Work It is bullshit

And you know this from the jump because NEITHER of those dudes is hot enough in drag to get a pharma job.

Sons of Anarchy FTW

TV can save your life.

This morning I got an email from my mom. Leaving aside the unlikelihood that it’s REAL, I’m going to copy and paste some of it:

While driving on a rural end of the roadway on Thursday morning, I saw an infant car seat on the side of the road with a blanket draped over it. For whatever reason, I did not stop, even though I had all kinds of thoughts running through my head.  But when I got to my destination, I called the Canton PD and they were going to check it out.  But, this is what the Police advised even before they went out there to check….“There are several things to be aware of …. gangs and thieves are now plotting different ways to get a person (mostly women) to stop their vehicle and get out of the car. “There is a gang initiation reported by the local Police Department where gangs are placing a car seat by the road…with a fake baby in it…waiting for a woman, of course, to stop and check on the abandoned baby. “Note that the location of this car seat is usually beside a wooded or grassy (field) area and the person — woman — will be dragged into the woods, beaten and raped, and usually left for dead.  If it’s a man, they’re usually beaten and robbed and maybe left for dead, too.

True Blood, Season 4

w00t!

So glad the show is back on, so glad Lafayette and Tara are chock full of awesome. Sookie was… Sookie-like. Most importantly, Pam kicks ass. The long ‘previously last season’ was warranted as GD it felt like it was a long time ago and it made for a great segue into Sookie’s fairyland adventure. As an HBOGo person, I also watched episode 2 last night and will probably watch it again next week. I saw a tweet that said Season 4 didn’t start with a bang. True. All the banging is in episode 2, fo sho.

I stopped reading the Southern Vampire series quite a while ago, mostly as the books began to be repetitive and mediocre. What I love about the HBO series is that they’ve deviated enough from the books to keep me hooked on where they’re going to go and made the characters interesting enough that I care.

Unrelated, except that it’s TV we got our Xbox hooked back up to Netflix and I watched the first episode of Sports Night again. I miss really good network TV. The basic cable networks are all doing things I love but I found Network disappointing pretty much all last season. Totally related: the interface for Netflix on the Xbox is so much better than on my Panasonic Blu-Ray player that I’m largely embarrassed for Panasonic.

Because atheism is SO CRAZY

This week’s Glee narrowly avoided getting it banned. By all means, all the characters should mock or try to dissuade the folk who don’t agree with them. Because it’s SO CHRISTIAN to be intolerant.

I was actually excited when Kurt said he didn’t believe in god because I thought “Whoa! We’re going to have THIS conversation!” Despite Glee fumbling some other storylines (or at least choking a bit) I was pretty hopeful that it might turn out to be good or even great. Sigh.

I’m glad Kurt got to stick to his guns, it’s just too bad it took a full episode of all his peers telling him that he couldn’t possibly be right and that life is too hard not to have god. Also, the only person who agrees with him is THE BAD GUY. Fuck you, Glee writers.

Luckily Kurt can look forward to many, many, many more years of the same treatment since the only religion REALLY tolerated in the US is Christianity. Not that I’m bitter.

If you haven’t seen the BSG finale, don’t read this post.

Unless, that is, you have no idea what I mean by BSG and in that case you probably won’t WANT to read this post.

I think the gut reaction for a lot of fans was that I WANT MY KARA/LEE 4EVAH. I’ll admit it – I totally felt it for about 15 seconds. And then I started thinking about the Kara/Lee dynamic and why that ending for them totally worked (because it did).

From the start, Kara and Lee were on separate courses destined for a collision. It starts with drunken flirting and Kara’s admission that she fears “being forgotten” most, while she’s dating/engaged to his BROTHER of all things. Kara is the absolute arbiter of self-destruction. On the other hand, all of her self-destructive behaviors and crazy widespread fallout ensure that she WON’T in fact be forgotten.

Their sexual tension doesn’t ever dissipate because they never REALLY consummate what they both clearly want. She’s afraid it will mean actual happiness and a descent into ‘comfortable,’ ‘normal’ – forgettable. She’s also afraid of disappointing Lee, of screwing it up. When they finally have sex, she takes off and marries Sam – ensuring that Lee will always wonder WTF – both about her and what it means about HIM, what he did wrong.

