
a) carpooling
b) riding the subway
c) biking
d) taking the bus
e) walking

4. If you were a Steven King novel, you'd be...
a) Cujo
b) Carrie
c) The Stand
d) The Dead Zone
e) The Shining

5. If you were a part of a camera, you'd be...
a) viewfinder
b) focus
c) auto rewind
d) zoom lens
e) flim

6. If you were a finger, you'd be...
a) thumb
b) index
c) middle
d) ring
e) pinkie

7. If you were a sign of the zodiac, you'd be...
a) Gemini
b) Leo
c) Aries
d) Capricorn
e) Pisces

8. If you were a fabric care tag, you'd be...
a) Dry clean only.
b) Machine wash warm.
c) Hang to dry.
d) Iron at high setting.
e) Wash separately.

9. If you were a coffee order, you'd be...
a) black
b) with cream and sugar
c) with skim and Sweet'N Low
d) with nondairy creamer
e) decaf

10. If you were a comic strip, you'd be...
a) Dick Tracy
b) The Family Circus
c) Cathy
d) Doonesbury
e) Dilbert

This Film Is Not Yet Rated

I've been meaning for a while now to rant about the movie rating system. I've mentioned my dislike of it before, but I think this article sums it up fairly well. But it does require a few additional comments.

The line between G and PG seems very arbitrary. A comparison I think I've made before is between a movie like The Lion King, and a movie like Over the Hedge. One deals with regicide, family betrayal, and a villain with a scene reminiscent of Nazi Germany. The other deals with animals stealing food in the suburbs, and evil exterminator, and a bear who wants it's food back by the end of winter. Now you tell me which should be G and which should be PG. And don't even get me started on Ben-Hur, or any number of older movies.

Then there's the R rating, which is most of what the article deals with. It encompasses everything from violence to sex to torture to nudity. Honestly, with what I've seen in R, I can't figure out how NC-17 is necessary.

My sophomore year in high school I illegally went to see an R rated movie. While I still would have gone to see it without parental guidance had I known it was R, I honestly thought that it was PG-13. There was no sex, nudity, or torture. There was some violence, but it was pretty much what you could see on televison at any time (although way cooler looking). The movie was The Matrix, and I was amazed to find out that it was rated R. I still am. How a movie like that, and slasher/torture movies like Saw and Hostel can be rated the same thing, I have no idea.

So I have to agree with the writer of the article; it seems like a good idea to get rid of all ratings, and provide detailed information for parents that actually want to enforce what their kids see. Of course, there are parents out there who take their 4 year olds to see The Two Towers, so there are definitely parents out there who lack the decision making capabilities to moniter what their kids watch. But it's not like they're going to do any worse than the rating system already does.

Strike!

Time to catch up on a few things I've been meaning to talk about lately.

First of all, Rachel finally took the previous personality quiz, and I have her results.

Rachel: Jessie; Screech

I find it interesting that both of us scored a 5 for Jessie, but we only answer 2 questions the same.

It would seem like the summertime is the time that all good workers go on strike. As I drive by The Marketplace there are no less than three groups of people with a sign saying, "Shame on so-and-so" for a labor dispute. Then there's another one on Stockdale at BCHS saying, "Shame on Bakersfield Christian High School," for their labor dispute. I've always found strikes interesting. They make Keynesian economics necessary. Well, it's more labor unions that make it necessary, but strikes go along with unions.

Summertime is also the time for watching movies about strikes. I watched Modern Times today (since it's on both Top Films lists), and when I was at Buena Vista the music teachers was showing Newsies during the last music session of the year. As I walked in waiting for the time to end, he smugly looked at me and asked, "Do you know who that is?" Obviously I knew who it was, and said so, but I think he must have thought I said no, since he said, "It's Cristian Bale. He was in Batman."

I thought like responding with some other movies he's also been in to prove my movie knowledge, but decided that I didn't need to win that battle. I'm secure in my movie knowledge.

Oh goodie, something new and different for us.

No, I really don't get tired of quoting from 10 Things I Hate About You. And it's usually so applicable.

One of the best things about the summer is that AFI releases their new list in June. Now, I've come into knowledge of AFI fairly recently, so I have only gotten to see three of the lists on television, but all have been very fun and entertaining. Even the preparation for the lists is fun because I get to add a chunk to my spreadsheet, which I haven't really had a reason to do since last year's lists.

