Farewell: 23-September-2010

As I spend the day doing prep for a colon test scheduled for tomorrow, I find that I cannot work up any motivation to write a blog entry.

I am spent and so I bid the few who still read this blog farewell.

Rants, Raves, and Bewilderment: 06-Sept-2010

Happy Labor Day everyone, a day which was created to celebrate labor unions and now with their popularity go down, is a bit ironic. Now we used this day to celebrate the end of summer.

Rants.

Persons Unknown on NBC, what a piece of crap that show turned out to be. We were promised that the mysteries would be explained. Did not happen. Instead, we have no answers at all after watching this crapfest for 12 episodes. This show makes Harper's Island look good, at least they identified the killer at the end. Stephen King raves about this show, thank God his work is the total opposite of this crapfest.

The Boston Red Sox have once again broken my heart. At least they could have taken the damn Yankees out.
Friday, we had this big Hurricane Earl warning, my company actually let us leave at noon. So I rushed through my experiment and get done by 1:45 pm, get soaked by a heavy rain storm that ended five minutes after I started my walk home, and that was it. No high winds, just some heavy rain. Power did not go out at all. What a pain in the butt that day was.

Raves.

The Glades on A&E, just love this show.

Machete, the latest film by Robert Rodriguez and Ethan Maniquis, not for everyone, but a grand old time for us fans of the grind house movie. Just an amazing film experience.

Penn State won its home/season opener easily over Youngstown State. Always good to see a Penn State victory, I still remember when Bowling Green beat us in what was supposed to be an easy win opener.

Bewilderment.

Sports Illustrated is picking the Steelers to beat the Packers in this year's Super Bowl. The Steelers, they are not even the best team in their division, and Big Ben is out for the first four games. At least they are not picking the frakking Jets.

Oh well.

Rants, Raves, and Bewilderment: 29-August-2010

Rant: I am having trouble getting motivated to write this blog. I really don't seem to be able to work up much enthusiasm to even write a rant. Maybe I need the horrible ABC program, Private Practice to motivate me.

Rant: The Red Sox are now in the break your heart mode. They beat Tampa Bay on Friday and lose to them last night. This team gets your hope up that maybe they can make the playoffs by coming close and then lose key games. Injuries killed this team's chances.

Bewilderment: Linda McMahon, the CEO of the World Wrestling Entertainment company and Republican nominee for the US Senate is bashing the Democrat candidate Richard Blumenthal by claiming he lied about taking PAC money. Only problem, she fails to name specifics. Why is she starting a negative campaign, given all the dirt that is out there on her? Wrestling promoters are the most corrupt people around, she is the last person who should be slinging mud.

Rant: Persons Unknown (NBC) like Joss Whedon's Dollhouse, started off with lots of promise and now has quickly sunk to the depths of utter boredom. I could care less what happens to these people and what the crappy program is all about. NBC is pushing this new show, The Event, which I think is going to be the same piece of crap as this show.

Oh well.

Rants, Raves, and Bewilderment: 22-August-2010

I am changing the tone of this blog to short comments about my raves, my rants, and my general bewilderment at the world. Time to try something new.

Rant: After being off the Internet for a while due to my vacation in Harrisburg, PA, I have to say what the frak is up with PA newspapers? News exists outside of PA, yet not one word could I find about the results of the CT primaries until I got to the public library and did checked out the New London Day website. I miss my computer.

Rant: Linda McMahon wins the Republican primary for the US Senate nomination. Seriously, folks in CT really believe she is qualified to be a US Senator. Well, a easy vote for me, I am going with Richard Blumenthal.

Rave: Ned Lamont, after spending a ton of money, was rejected by CT Democratic votes and Dan Malloy will be running for Governor against Tom Foley. Thank God, some intelligent voters are still alive and well in CT.

Rant: Injuries decimated the Boston Red Sox to the point that the team will not make the playoffs. So the hated Yankees with that weak ass pitching staff will make the playoffs, please somebody eliminate them ASAP.

Rave: I am loving the Glades (A&E) and hope it gets renewed, a great show and fun to watch.

Rant: I cannot believe how few good movies came out in August. Usually my sister and I got to the movies when we get together on our family vacations and could not find anything that we wanted to see. Where are all the good movies?

Oh well.

Thoughts: 31-July-2010

The last day of July, and next week I go on vacation to visit the family and celebrate my mother's 82 birthday. Lots of cigarette smoke and stress and tension to look forward to. Some of the time will be spent visiting my brother Glenn and his family and some with my sister in State College, so that should help maintain the sanity.

