NCIS - Still entertaining. Watch one ep, liked it, probably like rest as all the same. Doing some story arc thing with Denoso (however you spell it) having found and lost love but its not dragging anything down. Where most shows would make it the focus, here its just a subplot.
Beauty and the Geek - I have decided that Rebecca is my new favorite. Because she is the prettiest. That's the only reason. If went for brains I would be SOL after all.
Bones - Same o same o. Just read the first book featuring the character Temperance and it turns out the book character and the show character are nothing alike except in job title. The book Tempe was married, has a child, has social skills and lot longer list then that. It get the impression that someone came up with the autopsy person solves crimes angle. Fox, figuring that might be a lawsuit waiting to happen, attached themselves to Kathy Reichs and simply renamed the lead. This gave them a built in audience from the book and saved them from getting sued. Sounds like a grand conspiracy but really the ONLY similarities between the book and the show is the job title, name, and mystery genre. The rest is all new from the show's creator and writers.
Reaper - I am digging this show. Very entertaining, creative, and humorous. Its got it all going on. Might be my favorite new show of the season. So it will probably get cancelled.
House - Liking Survivor style House. Humorous, little ruthless, have a few characters wouldn't mind he keeps including the two main women, Olivia Wilde and the other one. I don't like the return of the original 3. They where fired, time to move on. Also for Mrs. Morrison, blond hair is not doing her any favors. Last year it was the skeletor look, this year its the dumb blonde look. None makes her look as beautiful as she did that first season.
Boston Legal - I honestly don't know why I watch this show. Its so damn silly. Yet I still do it.
Law & Order: SVU - Same o same o, once again in a good way. I am thinking Second Life didn't like this episode with the implications that predators might use the site to find victims.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Week 2 New Season 10/2
NCIS - STill entertaining. Watch one ep, liked it, probably like rest as all the same. Doing some storyarc thing with Denoso (however you spell it) having found and lost love but its not dragging anything down. Where most shows would make it the focus, here its just a subplot.
Beauty and the Geek - I have decided that Rebecca is my new favorite. Because she is the prettiest. Thats the only reason. If went for brains I would be SOL afterall.
Bones - Same o same o. Just read the first book featuring the character Temperance and it turns out the book character and the show character are nothing alike except in job title. The book Tempe was married, has a child, has social skills and lot longer list then that. It get the impression that someone came up with the autopsy person solves crimes angle. Fox, figuring that might be a lawsuit waiting to happen, attached themselves to Kathy Reichs and simply renamed the lead. This gave them a built in audience from the book and saved them from getting sued. Sounds like a grand conspiracy but really the ONLY similarities between the book and the show is the job title, name, and mystery genre. The rest is all new from the show's creator and writers.
Reaper - I am digging this show. Very entertaining, creative, and humourous. Its got it all going on. Might be my favorite new show of the season. So it will probably get cancelled.
House - Liking Survivor style House. Humorous, little ruthless, have a few characters wouldn't mind he keeps including the two main women, Olivia Wilde and the other one. I don't like the return of the originial 3. They where fired, time to move on. Also for Mrs. Morrison, blond hair is not doing her any favors. Last year it was the skeletor look, this year its the dumb blonde look. None makes her look as beautiful as she did that first season.
Boston Legal - I honestly don't know why I watch this show. Its so damn silly. Yet I still do it.
Law & Order: SVU - Same o same o, once again in a good way. I am thinking Second Life didn't like this episode with the implications that predators might use the site to find victims.
Beauty and the Geek - I have decided that Rebecca is my new favorite. Because she is the prettiest. Thats the only reason. If went for brains I would be SOL afterall.
Bones - Same o same o. Just read the first book featuring the character Temperance and it turns out the book character and the show character are nothing alike except in job title. The book Tempe was married, has a child, has social skills and lot longer list then that. It get the impression that someone came up with the autopsy person solves crimes angle. Fox, figuring that might be a lawsuit waiting to happen, attached themselves to Kathy Reichs and simply renamed the lead. This gave them a built in audience from the book and saved them from getting sued. Sounds like a grand conspiracy but really the ONLY similarities between the book and the show is the job title, name, and mystery genre. The rest is all new from the show's creator and writers.
Reaper - I am digging this show. Very entertaining, creative, and humourous. Its got it all going on. Might be my favorite new show of the season. So it will probably get cancelled.
House - Liking Survivor style House. Humorous, little ruthless, have a few characters wouldn't mind he keeps including the two main women, Olivia Wilde and the other one. I don't like the return of the originial 3. They where fired, time to move on. Also for Mrs. Morrison, blond hair is not doing her any favors. Last year it was the skeletor look, this year its the dumb blonde look. None makes her look as beautiful as she did that first season.
Boston Legal - I honestly don't know why I watch this show. Its so damn silly. Yet I still do it.