Anyways, this year is different because they've decided to redo the top films list instead of releasing a new one. So here are some of my hopes for this new list when it is released tomorrow night (8:00 PM).

1. That my percentage doesn't go down. I'm currently at 75%, and that had better not go down.
2. That Citizen Kane is no longer in the top spot.
3. That Gone with the Wind goes down and Star Wars goes up.
4. That one Lord of the Rings movie makes it on the list.

Something that actually is new are the graphic novels that I've picked up. I've been wanting to read V for Vendetta since the movie came out, and I've also been wanting to read Marvel 1602 since it came out. And since I've been enjoying the webcomics that I read, I decided it was time to check out the real thing.

Despite my extensive knowledge of superheroes, I have only read one comic before (and it was Marvel, not DC!). I decided to do a little bit of research before I bought any, and both 1602 and V are highly touted by critics and readers alike. But since both of those are graphic novels, meaning they are contained in one book, I also wanted to get something that was also released in comic form. So I did some research and found out that an up and coming favorite author of mine did a lot of comic work which has also been lauded by critics, so I decided to get the first book of his (where they combine like 10 or so of the comics into a single book) of Neil Gaiman's Sandman.

I blazed through 1602 (and gained a new appreciated for Marvel, which I'll talk about at a later date), and had to force myself to slow down and really enjoy the art (which is amazing). I'm having a bit more trouble with Sandman. Although I love the story, the art isn't really to my liking. It's a bit too gothic for my tastes. But I hear that Gaiman doesn't really find his voice until the second book, so I think I'll give it time. V is good, but since I already know the story, I don't feel the pressing need to find out what happens next, so I'm taking my time with it.

The funny thing is that only one of the three is about superheroes, and it's not even about my favorite ones. I think I'm either going to have to get some Superman books (I'm thinking about starting with The Death of Superman), or some Justice League ones. Maybe I'll do that after I finish with these three.

If the teacher pops a test I know I'm in a mess

Okay, I've finally gotten around to posting the results of the first personality quiz. Sorry for the delay, but just think, now there's less time until the next one (assuming I get it out on time). Anyways, I chose the tv show Saved by the Bell, because I'm pretty sure everybody watched it, and you all probably expected me to choose something like Veronica Mars or Arrested Development.

I have to include the little snipit before the quiz because it's trivia, and I love trivia. "This sitcom, salvaged from a failed Disney Channel series titled Good Morning, Miss Bliss, centered around a group of Students at Bayside High School, in Palisades, California."

So, there are an option of 5 characters and I'm going to include who each person is most and least like, and any ties that there are. Bold is most like, italics is least like.

Profiles:
Slater - Your predatory ways and aggressive mind-set make you an innate alpha dog. And sure, you've got the strength and speed of a natural-born jock. But don't let that tough exterior fool anyone. You're a puppy god on the inside, especially when it comes to love.

Kelly - You appreciate the finer things in life, and if one of those things happens to be reflected in the mirror, so be it. Some may think being cute, popular, and perfect must have its drawbacks, but who has time to even worry about what those drawbacks are?

Zack - People think things come easily to you, but all that scheming takes a lot of work. You've got some scam or prank brewing at any given moment, and it usually revolves around getting a date for Saturday night. Wipe that devilish grin off your face.

Screech - You're a little nerdy, sure, but you wear it as a badge of honor, managing to keep things light and breezy. In fact some might say that your eccentricities make you all the more fun. You march to the beat of your own drummer and let your freak flag fly.

Jessie - You are strong, you are invincible. Free of society's constraints, you know who you are and have no problem taking a stand for what you believe in. You battle the patriarchy, you fight for the environment, and you stand up for the little guy no matter what. Anyone got a problem with that?

Becca: Jessie; Slater, Kelly
Carly: Zack, Screech; Jessie
Rob: Slater; Kelly
Jessica: Screech, Jessie; Slater, Kelly
Chris: Zack, Jessie; Slater, Screech

I could include scores, but that's really just too much effort. If you want more details, let me know, and I might provide them.

And look Friday for the new quiz!

Yeah, not going to happen

So I was going to post the results of the personality quiz tonight, but that's just not going to happen. We had my cousins and their spouses over tonight, along with my uncle, and it was mad fun. You have to bear in mind that there are 9 months between my cousin Matt and Billy and me, us and our cousin Jenny, and Jenny and Robby. Add to that the fact that we grew up living about 5 minutes away from each other, and we cause a little bit of trouble in our day. I take that back. We still cause a bit of trouble when we get together.