Our former intern, who I dubbed 23 a while ago, just finished her contract with Pfizer and is heading off to Tufts to start graduate school. EH, my new name for her, is a very bright and hardworking person and should have a great career ahead of her. Tufts is a great school to go to, better than my school, Kent State.

Boston Red Sox: This team is killing me, split 2 out of 4 with the Mariners, swept the Angels 3 straight and then drop the first of three to the Tigers 6-5. Tampa Bay is now one game behind the Yankees and it is looking like we will not make the playoffs this year. I hate the frakking Yankees.

I have been watching lots of shows on the cable networks, they seem to be doing better with creating new shows. Even HawthoRNe (TNT) has not been too bad, pretty much a C after that horrible and stupid season premiere. Christine is still bossing people around, just not as effective as the previous season. She caught her daughter in a postcoitial coupling with her boyfriend to end the last episode freaking out in the fadeout. One would think a nurse would be able to control herself a little more. Also her love interest is looking at another (and prettier) woman making Christine jealous, even though she rejected his proposal. And this is the worst show I have been watching.

Take that back, Persons Unknown (NBC) the summer miniseries event has fallen flat after a promising beginning. At this point, I don't know where it is going but I am getting bored. Maybe it is a tad too long, kind of the same problem Harper's Island (CBS) had. It does help knowing the show will resolve its plot line at the end of the summer. D

Being Human (BBC America): This show has really started off with a bang for this second season. A I just wonder how good the SyFy version of this show will be. I watched the British version of Eleventh Hour and thought the four shows they did were a tad better than the American remake version of those four shows, even though I liked Eleventh Hour quite a bit.

Oh well.

Thoughts: 24-July-2010

Another fun week, had a physical on Friday. Everything checked okay, except that I have a excess of ear wax in my left ear and with my 50th birthday, I have to schedule a colonoscopy.

Movie Review.

Inception directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page, and Michael Caine. Pretty good film, thought I thought DiCaprio was a tad too young for the role. I know he is around 36, but he just looks too young to me. Other than that it was a pretty good film, tad confusing as they go in and out of levels of dream states. And the ending is left open to questioning.
B

Rissoli and Isles (TNT): I watched the first two episodes and the show really improves with the second episode. A Boston Strangler reference drives the show, I like it and TNT has another hit. A

Doctor Who (BBC America): Season finale tonight and Matt Smith has been brilliant in his portrayal of the Doctor. I have to say that the BBC has been very fortunate in selecting good actors to play the Doctor. A

Boston Red Sox: This team is killing me. They take 2 out of 3 over the Blue Jays, and then against the Rangers go 1 out of four. Against the Oakland Athletics, 1 out of 3, then against the Mariners in a four game series, they win game 1 8-6 and game 2 2-1. This season is killing me, too many injuries.

Oh well.

Thoughts: 18-July-2010

It has been a pretty busy week here in Groton, CT. Just do not have any time to do half the stuff I want to do.

I want to see Inception and the Sorcerer's Apprentice, I have a ton of shows to watch on TV, and tons of stuff to read. Plus fighting on Internet message boards, and throw in Farmville, and my day is flying by.

Despicable Me, directed by Pierce Coffin, Chris Renaud, with co-director Sergio Pabolos. I really liked this movie, Steve Carell was very good as the voice of Gru and I cried when Gru read the second bedtime story to the kids. I had to pretend it was allergies. Any move that does that gets an A.

Boston Red Sox: Last weekend they took 2 out of three from the Blue Jays and after the All-Star Break, dropped the first two games to the Rangers before winning yesterday 3-2 in 11 innings. Today is game 4 and I don't have a clue what is going to happen with this team. The National League won the all star game, so they get home field advantage in the World Series.

Most of the TV shows that I am watching have been pretty good and do not have anything to say. Doctor Who (BBC America) has been outstanding and Matt Smith is a great Doctor. Next Saturday is the season finale, which I cannot wait to see.

Oh well.

Thoughts: 11-July-2010

Late with my blog this week. I had to do three months of laundry yesterday and got all wore out. I hate doing laundry, it is so easy to put it off, especially with my low standards of what is dirty. The single bachelor life, there is nothing like it.

I almost would consider getting married if I truly believed my wife would do laundry.

Sports Update.