Law & Order: SVU - Same o same o, once again in a good way. I am thinking Second Life didn't like this episode with the implications that predators might use the site to find victims.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Week 2 New Season 10/1
The second week has started and get to continue the mini reviews and more shows take a bow and other shows prove if they have legs or not. The pilots are not always proof of a show's full potential after all. Sometimes an entire season isn't, even thought I doubt the networks will have patience to wait that long.
How I Met Your Mother - Not much to say. I laughed and I laughed some more. Last week was good. This week was good. Chances are so will the next few weeks. I am however glad that they have ended the other boyfriend subplot for Robin (hmmm Cobie Smulders).
Prison Break - The first season prison break was exciting, new and complicated. The third season prison break is getting pretty darn dull and seems familiar...like the first season. The show is good but I wish it would move along a little faster. Well are the puzzles, the problems etc that would be worth watching.
Chuck - A am digging this show. Its very entertaining and good. Its moving along the Chuck has secrets subplot, getting him use to being a target and having secrets. Based on the preview it looks like the next ep he gets thrown in the deep end. Should be good and funny. Part of the reason though enjoying the show is the delightful eye candy combo of Yvonne Strzechowsky (oh those eyes) and little used Sarah Lancaster (oh that smile). Much crushing going on.
Heroes - This season seems to be going alot slower then last season. More carefully paced, not sure if that's a good thing or not. One subplot already tired of is the twin subplot. Last year the nuclear man knew he was a danger to others and tried to control his powers in seclusion. This year we have an emotional trainwreck that seems to have no problem risking killing those around her. Not attempt at control, no attempt at seclusion, no real concern for others really. Normally we would call that psychotic behavior but here, because her bro loves her and she cries alot, its supposed to be tragic. The character's body count is already greater then Silar's and already irredeemable. Worse this subplot is boring. Kill the twins and move on to something interesting!
Journeyman - I watched the pilot because of Moon Bloodgood. She is a talented knockout in need of a hit. Sadly this probably isn't going to be it. Chances are it will not survive the month. Which is a shame as this show has a great deal of potential, I think it just needs better writers. The present day wife in distress dealing with the time traveling husband is not terribly interesting. Also the consequences of his time traveling interference is minor at best. That worked in the days of Quantum Leap but now it has to have meat. There has to be consequences good and bad. Also there should be no guarantees of success. I guess what I mean is the show lacks stakes. Show the domino effect. Show the changes that are being wrought. Make it count.
CSI: Miami - Its CSI, same as last week. Nothing new to add.
How I Met Your Mother - Not much to say. I laughed and I laughed some more. Last week was good. This week was good. Chances are so will the next few weeks. I am however glad that they have ended the other boyfriend subplot for Robin (hmmm Cobie Smulders).
Prison Break - The first season prison break was exciting, new and complicated. The third season prison break is getting pretty darn dull and seems familiar...like the first season. The show is good but I wish it would move along a little faster. Well are the puzzles, the problems etc that would be worth watching.
Chuck - A am digging this show. Its very entertaining and good. Its moving along the Chuck has secrets subplot, getting him use to being a target and having secrets. Based on the preview it looks like the next ep he gets thrown in the deep end. Should be good and funny. Part of the reason though enjoying the show is the delightful eye candy combo of Yvonne Strzechowsky (oh those eyes) and little used Sarah Lancaster (oh that smile). Much crushing going on.
Heroes - This season seems to be going alot slower then last season. More carefully paced, not sure if that's a good thing or not. One subplot already tired of is the twin subplot. Last year the nuclear man knew he was a danger to others and tried to control his powers in seclusion. This year we have an emotional trainwreck that seems to have no problem risking killing those around her. Not attempt at control, no attempt at seclusion, no real concern for others really. Normally we would call that psychotic behavior but here, because her bro loves her and she cries alot, its supposed to be tragic. The character's body count is already greater then Silar's and already irredeemable. Worse this subplot is boring. Kill the twins and move on to something interesting!
Journeyman - I watched the pilot because of Moon Bloodgood. She is a talented knockout in need of a hit. Sadly this probably isn't going to be it. Chances are it will not survive the month. Which is a shame as this show has a great deal of potential, I think it just needs better writers. The present day wife in distress dealing with the time traveling husband is not terribly interesting. Also the consequences of his time traveling interference is minor at best. That worked in the days of Quantum Leap but now it has to have meat. There has to be consequences good and bad. Also there should be no guarantees of success. I guess what I mean is the show lacks stakes. Show the domino effect. Show the changes that are being wrought. Make it count.
CSI: Miami - Its CSI, same as last week. Nothing new to add.