So the point of this evening was to meet my little cousin once removed (Shea) and actually get to talk to my new cousin (Christine). And to show them how the Jennings play cards. James (Jenny's husband) thought that he had learned how to play Oh Hell, but he really hadn't. I showed them how it's done in the first round (winning by 9 points) and then let some other people have a turn winning in the second round.

It was a great time spent rocking out to music, yelling at one another, and accusing one another of cheating. I think all together we went through two bottles of wine, 18 bottles of beer, and three pitchers of Margaritas (one person didn't have anything to drink since she's now pregnant (and it's not me)). Apparently I missed out on going to Fishlips, but I think I had enough fun to make up for it.

So look for the results tomorrow (which means Rachel has another day to answer the questions, but she probably won't).

That's going too far!

A staple of my life might just have come to an end. I might have to boycott reading the Star Wars books. I own just around 80 of these novels, and have read about more than 90% more than two times. But they've done something to heinous that I'm not sure I'll be willing to read them anymore.

So here's a spoiler alert, although I'm pretty sure nobody will care if this is spoiled. Except for perhaps Chris, who shares my love of Star Wars, but you never got into the books, so I'm figuring you'll be okay with it.

Now you all know that I'm generally fine with, and even am glad for, main characters dying. I think it gives us a more emotional attachment to characters if we know the author isn't afraid to knock a couple of them off. Kudos to JK, OSC, Joss Whedon, and various SW authors (to name a few) for doing so. But Karen Traviss, author of Sacrifice has gone too far. I really am contemplating boycotting the rest of the SW series because of what she's done.

Now, I know it's not her fault, and that she's following an outline created by LucasArt bigwigs (stupid George Lucas), but still. Star Wars has already killed off some of it's best characters, first in the movies, and then in the books. Usually it's okay since they provide other interesting characters to fill in the gap. But that's just not possible with this latest death.

When Chewbacca died, I didn't really care, mostly because he has no dialog. His purpose is really just to serve as Han's conscious, so it could be filled with Han losing his way (for a while) and later by Leia. No big deal. Later, they killed of Anakin Solo, and I was much more pissed off, but still got over it because he didn't have much depth, and well, I've always been more interested in his siblings. I'm probably biased because they're twins.

But now, now they've gone and killed the single character who (if I had to) I would claim as my favorite. Of all time. This character is Mara Jade Skywalker. Part of the reason that I'm not okay with this is that Jacen Solo has been come a pain in the butt who I really just don't care to read about. And he seems to be all this recent series is about. It is all about his descent to the dark side, and how it parallels his grandfather's, but I really don't care. We've already seen all that in the newest trilogy of movies, and really, it way too closely parallels his grandfather's. Couldn't they have thought of something new. I guess they considered not killing of the Padme character new.

Of course, I saw this coming, since nobody can really write Mara Jade the way that Timothy Zahn can, and she has basically been put into the role of being where Luke is and not having much of a plot of her own. She has become redundant. So she could die and it won't ruin anything, but will serve as a catalyst for Ben (her son) to get really pissed off and defeat Jacen.

But I don't care! Kill Luke instead! They didn't even have the decency to let Zahn write her death, they gave it to some author nobody's even heard of. Stupid George Lucas. I see this being the end of Luke, eventually, which will be nice, but that might just be the end of the whole series. Even though there are enough of the second generation to make things interesting, but sadly, the authors only use the younger generation for filler when they need it. And really, since I know nobody is interested, or probably even read this, I'm going to stop. But I still haven't decided if I'm going to keep reading the books.

Who are the 4400?

Granted, it's a bit late, but I'm not ready to post this month's tv/movie on DVD. Last month I picked a random television show that I've heard good things about to try out, but this month I'm going to talk about a show that I already own, but which more people need to watch. The show is USA's The 4400.

The first thing you have to get past is the fact that this show is considered to be science fiction. Actually, I think it should be considered more fantasy, but that isn't much better for most people. The thing about sci-fi is that there's good and there's bad. The bad sci-fi is what most people picture - bad B movies with creatures from outer space invading and horrible special effects.