Jerk of the Decade: LeBron James spent some big bucks to do a one hour special on ESPN so that he can announce that he signed with the Miami Heat. What a jerk, can you imagine Michael Jordon doing something like that, or Dr. J, or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar? The guy lives in Akron, and having spent four years at Kent, Ohio, let me tell you, for him to live there, he must love the area. So why go to Miami and hose the fans in Cleveland? Not more money, just a chance to win a ring. For some reason, I don't see him fairing that way in Miami, because there the fans are not going to have the same respect for him as they do in Ohio. Prepare to be booed.

Boston Red Sox: Tough week for the Red Sox with all the injuries. They took 2 out of 3 over the Orioles in their weekend series, were swept by the Rays 3 straight, and have split the series with the Blue Jays this weekend, taking the first game 14-3 and losing game 2, 9-5. Rubber match is this afternoon. Another long summer for Red Sox fans.

SyFy Channel Premieres.

Three shows, one new, two returning had their season premieres this week on the SyFy Channel.

Warehouse 13: Season 2 opened up with a bang. The cliffhangers from the end of season one were resolved, a new villian shows up, and this show is looking great. I love it. A

Eureka: This season opens up with some great twists, an alternate time line where the cast members find themselves in some slightly different situations. Jack had broken up with Tess (actress went to the ill fated ABC show Eastwick) and now is living with her. Jo and Zack were dating and looking at marriage, now she and Zack are not friends at all. Allison's son, Kevin, is no longer autistic. And Henry is married to someone who we have not met yet. And a scientist from 1947 who helped found Eureka has come to this time for unknown purposes. Wow. A

Haven: This is the new show based on the Hard Case Crime novel written by Stephen King called the Colorado Kid. In that story, facts are presented in a very mysterious murder which never gets explained let alone solved by King. This forms the basis of this show, where an FBI agent comes to this mysterious town where the murder happened and discovers the residents have supernatural powers. Also, she sees a picture of the Colorado Kid crime scene which has a woman in it that looks just like her. This show got some bad reviews, but so do Warehouse 13 and that became a winner. I like it and look forward to seeing what they do. B

Oh well.

Thoughts: 04-July-2010

Happy Birthday U.S.A.

Sports Update.

Boston Red Sox: They beat the Orioles 9-3 to take the second game of their three game weekend series, Jon Lester got his 12th win and is 12-0. Looks good for an All Star selection. The damn Yankees also won, so the good guys are still a half game behind.

Season Finales.

In Plain Sight (USA): USA network cut this season short for some reason, nice ending though with Mary going on vacation with Steve Weber, the FBI love interest. I thought that Marshall was going to suggest they get together, but instead she ends up with Weber. He could be back next season as Happy Town appears to be cancelled by ABC. B

Merlin (SyFy): Season 2 ended with Merlin defeating the dragon that he set free. We find out that his father was the last of the Dragon Lords and Merlin now has inherited that title. Too bad they had to kill his father off right away, may have been interesting to see him around in season 3. Still have to wonder when Arthur is gong to realize who Merlin is, given all that goes on with him. B

Three Rivers (CBS): The last episode ran last night, and it is too bad this show is over. I thought it was pretty good. I am glad that the African patient got his heart so at least that had a happy ending. B

According to TV.com, Friday Night Lights is doing pretty good in the ratings with its NBC run. Finally people are seeing what a great show this is.

Comic News.

FrankenCastle (Marvel) is coming to an end with issue 21. While I like seeing the Marvel Monsters get some ink, I did not care too much for this series. They are better off doing the Punisher Max series than trying to make the Punisher fit into the Marvel Universe.

Nice seeing the Man-Thing, one of my favorite characters, in the current run of ThunderBolts. Maybe Marvel Monsters are coming back. Anything would be better than the endless Deadpool comics or that stupid Marvel Zombies stuff.

Oh well.

Thoughts: 03-July-2010

The summer is just flying by. I have to plan my trip home to Harrisburg for August, have to write a poster for the SFN meeting in San Diego, and do a million other things.

Sports Update.

Boston Red Sox: A great week that saw the Red Sox take 2 out of 3 games from the Giants, split a two game series with Tampa Bay, and then take the first of a 3 game weekend series with the Orioles 3-2. Tim Wakefield gets the win last night with a 8 inning pitching run and with help from a 2 HR effort by Drew. This puts the Red Sox only a half game behind the hated Yankees for first place. Things are heating up baby.