Monday, October 01, 2007
Videos: Legos and Dice Stacking
Click here for a video of a team putting together the new LEGO Millennium Falcon that is made up of about 5000 pieces. Total time for the group was 2 hours 53 minutes. Makes you wonder how long it takes for one person to do it.
Below is a Lego automatic flusher built from NXT Mindstorms system, for those that want the retail flushing experience.
Click here for a slick time lapse video that shows skillful and very fast dice manipulation. Not sure what use the skill is, but still impressive.
Below is a Lego automatic flusher built from NXT Mindstorms system, for those that want the retail flushing experience.
Click here for a slick time lapse video that shows skillful and very fast dice manipulation. Not sure what use the skill is, but still impressive.
AT&T Contracted Censorship
AT&T has a new terms of service for its subscribers that basically declares that if you speak will of the company they can terminate your service.
"AT&T may immediately terminate or suspend all or a portion of your Service, any Member ID, electronic mail address, IP address, Universal Resource Locator or domain name used by you, without notice, for conduct that AT&T believes ... tends to damage the name or reputation of AT&T, or its parents, affiliates and subsidiaries."
Key words is "believes" and "damages...AT&T". Problem with the world "believes" in legal documentation is its wide open for interpretation and can include anything and everything under the sun including this point.
I am not worried though, between AT&T's war on net neutrality, general bad business practices, price gouging, poor customer service and so on, I have and hope to avoid ever being their customer. I want an iPhone but its not worth dealing with AT&T.
Realistically, I doubt this will be enforced (unless you just generally piss people off at AT&T say with lawsuits) but if its not something they tend to actively enforce why have it at all and why in those terms? Why do they create terms that police what the customers may or may not say about the company? All in all its just bad customer relations, but being a virtual monopoly with congress in the back pocket, I guess it doesn't matter.
"AT&T may immediately terminate or suspend all or a portion of your Service, any Member ID, electronic mail address, IP address, Universal Resource Locator or domain name used by you, without notice, for conduct that AT&T believes ... tends to damage the name or reputation of AT&T, or its parents, affiliates and subsidiaries."
Key words is "believes" and "damages...AT&T". Problem with the world "believes" in legal documentation is its wide open for interpretation and can include anything and everything under the sun including this point.
I am not worried though, between AT&T's war on net neutrality, general bad business practices, price gouging, poor customer service and so on, I have and hope to avoid ever being their customer. I want an iPhone but its not worth dealing with AT&T.
Realistically, I doubt this will be enforced (unless you just generally piss people off at AT&T say with lawsuits) but if its not something they tend to actively enforce why have it at all and why in those terms? Why do they create terms that police what the customers may or may not say about the company? All in all its just bad customer relations, but being a virtual monopoly with congress in the back pocket, I guess it doesn't matter.
New Season 9/30
Whee Sunday with the return of stuff.
Desperate Housewives - Women are hot. Everyone has secrets. So and so forth. Last few seasons redux.
Brothers and Sisters - Hmmm Emily VanCamp. Other people do stuff to. Its a meladrama with a good sense of humor. Like ER, I record it and just watch the storylines interested in and skip the rest.
Cold Case - Its the same crime drama its been for many seasons now. If liked it in the past will now.
Shark - I watch it but sometimes don't know why. Woods is the usual scenary chewer which is actually getting to be a bit one note. One of those that will watch if have time but if I miss it, don't feel like I missed anything.
Gossip Girl - I want to like this show. Watched two eps now. The women are hot. The two main lead characters Dan and Serena (Blake Lively gorgeous sister of the gorgeous Robyn Lively) have good on screen chemsistry. When the show is focused on them its gets more interseting. As soon as it drifts to the supporting cast it gets dull and silly. Probably going to pass on this one.
Simpsons - Same as the previous 18 seasons. I still see it as must see tv.
King of the Hill - If this show was a life action comedy it would have already won more then a few Emmys. Great cartoon.
Family Guy - Over the top as always creating great entertaining television.
American Dad - Eh my interest comes and goes. Sometimes its funny other times its just to silly.
Dexter - The plot gets thicker as the watery grave of Dexter's kills are discovered. That plot alone is enough to fuel an entire season but sure all kinds of other things will be going on. One of the programs look forward to each Sunday.
Desperate Housewives - Women are hot. Everyone has secrets. So and so forth. Last few seasons redux.
Brothers and Sisters - Hmmm Emily VanCamp. Other people do stuff to. Its a meladrama with a good sense of humor. Like ER, I record it and just watch the storylines interested in and skip the rest.
Cold Case - Its the same crime drama its been for many seasons now. If liked it in the past will now.
Shark - I watch it but sometimes don't know why. Woods is the usual scenary chewer which is actually getting to be a bit one note. One of those that will watch if have time but if I miss it, don't feel like I missed anything.