She’s never really serious with Sam and begins pushing him away almost immediately and guaranteeing that his life will also be halfway ruined by her. He can’t ever quite let her go because he never really had her to start with.

Meanwhile, she Starbucks for all she’s worth. Does the crazy things no one else does, has no fear of her death in these ridiculous exploits because even if she bites it – people will KNOW. She doesn’t mind being talked about, being badmouthed. She has clearly defined her role and never deviates – not for a moment. She’s a trainwreck. She takes a lot of prisoners, tortures them, and makes no apologies. She doesn’t apologize when Leoben takes HER prisoner. And when she’s told she has a destiny (over and over) she isn’t upset about THAT – she’s upset that she can’t SEE it, can’t touch it, can’t CONTROL it. She’s been so busy making herself memorable that she’s afraid to let go of the icon she’s created and is afraid her destiny might take it.

Lee, meanwhile, is always half a person. He’s always responsible for someone or TO someone. His brother, his father, Kara, Dee. He can’t be who he wants to be because it will hurt his brother (and his brother’s memory) if he really pursues Kara. He’s the guy who has to try and keep Kara put together since she’s so determined to flame out spectacularly and in public view. He can’t walk away from the military (or roles of responsibility) because his father’s gravitational pull is impossible to overcome. The only way he can defend himself is to try and create his own roles and ultimately falls short. His relationship with Dee was far less well defined but it becomes clear that Dee sees herself as the rebound girl. Lee is responsible again, for not making her feel valued or important. He’s still not able to be himself. He doesn’t have any idea who he is but he has a thousand ideas about who he COULD be if his life was just different.

And in the end, Kara has become something EVERYONE will remember. She’s remembered because NO ONE knows what she really was. An oracle, an angel, a savior? The contradiction – that someone so flawed could become something so mysteriously benefiical – has guaranteed her the one thing she wanted most. She is the enigma that allows them to keep living, keep believing. And when she leaves, she’s the perfect example for how you don’t REALLY get a second chance. You don’t get to have a second life where you can do everything right – even if you’ve learned from all your mistakes – or get to rewrite history. The second chance is a great idea but you have to live your life like you only get the one you’ve got. 

I wish Lee had chosen his own destiny, but it makes perfect sense that he can’t. Dee leaves him – twice – and the first time was an attempt to make him choose his own path. The second time she left, she was so far past him that he couldn’t even see her. His father leaves him as well, and I’m willing to wank that it’s because he knows Lee will never become his own man with the Admiral around. And Kara winks out in the moment before he can ask her to stay. He can see the thousand paths he might take but now he HAS to take one, and the only one he’s repsonsible to is himself. There is no one to live up to, no one to take care of, no accounting to be made. He gets to finally become Lee.

There are a few things I would quibble about with the finale, but this is the one thing the writers got perfectly and absolutely right.

TV roundup

House, M.D. I love that the writers always stay true to his cantankerousness. I love that last night’s episode was all about Monster Trucks and, simultaneously, not about Monster Trucks at all. I consistently just enjoy watching this show.

Castle. I thought the premiere was okay. I’m not a fan of crime shows where the lady cop is hot, lonely, and always in four inch heels. For “How to do this right” see The Mentalist. Nathan Fillion is kind of great, though, and I loved the end of the show. We’ll see how long they can draw this out without making the female lead seem like an utter nincompoop.

Heroes continues to be really good at what it does. Spouse missed a couple of episodes and is off of it, but I’m still liking how they put things together.

I was so glad for Medium to get back on the air! I love the way they depict the married couple, as well as the kids. They have some of the only kids on TV I find to be charming. I pretty much just love the show.

BSG continues to kick ass.

Burn Notice had a solid season. I was getting a bit annoyed with the whole ‘who framed me’ storyline but I really like the Michael/Fiona dynamic. I also LOVE Sam (Bruce Campbell). 

Chuck is also continuously awesome. 

Almost everything else is returning from their break next week.

I watched my first episode of Dancing With the Stars last night at work and I’ve got to say, I don’t get it. I don’t get why people love it so much.

Life is a great TV show

Not only is it a good crime drama with great characters and actors, it’s got fantastic music. I’m not the only one who thinks so.