NCAA Football: I just read an idiotic commentary by Beebe the Big 12 (but really 10) commissioner trashing the Pac 10 and Big 10. He claims that the geographic area where the Big 10 is located is losing population and thus are not going to be supported that well. Funny, the Big 10 network seems to be doing pretty good and is available nationwide. Somebody must be watching, and those somebodies are sure as hell not going to be watching the Big 12. My guess is that Beebe's song and dance act that he put on to convince teams to stay in the Big 12 is now raising questions as to where is the money going to be coming from that you promised us? I predict in the next five years the Big 12 will be losing teams and will soon be a nonentity.

Big 10: In the latest issue of Sporting News, there was a nice article that Nebraska was going to be a major power in college football again which will be good news for the Big 10. Should make a stronger attraction for the Big 10 network.

HawthoRNe (TNT): Yes, last week I swore I would not watch this show again. So Tuesday comes along and I do not have anything to watch at 8:55 pm on my DVR, and was too lazy to pick out a DVD. So I decided to watch this show. Episode 2 was a vast improvement over the stupid crap shown in last week's show. It was kind of fun to watch everyone blow off Christine's interference and attempts to push doctors around. Then she somehow managed to convince the doctor in charge of the ethics committee to talk to the patient that they denied treatment too which caused them to reverse their decision, which is what Christine wanted. But before she finds out, she makes a fool of herself before the committee by berating them for not doing what she wants. When they inform her that we did change our minds, she kind of shrunk really little like they used to do to Fred Flintstone in that old cartoon series. I guess seeing her not get away with her crap was kind of fun. C

Next Tuesday Warehouse 13 (SyFy) comes back for season 2 and I may be able to give up HawthoRNe for good.

Looks like ABC shelved plans to show the last two episodes of Eastwick on July 10. That show got no respect and just as it got interesting it was cancelled. At least the one actress has some appearance on Eureka (SyFy) coming up.

Oh well.

Thoughts: 27-June-2010

The Karate Kid, directed by Harald Zwart is a remake of the classic film that came out in 1984. Jackie Chan is cast as Mr. Han who trains Dre Parker in Kung Fu. Yes the Kung Fu Kid would have made more sense, but this is a remake. Dre is played by Jaden Smith son of Will and Jada Pinckett Smith. He should give his mom some acting lessons, I could not believe how good this young actor was in the role. And given his small stature, he was very believable with the threat from the bullies. The setting in China was well used and Chan got to show some acting chops in his performance. All in all very good film, I give it an A. Now if Jaden can avoid showing up on his mom's crappy show, HawthoRNe, he should have a great career ahead of him.

Leverage (TNT): The show returned last week with two new episodes, the cliffhanger from last season was nicely resolved with an ongoing subplot to occupy us until the season finale. The second episode was set at a high school reunion and Timothy Hutton was quite funny in playing the character who shows up at the reunion. A

Futurama (Comedy Central): This show returns with the first of two new episodes and it was great as always. I have watched all the episodes on DVD from its run on Fox TV, the four direct to DVD movies, and now this. Oh, and the comic books series too. Great show. A

Boston Red Sox: They beat the Giants yesterday 4-2, after Clay Buchholz went out after one inning. Injuries are starting to plague this team. It is going to be a long season.

Oh well.

Thoughts: 26-June-2010

It has been over 7 days since I got my new tattoo and the aftercare has been going great. Looks good and is healing nicely.

Sports Update.

Boston Red Sox: After sweeping the Dodgers this past weekend, the Red Sox lost 2 out of three to the Rockies and dropped the first game to the Giants 5-4 in this weekend's series. Not a good week.

HawthoRNe (TNT): I was going to skip the second season premiere of this show, then decided to watch it. The show has gone from the ridiculous to the ludicrous. Budget overruns has forced one of two hospitals to close, one with a 98% rating and one with a 58%. So the good one closes, the bad one stays open, and our heroine has to share the director of nursing job with the nurse from hell who kills patients left and right, but cannot be fired because she knows where the bodies are buried. Give me a frakking break. It was bad enough when Hawthorne was bossing doctors around, now this crap? Will not be watching this show anymore. F

Saving Grace (TNT): Did that series finale make any sense at all? Grace's big redemption mission was to kill herself along with Satan/demon who helped with the Oklahoma City bombing? What was that all about? How could she kill this guy when she filled him with bullets and he was still okay? I mean, really that is how they wanted to end the series. What a load of BS. F

Treme (HBO): The first season of this excellent show ended and it has been a charm from the get go. I was surprised that the John Goodman character committed suicide, but in thinking it through it made sense. Glad that this show will be back on HBO. A

The Phantom (SyFy): I watched this miniseries that updated Lee Faulk's classic hero and when back and forth liking it and not liking it. I don't care for the costume, but I see why they went with a change. I guess it was intriguing enough for me to want to check the show out, if it has been green lit for a ongoing series. B

Oh well.