Gossip Girl - I want to like this show. Watched two eps now. The women are hot. The two main lead characters Dan and Serena (Blake Lively gorgeous sister of the gorgeous Robyn Lively) have good on screen chemsistry. When the show is focused on them its gets more interseting. As soon as it drifts to the supporting cast it gets dull and silly. Probably going to pass on this one.
Simpsons - Same as the previous 18 seasons. I still see it as must see tv.
King of the Hill - If this show was a life action comedy it would have already won more then a few Emmys. Great cartoon.
Family Guy - Over the top as always creating great entertaining television.
American Dad - Eh my interest comes and goes. Sometimes its funny other times its just to silly.
Dexter - The plot gets thicker as the watery grave of Dexter's kills are discovered. That plot alone is enough to fuel an entire season but sure all kinds of other things will be going on. One of the programs look forward to each Sunday.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
New Season 9/28
First Friday of the new season and not as much new stuff as the previous days.
Moonlight - Vampire investigator, shades of Angel. But not as good or compelling. Its pretty average vampire stuff, but nothing like this on television currently so points there. Will give it a few more eps to grab my attention more.
Numbers - Same as the previous seasons. The wonders of math (and most probably exaggerated and not true). I liked it last season so probably will this season.
Las Vegas - James Caan (darn) and anarexic plastic surgery loving Nikki Cox are gone. Replaced by Tom Selleck. Who plays a cowboy. Literally. In both look and approach. To soon to tell if it too stupid to get past or just stupid enough to entertain. Ultimately Las Vegas remains popcorn movie of television. Its not there to study the human condition or teach. It just wants to entertain and most of the time it does just that.
Stargate: Atlantis - Sigh I miss Stargate. It did its job well - be entertaining. Atlantis does to, just not as well as the orginial. Still they do what no other show does on television (now) and have great cliffhangers and over the top story telling. Some compare it to Star Trek and Star Wars which isn't a fair comparison. Its not meant to be them. It just wants to tell a lot of stories in its own universe in an enteraining way which I have enjoyed immensely for 10 years and plan to continue to do so.
Moonlight - Vampire investigator, shades of Angel. But not as good or compelling. Its pretty average vampire stuff, but nothing like this on television currently so points there. Will give it a few more eps to grab my attention more.
Numbers - Same as the previous seasons. The wonders of math (and most probably exaggerated and not true). I liked it last season so probably will this season.
Las Vegas - James Caan (darn) and anarexic plastic surgery loving Nikki Cox are gone. Replaced by Tom Selleck. Who plays a cowboy. Literally. In both look and approach. To soon to tell if it too stupid to get past or just stupid enough to entertain. Ultimately Las Vegas remains popcorn movie of television. Its not there to study the human condition or teach. It just wants to entertain and most of the time it does just that.
Stargate: Atlantis - Sigh I miss Stargate. It did its job well - be entertaining. Atlantis does to, just not as well as the orginial. Still they do what no other show does on television (now) and have great cliffhangers and over the top story telling. Some compare it to Star Trek and Star Wars which isn't a fair comparison. Its not meant to be them. It just wants to tell a lot of stories in its own universe in an enteraining way which I have enjoyed immensely for 10 years and plan to continue to do so.
Friday, September 28, 2007
New Season 9/27
Ah the crowded Thursday. So many channels so little VCRs.
My Name Is Earl - Continues to be funny. The delicious Jamie Pressley continues to chew scenery.
The Office - I am entertained by the show but I notice I don't actually laugh that much. Its one of those that if I missed it, I wouldn't particularly care.
ER - Its ER. The formula hasn't changed a bit with just enough interesting characters to overcome the crappy ones. With the help of the trusty remote can usually speed through an hour ep in about half hour by skipping the uninteresting story arcs of the ep.
Smallville - Drool, the lovely and gorgeous Allison Mack. Her character continues to be the emotional center of the show and she continues to show why with acting skills that far far outpaces the others. I was entertained by the ending teaser with Supergirl flying...well they might want to spend a little more on those flying effects.
CSI - The original remains the best. Sara remains alive (darn) but the episode was intense and well paced. Remains on the must see list.
Without a Trace - More episodes I watch the less interested I keep becoming. Even the introduction of James Marsters may not be enough to keep me watching through the season.
Ugly Betty - More of the same of first season and thats not a good thing. Lot of storyline recyling and I am simply getting bored with it.
Grey's Anatomy - Me thinks the launching of Private Practice is running the writing staff and others ragged as its clearly suffering. Hopefully it will find its legs but I don't know if I have the patience to wait. The long series of will he or she that goes on and on and on is getting really really boring.
Big Shots - I like the cast. The funny comes and goes but don't know if will stick with. I will give it a few more eps to make sure.
My Name Is Earl - Continues to be funny. The delicious Jamie Pressley continues to chew scenery.