This link is mostly for my reference.

I know you won’t believe this

But there’s an actual yoga post coming soon. Shocking, right?

Mom’s home from the hospital and feeling well. She’s on pain meds, so no driving for her. I head north on Thursday for about a half day and then fly back home on Friday morning.

Also, I totally have to post about Medium, Chuck, and Heroes.

Michigan’s State of the State was tonight and it is pretty much what you’d expect – not good. The good news is that at least the pay of elected officials is being cut (although I noticed the applause was decidedly not widespread). I’m glad that we’ve moved but worried that we still have a house here.

I think this meme is designed to make me feel bad about myself.

Empire Magazine has revealed its list of the 50 Greatest TV Shows ever. 

1. Bold the shows you watch/used to watch. 
2. Italicize the shows you’ve seen at least one episode of. 
3. Underline the shows you own* on DVD. 
4. Post your answers. 

50. Quantum Leap

49. Prison Break 

48. Veronica Mars 

47. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 

46. Sex & The City

45. Farscape 

44. Cracker 

43. Star Trek

42. Only Fools and Horses 

41. Band of Brothers 

40. Life on Mars

39. Monty Python 

38. Curb Your Enthusiasm 

37. Star Trek: The Next Generation – saw every episode

36. Father Ted 

35. Alias - right up until the last season, which sucked it.

34. Frasier

33. CSI Las Vegas

32. Babylon 5

31. Deadwood - much to my friend Sarah’s chagrin. She loves this show.

30. Dexter - however, we BOTH love this show so I think it works out.

29. ER - I watched it up until 2 or 3 seasons ago, when Grey’s became the better medical drama.

28. Fawlty Towers 

27. Six Feet Under 

26. Red Dwarf 

25. Futurama 

24. Twin Peaks 

23. The Office 

22. The Shield 

21. Angel 

20. Blackadder

19. Scrubs 

18. Arrested Development 

17. South Park 

16. Dr Who 

15. Heroes 

14. Firefly 

13. Battlestar Galactica 

12. Family Guy 

11. Seinfeld 

10. Spaced 

09. The X-Files 

08. The Wire -Possibly the best TV series ever.

07. Friends 

06. 24 

05. Lost - Okay, I watched this up until they had that weird season break that didn’t line up with anything else and I haven’t watched it since.

04. The West Wing – No lie, the last season sucked it.

03. The Sopranos 

02. Buffy the Vampire Slayer -Despite the controversy, loved it all the way through.

01. The Simpsons

“That’s super disturbing.”

This week’s TV notes:

The Mentalist – Not gonna lie, I didn’t love this episode. It was missing something – not sure if it was the humor, or team interaction, or what, but it just fell a little flat.

Grey’s Anatomy – Better. Much better. I want this Denny thing OVER pleasethanks. I love Alex, I love Hunt, I really love Slexie, but the Denny thing is killing me. I also think the Meredith/murderer story has been really well done and I liked her fessing up to Shep’s mom.

The Practice. WTF. I mean, really? WTF. Definitely Addison should date another jackass. I love Charlotte but really, WTF.

Supernatural: Dude. This show still freaks me out. The girl from the wall was *shudder*. Psycho Nell. Heh. All in all a good episode, with some weird twists. I love my boys!

Criminal Minds: It’s a twisted, twisted world kids.  One of the best ensemble casts on TV.

How much do I love Tina Fey?

Answer: a lot. Only for Tina would I have sat through Baby Mama, which was funny but disappointing.

Her acceptance speech last night was classic and (as I’ve said before) 30 Rock is the funniest thing on TV. I was stoked that Alec Baldwin won as well. I’ve *hearted* his comedy ever since the Schwety Balls on SNL. He’s also great in State and Main, if you haven’t seen it.

Mountain time kicks ass, no lie. Back in Michigan, I probably wouldn’t have watched the Golden Globes and I definitely wouldn’t have watched ALL of it because they’re on until effing MIDNIGHT. Out here, I got to watch them at work and they wrapped up the same time I did (around 10). It was pretty awesome.