Thoughts: 20-June-2010

Day 2 of my tattoo aftercare. Seems to be healing nicely and I have gotten over my sleeping phobia of ruining the tattoo while sleeping on my stomach. So far so good.

Movie Review.

Toy Story 3, directed by Lee Unkrich. Despite an average review by Roger Ebert, this latest installment of the Toy Story franchise hits the mark. Another winner from Pixar, are these guys capable of making a bad film? I like how the story deals with Andy growing up and the toys having to adjust to that, with a very happy ending for the toys as they go to a new owner. Just works out to be a nice way to end the story. Great film. A

I did not get a chance to catch the Karate Kid remake yet, maybe next weekend. The film is doing well in the box office so it may be around for awhile.

New Avengers (Marvel): I read the first issue of the relaunch of the New Avengers comic and have to say, Why? The other three ongoing Avengers books make sense, why did Marvel need to create a fourth ongoing book? I would rather see Ms. Marvel or Spider-Woman back in their own books, than another Avengers book.

ABC is going to show unaired episodes of Happy Town and Eastwick on upcoming Saturday nights this summer. Happy Town failed to kill the Wed 10 pm Dead Zone for ABC, and it looks like the Magic Man will get away with his crimes. Show was kind of fun to watch but I knew it would get cancelled. Will ABC show the unaired episode of Eastwick that they skipped? Hopefully they will show the last three episodes in order, rerunning the one they did show before killing the series.

Boston Red Sox: They beat the Dodgers again yesterday, 5-4. I still am hoping for a Yankees and Rays' collapse.

When you are single and want to send birthday cards to friends who are married, did you ever stop and think and you have to send two cards to their one? I get one card from married couples, but have to send them each one. Not fair at all.

Oh well.

Thoughts: 19-June-2010

I got my Luther Rose tattoo yesterday and it looks great. Also got my Patriots tattoo retouched as I damaged it when I rolled over in my sleep and busted it open. Now it looks great and I have more experience taking care of tattoos. Interesting, the two artists who did my Patriots and Red Sox tattoos are now gone from the shop. Let's hope I am not a jinx.

I think that I will get one more, a rat for my back. I was born in the year of the rat and that animal is one I have done the most research on. That is the only other one I want to get.

I am going to try and see Toy Story 3 and maybe the Karate Kid today. I did not get a chance to catch a movie yesterday. No Jonah Hex though, may have to do a DVD pick up for that.

I had a lot of trouble sleeping last night. I tried to sleep on my back which did not work out so well, as I usually sleep on my stomach. Trying to protect my new tattoos. I ended up going to my LaziBoy chair and sleeping in that for a couple of hours. Then I went back to bed, where I ended up in my usual sleeping position. The tattoos look fine this morning, so maybe I was worried for nothing.

Sports Update.

Boston Red Sox: They beat the Dodgers at home 10-6, Manny Ramirez made his first visit back to Fenway after he was traded to LA. Mixed reaction, I guess it has been too long for any major reaction. Glad my hope that I expressed yesterday was fulfilled.

NCAA: Lou Holtz thinks Notre Dame should join the Big 10 after years of opposing such a move. I don't think he has any sway over the powers that control Notre Dame, so his opinion means as much as mine. I would like to see Notre Dame and Pittsburgh join the Big 10.

The college and pro football annuals are making their appearances on the newsstands. I used to buy one of each, now I do not bother. Don't really need them with the Internet handy. I still buy the Town and Gown Penn State Annual, as there is some good information to be had in that magazine.

Oh well.

Thoughts: 18-June-2010

I took the day off in order to get my tattoo. This past Sunday when I was scheduled to get it, my artist called in sick and so I had to re-schedule for today. Let us hope I can get it today.