The Office - I am entertained by the show but I notice I don't actually laugh that much. Its one of those that if I missed it, I wouldn't particularly care.
ER - Its ER. The formula hasn't changed a bit with just enough interesting characters to overcome the crappy ones. With the help of the trusty remote can usually speed through an hour ep in about half hour by skipping the uninteresting story arcs of the ep.
Smallville - Drool, the lovely and gorgeous Allison Mack. Her character continues to be the emotional center of the show and she continues to show why with acting skills that far far outpaces the others. I was entertained by the ending teaser with Supergirl flying...well they might want to spend a little more on those flying effects.
CSI - The original remains the best. Sara remains alive (darn) but the episode was intense and well paced. Remains on the must see list.
Without a Trace - More episodes I watch the less interested I keep becoming. Even the introduction of James Marsters may not be enough to keep me watching through the season.
Ugly Betty - More of the same of first season and thats not a good thing. Lot of storyline recyling and I am simply getting bored with it.
Grey's Anatomy - Me thinks the launching of Private Practice is running the writing staff and others ragged as its clearly suffering. Hopefully it will find its legs but I don't know if I have the patience to wait. The long series of will he or she that goes on and on and on is getting really really boring.
Big Shots - I like the cast. The funny comes and goes but don't know if will stick with. I will give it a few more eps to make sure.
New Season 9/26
Oops thought I had done this already and discovered I hadn't. So on to pocket reviews of Wednesday programs.
Private Practice - DOA unless it improves and quickly. It frankly bored me. The addison character is lovely, but the emsemble as a whole doesn't hold my attention. Considering the calibur of the cast, I am thinking its the writing thats dropping the ball.
Dirty Sexy Money - Hmmm Zoe McCellan. Fan of hers for quite a while. Lovely women. Not enough to get me to keep watching this show. Its has a lot of potential but the whining of the rich and famous just doesn't grab my interest.
Criminial Minds - Fabulous as always and good job of making use of Mandy in the one episode he will be in before his famous walkout. I hope more shows learn from this and remember that the talent can be and should be replaced when their ego gets in the way of getting the job done. Any case, another outstanding if depressing ep and a show that remains on my must see list.
CSI:NY - Still the red-headed stepchild of the CSI franchise. Despite my best efforts I just can't get that into this show. I think I watch more out of habit then real interest. I notice I zone out more and more while watching this show and just don't seem to care.
Back To You - Its got Fraiser playing Frasier as a newscaster. I laughed and was entertained so mission accomplished. Probably already clearing shelf space for Emmy's even though its no where near that good.
Bionic Women - Lots of potential. Katie Sackhoff pretty much steals every scene she is in. Also she somehow became sexy. Not sure when that happened. Very odd. The show could be good, very good but something is holding it back but can't put my finger on it. Lack of imagniation might be part of the problem...or budget. Saddling Jamie with a sister she has to raise wasn't a good move either. They want to humanize the character and rather doing it the hard way - through the story, they decided to go lazy by giving her the abusive father abandons sister she must raise backstory. The problem is the usual problem with giving characters kids in dramas...you have to keep dealing with them. To ignore their existence is to make the person a crappy parent which is not a good characteristic for the hero. Even the pilot ep showed how they had no idea what to do with the kid now that they where saddled with her. Big problem. Jettison the sister as soon as possible and focus on the rest of the adult emsemble. Dang that was long but the sister bit really really dragged the pilot episode down and is very very lazy writing which doesn't bode well for the future of this series.
Life - This is a strange show with a strange character. Sarah Shahi and Brooke Langston where yummy throughout but I can't determine if I like it or not. I am going to give it a few more eps before making up my mind.
Gossip Girl - Didn't watch this week but did last week. Was bored throughout. Once again the whining of the rich and famous just doesn't interest me.
Private Practice - DOA unless it improves and quickly. It frankly bored me. The addison character is lovely, but the emsemble as a whole doesn't hold my attention. Considering the calibur of the cast, I am thinking its the writing thats dropping the ball.
Dirty Sexy Money - Hmmm Zoe McCellan. Fan of hers for quite a while. Lovely women. Not enough to get me to keep watching this show. Its has a lot of potential but the whining of the rich and famous just doesn't grab my interest.
Criminial Minds - Fabulous as always and good job of making use of Mandy in the one episode he will be in before his famous walkout. I hope more shows learn from this and remember that the talent can be and should be replaced when their ego gets in the way of getting the job done. Any case, another outstanding if depressing ep and a show that remains on my must see list.
CSI:NY - Still the red-headed stepchild of the CSI franchise. Despite my best efforts I just can't get that into this show. I think I watch more out of habit then real interest. I notice I zone out more and more while watching this show and just don't seem to care.