It seems as though barrels of snow are hitting Denver but we’re all clear up here in the mountain hinterlands. The sun is shining and I think I’m going to be a nice hausfrau and make chili so that Spouse can eat when he gets home. I’ll be at work and this will also prevent excessive disasterfication of the kitchen while I’m gone. I’m purposely delaying the Attack of the Spare Bedroom until Wednesday when I don’t have to work. Probably there will also be before and after photos.

Work is going well and I’m meeting lots of nice folks. After the Spare Bedroom, I’ll be looking for other and/or additional work in earnest. I’m a little disappointed that I won’t be around for the Super Bowl, but it will be nice to see my mom again.

Also, if you don’t watch The View there was a pretty spectacular Ann Coulter smackdown this morning. Eminently linkable. Note to Ann: Don’t diss single mothers TO SINGLE MOTHERS. I think maybe Ann Coulter just needs hugs. Or valium. She seems so UNHAPPY all the time.

*shrug*

Off to attempt high-altitude chili.

A Blafair to Rememblack

It was  a LOT of work today, but I hung most of the rest of the photos, plus a mirror. I also got the floors cleaned, made two of the four bedrooms presentable for general viewing, cleaned the kitchen and dining room, and made food!

Of all the things we put up, I’m possibly happiest about the framed Ganesha series above the entryway table. I bought the handpainted (on cloth) prints when we were in India two years ago and have had them sitting on a shelf since then because I couldn’t find the right frame. While in Target yesterday, I found precisely what I’d been looking for. I also rehung the kitchen Buddha (even though there are no pictures). For our wedding, my mom’s cousin gave us a lovely framed and matted copy of our wedding invitation which sat on our mantle in Saginaw. It’s hanging on the wall nearest our bedroom with a photo from our honeymoon where Spouse and I are in costume. I also FINALLY framed the photo from the Cubs game, with our awesome behind-home-base tickets, and got that hung.

In TV notes:

The Mentalist- I was oddly disappointed by this week’s episode. I’m not sure if I was expecting Red John to remain a sort of elusive background shad0w-character, but I was fairly meh about the storyline. Loved the character development with re: the team and Jane. Love Jane all the time.

30 Rock – Hilarious. The title of this post is from the episode. Tracy Morgan plays the funniest character possibly in the history of television.

Grey’s Anatomy – Dude. WTF with this Denny thing.  OVER it. I’m also kind of annoyed by the Mer-Christina feud, though it produced my two fave moments (Sheperd and McArmy bonding; her intern friend busting her out for being insincere). I also love Lexie/Sloan. It was also nice to see Meredith having a divergent opinion from Sheperd which was ABOUT MEDICINE. Surprisingly little (and refreshing!) rship drama for them this week. Also, still love Christina/McArmy.

Private Practice – I’m not really sure what to say about the introduction of the jackass doctor. Like, I don’t really care about him and I don’t really care how any of the characters feel about him, and I guess maybe I find the whole ‘friend opening competing practice on the floor below’ to be unbelievable enough to just not care about the ‘drama’ it causes. I do like that the show is tackling challenging medical issues (this week: vaccinations vs. autism) and talking about it like rational people but from both sides.

Damages – I have mad love for this show.  I adore Timothy Olyphant and I’d be watching just for him, even if it wasn’t great. I felt like the Patty flashbacks were a little much, but they’ve got to catch up those people who weren’t watching last season. I dig the connving and backstabbing and I heart Ellen forever.

Psych – Still consistently funny!

It was snowing to beat the band this morning.

Piper and I went for a walk.

Right near the house

We’re waiting for the TV to arrive, so I have been doing odds and ends around the house. I posted some pictures of the basement areas and will probably get back to unpacking some boxes real soon. That or looking for a good samosa recipe. Or baking gingerbread. O, the options!

Watched The Mentalist this week and felt like the episode was sort of meh. I mean, the flashback thing was a weird addition – at least with the superfuzzy light – and I didn’t really think that Sophie and Patrick had any sort of chemistry. The part at the end, though, when Lisbon realized she had maybe made the wrong kind of joke was phenomenal. The two of them are just fantastic together, nonverbally. I still heart the show but it was definitely not the strongest ep.

Mountain time is totally jacking up my TV schedule – that and a lack of DVR. Hopefully I’ll get all that figured out – or be able to watch on the internet when I get a spare minute that doesn’t involve boxes or snow.