I am going to try and see Toy Story 3 after I get the tattoo. I also want to see the Karate Kid remake since Roger Ebert gave that a good review. Jonah Hex is also opening up this weekend but is not at the Groton Cinemas which I thought would be there for sure given these types of movies always end up there. I have been reading the Jonah Hex comic for years and would like to see this movie even with the bad reviews that it has gotten.

Sports Update.

Boston Celtics: So close and yet so far. After taking a 3-2 game lead over the Lakers, they lose the final two games in LA. While both they and the Bruins played well this year, neither won the ultimate prize.

Boston Red Sox: After beating the Phillies up big time in the first two games of the series, they lost the third game. Then they swept the Arizona Diamondbacks. Now the LA Dodgers are the next time they face. The Red Sox are doing pretty good against the National League and maybe they can get some revenge for the Celtics' loss. Funny how fans think sports teams actually care about other teams losing.

NFL: Looks like we may have an 18 game regular season and a cut back in those preseason games. Players union is complaining about an increase in injuries, what about injuries in those useless preseason games. I am for it.

NCAA: Well, the PAC 10 tried to add Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas to make a 16 team conference. The Big 12 commissioner counteracted with a promise of increased TV revenue for the teams and these three decided to stick with the Big 12. So PAC 10 asked Utah to join and they decided to leave the Mountain West and be the 12th member. Texas is trying to create its own TV network, other than that, the loss of the conference championship game is going to cut down on TV revenue. Granted with only 10 teams, that means more money per team, but as much as the PAC 10 could deliver? I doubt it. So the PAC 10 has 12 teams (guess here is that they will become the PAC 12), the Big 12 has 10 teams (and own the copyright to the name Big 12), and the Big 10 has 12 teams (Big Midwest 12 or BM 12 is my pick for a new name).

Nurse Jackie (Showtime): I caught up the the season finale and thought the show ended in a very strange fashion. Jackie's best friend and Jackie's husband find out about her drug addiction, and Jackie returns to the bathroom and defiantly stares into the mirror denying she is an addict. Is that supposed to make us respect her? And the drug dealer she ripped off of $12,000 in drugs, he just gets taken out by Thor? And no repercussions at work? Bad ending to this season, it gets a C.

Oh well.

Thoughts: 13-June-2010

I made an appointment to get my three tattoo today. At 12:30 pm I am getting the Luther Rose tattooed on the right side of my chest. Also going to get my Patriots tattoo retouched. I rolled over on it during my sleep when I first got it and it has has marks I want retouched. I also have a Boston Red Sox tattoo on my right arm.

Still debating about getting a rat tattooed on my back.

Just read a good review of the new Karate Kid film starring Jackie Chan and Dre Smith by Roger Ebert. I guess I will try and check it out. He also reviewed the A Team film and his review agrees with all the bad ones for that film.

Sports Update.

Boston Red Sox: They killed the Phillies again yesterday, 10-2, man I wish they could play like that all the time.

Boston Celtics: Game 5 in Boston tonight, series tied 2-2. Celtics need a win in this game, I do not like their chances going to LA if they lose tonight.

NCAA: Lots of talk about conference changes. PAC 10 is meeting with Oklahoma and Oklahoma State about joining them. If they get both teams, I think that they will try and get one more, either a team in Texas or one in Kansas. Big 10 will not add any more teams, unless Notre Dame wants in. I could see Pittsburgh and Missouri joining the Big 10 at some point, I can also see Kansas and Kansas State coming in as well. Notre Dame needs to get off its high horse and understand that they are going to be left out in the cold unless they join a conference. Big 10 makes the most sense for them, but I see them screwing the pooch and blowing that opportunity.

Comics News.

DC is cancelling the Vertigo title Unknown Soldier with issue 25. Good book but sales were low. I wonder if the WW2 version will still make an appearance in this book as that was hinted at one point.

I read the first issue of Marvel's Hawkeye and Mockingbird book. I liked it, but boy does it remind me of the recently cancelled Green Arrow and Black Canary book. DC did not like the direction and/or sales of that premise, and are now going with a Green Arrow solo book. Could this happen with the Marvel book as well?

Oh well.

Thoughts: 12-June-2010

It has been awhile, I hoped to write a blog sooner than this, but lots of stuff got in the way. Too busy.

Rant of the week.