Back To You - Its got Fraiser playing Frasier as a newscaster. I laughed and was entertained so mission accomplished. Probably already clearing shelf space for Emmy's even though its no where near that good.
Bionic Women - Lots of potential. Katie Sackhoff pretty much steals every scene she is in. Also she somehow became sexy. Not sure when that happened. Very odd. The show could be good, very good but something is holding it back but can't put my finger on it. Lack of imagniation might be part of the problem...or budget. Saddling Jamie with a sister she has to raise wasn't a good move either. They want to humanize the character and rather doing it the hard way - through the story, they decided to go lazy by giving her the abusive father abandons sister she must raise backstory. The problem is the usual problem with giving characters kids in dramas...you have to keep dealing with them. To ignore their existence is to make the person a crappy parent which is not a good characteristic for the hero. Even the pilot ep showed how they had no idea what to do with the kid now that they where saddled with her. Big problem. Jettison the sister as soon as possible and focus on the rest of the adult emsemble. Dang that was long but the sister bit really really dragged the pilot episode down and is very very lazy writing which doesn't bode well for the future of this series.
Life - This is a strange show with a strange character. Sarah Shahi and Brooke Langston where yummy throughout but I can't determine if I like it or not. I am going to give it a few more eps before making up my mind.
Gossip Girl - Didn't watch this week but did last week. Was bored throughout. Once again the whining of the rich and famous just doesn't interest me.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
New Season 9-25
More TV, more comments to share on the stuff I decided to watch.
House - Hey its House. Same as the last seasons. He is still a dick. He still gets it "right" yet somehow wrong. In the real world he would have been tossed out long ago and broke from lawsuits. But in TV land he continues to amuse and I personally am looking forward to his interviews "survivor" style that will be running theme of the next few eps.
Law and Order: SVU - Same as last season. Continues to entertain while being a bit disturbing. One of the best dramas on TV.
Boston Legal - Hmm I like and don't like the show. The casting director continues to have an eye for beauty. The writing (and acting) continues to be over the top. Shatner continues to chew the scenery while really having very little to do. Basically at this point its 50% boring, 50% entertaining, but the entertaining part is usually so well done its worth the boring.
Beauty and the Geek - I am a geek so it speaks to me. Sadly the "Aspiring" Playmate Amanda was kicked, probably resulting in an excellent rebound that would make a basketball proud if she landed chest first when kicked out. The sentiment and humanity of the show's first season remains on vacation and unlikely to return.
Reaper - The pilot ep was directed by Kevin Smith. How do you know this? Because the credits tell you. Otherwise its presentation was no different then any other show. As for the show itself, its like Supernatural with a better sense of humor. Overall entertaining and worth checking it.
House - Hey its House. Same as the last seasons. He is still a dick. He still gets it "right" yet somehow wrong. In the real world he would have been tossed out long ago and broke from lawsuits. But in TV land he continues to amuse and I personally am looking forward to his interviews "survivor" style that will be running theme of the next few eps.
Law and Order: SVU - Same as last season. Continues to entertain while being a bit disturbing. One of the best dramas on TV.
Boston Legal - Hmm I like and don't like the show. The casting director continues to have an eye for beauty. The writing (and acting) continues to be over the top. Shatner continues to chew the scenery while really having very little to do. Basically at this point its 50% boring, 50% entertaining, but the entertaining part is usually so well done its worth the boring.
Beauty and the Geek - I am a geek so it speaks to me. Sadly the "Aspiring" Playmate Amanda was kicked, probably resulting in an excellent rebound that would make a basketball proud if she landed chest first when kicked out. The sentiment and humanity of the show's first season remains on vacation and unlikely to return.
Reaper - The pilot ep was directed by Kevin Smith. How do you know this? Because the credits tell you. Otherwise its presentation was no different then any other show. As for the show itself, its like Supernatural with a better sense of humor. Overall entertaining and worth checking it.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
New Season 9-24
The new season has started across the board for the big 4. Yesterday Fox started things with their cartoon lineup. Simpsons missed a step on the ep and wasted Colbert. King of the Hill was good if slightly over the top. Family Guy was completely over the top and hilarious as always.
So now to Monday. Lots of new stuff and lots of returning favorites. Being lazy, not going to do paragraphs of reviews, more just blurbs of what I thought of the stuff I watched or recorded.
How I Met Your Mother - Hilarious as always. I miss Alyson Hannigan's red hair. She is still hot, but considering how rare natural redheads are, just don't get this tendency to die it away.
CSI: Miami - New season, same stories. Its entertaining enough but it appears the Horatio with son storyline is going to be as tedious as all his family related storylines from seasons past.