This show (and many others out there that people are biased against) is good science fiction. The special effects are seemlessly inserted, and there are actually very few special effects needed, because the show is set today, with no other technology than what we have right now. Where the sci-fi comes in is that there people appear in a ball of light from space. Yes, that's sort of weird, and yes, some of them have special powers, but that is not what the show is about, it's merely a catalyst for what happens. The show is about how the core group of characters (some 4400, some not) manage to rebuild their lives after the ball of light, and how other people make them outcasts and are scared of the 4400. The two main characters aren't even 4400, but are Homeland Security agents who are tasked with helping the 4400's to readjust to society.

It's a very well done show, with lots of interesting characters (and not just because of their abilities). The first season is only 5 episodes long (the first one is two hours long), but it's packed with action, and the two later season improve on the preceding ones. Which I'm hoping means good things this summer, since it's a summer series on USA.

So borrow it, watch it, and beg the current seasons episodes off of me when you catch up. It's that good. Oh yeah. New episodes start Sunday, June 17 at 9 PM.

It's that time of the month...

While I should probably be putting up my movie/tv show of the month, instead I'm going to start another monthly trend, although I'll probably end up making it a twice a month thing. I got a book of Who's Your TV Alter Ego today, so I'm going to be putting up some of the questions. Comment your answers, and in about a week I'll put up all the results. And if you don't answer, I'll just have to answer for you, and you won't be able to complain about who you are.

Oh, and I'm not going to tell you which show I've picked until after you've answered.

Note: When answering the questions, don't pick your favorite of the possible answers, pick what best suits you. And if there's two that are equally true, you can pick more than one answer for each question. Just don't do it often, because it makes work for me.

1. If you were a bird, you'd be..
a) toucan
b) swan
c) flamingo
d) cardinal
e) hawk

2. If you were a Dr. Seuss character, you'd be...
a) Yertle the Turtle
b) the Cat in the Hat
c) Sam-I-Am
d) the Lorax
e) the Sneeches

3. If you were sold at a bake sale, you'd be...
a) brownies
b) Rice Krispies Treats
c) oatmeal raisin cookies
d) cupcakes
e) sponge cake

4. If you were a piece of jewelry, you'd be a...
a) stud earring
b) shell necklace
c) rubber bracelet
d) rope anklet
e) diamond tiara

5. If you were a piece of furniture, you'd be a...
a) desk
b) vanity
c) chest of drawers
d) lamp
e) love seat

6. If you were a school supply, you'd be a
a) protractor
b) pencil sharpener
c) ruler
d) magic marker
e) eraser

7. If you were a Tom Cruise movie, you'd be...
a) Risky Business
b) Top Gun
c) A Few Good Men
d) Jerry Maguire
e) Rain Man

8. If you were a breakfast beverage, you'd be...
a) orange juice
b) coffee
c) grapefruit juice
d) tea
e) a Bloody Mary

9. If you were a Monopoly piece, you'd be...
a) wheelbarrow
b) thimble
c) Scottie
d) top hat
e) race car

10. If you were a synonym for the word "saved," you'd be...
a) "hoarded"
b) "liberated"
c) "converted"
d) "treasured"
e) "helped"

They're getting younger and younger

I heard an advertisement on the radio for a dance studio, and they accept children aged 18 months and up. Can infants who are a year and a half old really be coordinated enough to dance, let alone follow instructions and comprehend what to do? Now, granted, I don't know much about little kids (don't make me deal with them until they're at least 2.5), but you had asked me, I wouldn't have even been sure that 18 month olds could walk, let alone dance.

It does remind me of a scene in the Gilmore Girls' pilot. I'd describe it to you, but I really can't do it justice, so you'll have to watch it for yourself.

EOM adjustments

My two week adventure with third graders is now over, and I must say, getting paid to show kids movies and teach them oragami isn't such a bad thing. I ended up showing them two classic films and one not-so-classic film, and taught them about the legend that is Robin Hood (full with Norman/Saxon oppression and all!). I have plenty of tidbits to relate, but that will have to wait until I get back from Yosemite.

Every year my family goes with about 10 other families for a weekend vacation in Yosemite, right around Memorial Day. The conversations are generally very interesting (they tend to focus around education since over the years almost every single adult has become a teacher), and while the kids are mostly younger than me, I grew up with most of the, so it's okay.

I'm sure I'll have plenty to say about that too, once I get back, especially since I'm going to have to put up with Robby all weekend. Thank goodness for Soren, that's all I can say. Also, when I get back I'll have my latest DVD/TV show that I think everybody should watch this month. I bet you're really looking forward to that.