I’m feeling pretty accomplished right now.

Each room of the house is essentially done being packed. Both bedrooms, the office, the dining room, the kitchen, and the entire basement are all boxed. All that remains are the things I’m using for the next week, the food, the toiletries and bathroom supplies, and the important paperwork I need to keep with me. Unfortunately, I may have to cancel my Monday class because the movers are showing up right about the time I would be leaving to go to the gym.

TV notes:

Grey’s Anatomy:

Dear Grey’s, you are getting a SLIGHT reprieve from me but only because I read a spoiler to find out WTF is going on with this Izzy/Denny thing. Spoiler notwithstanding can we PLEASE get it over with? It is full of Fail and Ew. Please to be replacing it with more Lexie Grey/Mark Sloan (GrOan?) and Yang/Hunt. I love, love, love Kevin McKidd. He was smokin’ hot in a toga (Rome) and is just as hot in scrubs. Much love, yogagrrl

Chuck:

I continue to love this show.

NCIS:

Has gotten funnier? There’s been a lot more Abby this season, which I heart. I’ll take a cute geek girl over action just about any time. There’s an added double-bonus in that the most ass-kicking character on the show is also a female.  Go girls!

Real Housewives of Orange County:

I’ve been watching this mostly for Carly. I remember why I didn’t watch it before. It’s chock full of entitled, self-absorbed bitches. All they care about are their looks, to an extent that’s kind of disturbing. The really scary thing is that they are all supposedly ‘empowered’ and independent women, but with so much vanity and insecurity they can barely function (Dear Jeana: Not you.). It’s like high school but older, bitchier, and with more money to use to be mean to you.

The Mentalist:

If I was going to get you to watch ONE show that you aren’t watching, this would be it.

Private Practice:

Whoa, Dark Horse! They came out of nowhere this week with an intense abortion-issue show. Nicely done. Yes, it’s a complicated issue and yes, we can all agree to disagree.

Ghost Whisperer:

Do you want to know how messed up I am? I only started watching this show when I saw the promo that they were going to kill off Melinda’s husband. I had literally never watched an episode (nor been interested) right up until that moment. I am not a nice person. That said, I’ve watched since then and I’m kind of intrigued with how they’re handling this whole spirit-in-another-body thing. Like I said, not nice.

Heroes:

Has been jacked up for a while, but this week’s episode was my favorite of the season (and second favorite probably ever). Watching everyone having to deal with suddenly being a normal person again, combined with the comic geeks, meant the episode = love.

House:

Of the good, as always, and with considerably less gore than has become the norm.

Life:

Not sure how it happened, but I missed a couple of episodes and had to catch them on the web. And then I watched this week’s on DVR. Man, I love this show. It’s an interesting crime procedural, great conspiracy mystery, and fantastic characters. I even love the Tidwell/Reese storyline even though everyone else hates it. I take it back – watch this show too.

Twilight. Meh.

I did not love the book. I did not like the movie. If you loved the book, you will probably love the movie. I found it to be kind of stilted and too chock full of high school female angst, pregnant pauses, and swelling musical interludes. I liked the second book much better but I don’t think I’ll bother seeing the movie when it comes out. The only thing I DID like about the movie was Bella’s mittens. I clearly need some.

My main issue with Stephanie Meyer’s vampire mythology is the cold skin thing. Who wants to make out with a corpse? Ew. Also, SLEEPING with a corpse. I’m not one of those people who gives off heat in my sleep (see: Spouse) but I sure as heck would absorb the cold and it would wake me up. Also, CORPSE. EW.

More packing for me tonight. On the TV front, still loving The Mentalist. They did a masterful job of bringing in his old family tragedy this week. Loved it. Grey’s has taken a turn for the crazy but I still adore Kevin McKidd. His chemistry with Sandra Oh will keep me tuning in. Loves them. I thought the True Blood finale was going to be this past Sunday but I was wrong. I actually felt terrible for Jason in the episode, which is a testament to how great the actor is. And last but not least, I am LOVING The Real Housewives of Atlanta. I am positively EXCITED for the reunion special, which promises to be a trashy napalm trainwreck. I can’t wait.