Prison Break - Second ep. Still not sure if my attention is grabbed. Everything is a little to easy this season. "Whistler" has been hiding for years in a hole and suddenly everyone knows where he is. The water pipes have been broken for a year and boom, our hero knows exactly where and what to do to fix the problem. I don't know, its tiresome. Hopefully the prison break will not take all season long. Don't think can wait that long.
Chuck - The pilot ep was very entertaining. Overall its a show I will continue to watch and it doesn't hurt to have the beautiful eye candy in the form of Sarah Lancaster (currently wasted) and Yvonne Strzechowski. Worth checking out if you haven't already.
Heroes - Woot season 2 begins. New mysteries to discover including the murder of George Takai (darnit). If you liked the first season, there is not reason not to watch the second.
Journeyman - Good first ep. The time traveling motif can be very entertaining if handled well. So far so good. The only problem is while the dude is in the past, time still moves forward in the present. The result is having to explain sudden and sometimes long disappearances to his family and friends. This is fine as a short term character device, but 22 eps of explaining those disappearances is going to get very old very quick. Hopefully a permanent solution will present itself by mid-season.
So now to Monday. Lots of new stuff and lots of returning favorites. Being lazy, not going to do paragraphs of reviews, more just blurbs of what I thought of the stuff I watched or recorded.
How I Met Your Mother - Hilarious as always. I miss Alyson Hannigan's red hair. She is still hot, but considering how rare natural redheads are, just don't get this tendency to die it away.
CSI: Miami - New season, same stories. Its entertaining enough but it appears the Horatio with son storyline is going to be as tedious as all his family related storylines from seasons past.
Prison Break - Second ep. Still not sure if my attention is grabbed. Everything is a little to easy this season. "Whistler" has been hiding for years in a hole and suddenly everyone knows where he is. The water pipes have been broken for a year and boom, our hero knows exactly where and what to do to fix the problem. I don't know, its tiresome. Hopefully the prison break will not take all season long. Don't think can wait that long.
Chuck - The pilot ep was very entertaining. Overall its a show I will continue to watch and it doesn't hurt to have the beautiful eye candy in the form of Sarah Lancaster (currently wasted) and Yvonne Strzechowski. Worth checking out if you haven't already.
Heroes - Woot season 2 begins. New mysteries to discover including the murder of George Takai (darnit). If you liked the first season, there is not reason not to watch the second.
Journeyman - Good first ep. The time traveling motif can be very entertaining if handled well. So far so good. The only problem is while the dude is in the past, time still moves forward in the present. The result is having to explain sudden and sometimes long disappearances to his family and friends. This is fine as a short term character device, but 22 eps of explaining those disappearances is going to get very old very quick. Hopefully a permanent solution will present itself by mid-season.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Google Sued For Secret SSN Code
In a sign of the stupidity of many in our times, Dylan Jayne is suing Google for 5 billion because of their name. Or as he puts it "I, Dylan Stephan Jayne, plaintiff, has a social security number that when the social security number is turned upside down in its entirety it is a scrambled code that does spell the name Google." Oh yeah, and all five pages of the lawsuit is handwritten in the format that most lawsuits of this nature follow.Ironically, considering how much traction even obvious frivolous lawsuits get in the US, Jacob has a 50/50 chance of actually winning this.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Special Comment: Bush's Hypocrisy
Keith Olbermann had another special comment yesterday on Countdown (transcript here). This time he tears into for his comments regarding the "Betray Us" ad from moveon.org. Olbermann does an excellent job of point out Bush's hypocrasy using recent history with Swift boating Kerry, Max Cleland "cowardice", the overall fear focused campaigning and how apparently for Bush's goals, there is not such thing as a low blow. Olbermann also uses American history to highlight that until Bush, Presidents tried to keep a clear line between the military and civilian branches. Basically the rules is leave the politics to the politicians and the generals to protecting the country. Instead, thanks to Bush, a general has been used to promote a political agenda. The "pimping" of General Petraeus. Bush is the worst president in the history of this country and he continues to prove why this is the case.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Kathy "the Anti-Christ" Griffin Larry King Interview
Kathy Griffin is enjoying a little bit of the controvery spotlight do to her comments of not thanking Jesus for her Emmy win, saying "he had nothing to do with it." Christian groups, mostly wanting more donations, pounced all over it. Apparently, it IS actually a rule you are supposed to thank Jesus for helping you win stuff. As Kathy points out, you would think Jesus would have better things to do then help celebrities and athletes win awards. According the the Christian groups, I guess that is not the case.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Countdown 9/11 To Iraq Summary of Failure
Keith Olbermann on Countdown yesterday put together a solid list of the lies and failures of the bush administration in using 9/11 to bring about the Iraqi War. Its just highlights what a complete and utter failure the Bush administration has been from day 1 where failure gets you promoted and awards.
A video can be found here.
A video can be found here.
Jon Stewart Hosting 2008 Oscars
According to the New York Times, Jon Stewart has been tapped to once again host the 2008 Oscars. He previousily hosted in 2006.
Great news as I thought his hosting performance last time was great and hoping he brings more Daily Show humor to it this time. He had a touch last time but I say more the merrier. The Oscars are too darn stuffy as it is.
(source)
Great news as I thought his hosting performance last time was great and hoping he brings more Daily Show humor to it this time. He had a touch last time but I say more the merrier. The Oscars are too darn stuffy as it is.
(source)
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
9/11 - Six Years Later
Its now been six years to the day. A lot of things have happened. Some good, but sadly most bad. The years in between have not been good for this country as the leadership has failed in every way possible. As always time moves on. Below is the post 9/11 commentary from Jon Stewart that really summarizes everything. Its continues to be a solid message of hope and one worth repeating.
Insurance Tactics to Cheat Victims
Bloomberg.com has posted an article that covers the tactics the various insurance carriers use to avoid making payments or full payments. The worse offenders seem to be State Farm and especially Allstate who hired consultants to develop new methods to avoid payments that have become industries standard practices. Suffice it to say, read the article so know how they are trying to screw you and consider switching insurance carriers if your with State Farm and Allstate.
Click here to read the full article.
Click here to read the full article.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
New iPod Lineup from Apple
Today Steve Jobs hosted a keynote that introduced an entire updated line of iPods and modified iTunes store. The highlights include a new colors for the iPod Shuffle, a new designed nano with screen, the iPod Video (now Classic), and the iPod Touch. In addition iTunes has got an update with allowing the creating of ring tones (for 99 cents) and wi-fi music store. The details are below.
iPod Shuffle
- same design, same price ($79), additional new colors of dark red, purple, light blue, light green and red (for AIDS charity program for various electronic products).
- In stores this weekend
iPod Nano
- 2 models 4GB ($149) and 8GB ($199)
- basically a tiny iPod Video
- now has video capability and new user interface with Cover Flow and 3 games built in
- 2 inch QVGA 320x240 screen that is 65% brighter then previous models with 204 pizels per inch
- comes in dark red, purple, light blue and light green colors
- battery life: 24 hours audio or 5 hours video
- Available in stores this weekend
- Hands-on and pics: here and here and here
iPod Classic
- now 80GB ($249) and 160GB ($349) in size
- new GUI interface, but overall same as iPod Video its replacing
- all polished steel body except for clickwheel
- Cover Flow built in (but not as smooth as on iPhone)
- battery life: 40 hours audio or 7 hours video
- In stores by the weekend
- Hands-on and pics: here and here and here
iPod Touch
- basically the iPhone without phone capabilities
- touchscreen Cover Flow, Wi-Fi, Safari web browswer, iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store and YouTube but no email application
- Flash drives so 8GB model ($299) and 16GB model ($399)
- 3.5 inch widescreen display with light sensor to autodim the screen
- 8mm thin
- battery life: 22 hours audio or 5 hours video, no info on wi-fi does to battery though
- Ships worldwide by end of the month
- Walkthrough video here
- Hands-on and pics: video, and here and here and here
iTunes
- Now ability to create customized ring tones from 12 to 21 seconds in length using a graphic editor
- Ring tones made from existing library but costs an additional 99 cents.
- Ring tones for iPhone only.
- iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store available to download purchased songs directly from a wi-fi connection and later sync to new purchases back to desktop on iPod Touch and iPhone
- No mention on if/how podcasts and the like would work.
- Deal with Starbucks to sample and later purchase songs playing at Starbucks stores nationwide. Will take a year or so to roll out in the stores though.
- Hands-on and pics: here and here
iPhone
- $200 price drop for 8GB model (now $399), 4GB discontinued (remaining discounted to $299)
- update in less then month will introduce iTunes Wi-Fi store (I assume will come out at same time as iPod Touch)
Overall, if you in the market for an iPod, its a tough choice to make. Want video, just a player, like the bells and whistles of a touch screen? Five models, but lots of choices depending on your needs. Personally, I want the iPod Touch but the price is making me pause and wait it out. Not enough memory to make it worthwhile. Besides I want to see what the hack community does to that puppy.
Olbermann Special comment: No Credibility
Keith Olbermann tears into the Bush for playing with the lives and future of this country for his cavalier attitude about Iraq. Bush has said in a new book approved by him "I am playing for October-November...To get us in a position where the presidential candidates, will be comfortable about sustaining a presence." This statement makes it clear that Bush's goal is to sustain the war for indefinite period of time, no end in sight and no definition of what that end is. Basically Haliburton wants its fiscal year and be damned with the lives it costs. Or as Keith puts it "your holding our troops hostage." Most people call behavior like this evil. Because couched in terms of unproven terrorism fears though, we call it leadership. Pathetic.
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