I just saw a news item that record companies are crying about a drop in CD sales. You know, before the CD, we had vinyl records which you could buy 3 for 10 bucks, giving you a chance to support new groups. Then CDs came out with the marketing con about only the best is coming out on CDs which cost 15 bucks. Eventually everything came out on CD with prices not dropping at all. CDs were always way overpriced and now with downloads and IPods, we don't need to pay for the over priced CD, if record companies had been less greedy, the CD would still be selling well.

Movie Review.

Splice, directed by Vincenzo Natali and starring Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley. This film is a cross between Species and Croneberg's the Fly. These scientists are creating hybrid life forms to synthesize new proteins to be used to cure diseases. They created a male and female blob creature for this drug company, who then wants to shut down the lab and focus on creating products from the proteins. They want to go further, and create a human animal hybrid then becomes unexpectedly viable and grows into a pretty creature named Dren. Pretty enough to entice Brody into having sex with her. Then at the stockholders meeting where the blobs are to be shown, we find out the female has changed into a male and the two creatures start to fight casting blood and guts over all the shareholders. Working for a major pharmaceutical company, I liked this scene the best. Dren follows suit and turns into a male, kills Brody and rapes Polley impregnating her in the process. She ends up killing Dren and cuts a deal with the company for a zillion bucks for the fetus growing in her, as that has these valuable proteins. Okay film and was worth watching, not that original but entertaining enough. B (Mostly because I really liked that stockholder scene.)

Sports Update.

Boston Red Sox: Last weekend they took 2 out of three from the Orioles, split a four game series with the Cleveland Indians, and beat the Phillies 12-2 last night to start their weekend series. Now the Yankees and Rays need to start losing.

Boston Celtics: Very frustrating series with the Lakers. They split the first two games in LA giving them the home advantage, then lose game 3 in Boston. They came back in game 4 to tie the series 2-2. Now they have to win at least one game in LA, provided they win game 5, the last in Boston.

NHL: The Chicago Blackhawks have won their fourth Stanley Cup by beating the Flyers in OT in game 6 in Philadelphia. This was a series where the Flyers won the first two games in Philadelphia but could not get the job down in their last home game. Chicago must be very excited to have this win, I know my dad would have been happy.

NCAA: Conference changes are a happening. Colorado leaves the Big 12 to join the PAC 10 and Nebraska leaves the Big 12 to join the Big 10 as the 12th team. Big 10 will have a conference championship game and now will they court any other teams? Texas (PAC 10 and Big 10) and Texas A&M (SEC) are rumoured to be evaluating their options. And can the Big 10 get the Big 12 name? And will Notre Dame finally join a conference or risk being left out in the cold? I wonder if Pittsburgh has a chance for the Big 10 or is that now dashed?

World Cup: For the first time in the 25 years I have been at Pfizer, they are showing World Cup games during the week on the big screen in the 220 atrium. This is do to all the British folk joining this company over the last few years, I think that the World Cup is boring and would rather do work than watch that. You know why that guy screams out the word GOAL, it is to wake up the audience.

Oh well.

Thoughts: 05-June-2010

I had jury duty this week, the jury was for a week long criminal case that is going to start on Monday. I got into an argument with the judge about jury nullification and was excused. I guess they don't want jurors who think too much.

Sports Update.

Boston Red Sox: They took 2 out of 3 from the Oakland Athletics and won the first game in the current weekend series with the Baltimore Orioles. Are they finally in a groove?

Boston Celtics: They lost game 1 to the Los Angeles Lakers, game 2 is tonight in LA. They were the favorites, but my gut is telling me told you so.

NHL: The Flyers won games 3 and 4 in Philadelphia to even the series with the Blackhawks. Flyers have always been tough at home and it appears they still are. Still have to win one in Chicago.

NCAA Football: Lots of talk about conference expansion. PAC 10 wants to add six teams from the Big 12 to become the Big 16, Big 10 is now looking at Texas to join them in their expansion plans. I will be very interested in where this is all going. Big 10 has the advantage of the Big 10 TV network which brings in big buck to their members.

Happy Town (ABC): I started watching this show when ABC began airing it on their Wed 10 pm dead zone, it seemed like a Harper's Island clone. The last episode has really spun away from that comparison. It is starting to get interesting, just as the ratings take a major nosedive. Concepts like this do not work as ongoing series, needs to be a miniseries. B

Burn Notice (USA): Season premiere was on the other night and it seems that the past three seasons were an audition for Michael Weston to take on this investigation into a very powerful person starting mini wars around the world for profit. Could this be the endgame for the show? And why do they let Michael continue to help clients? A

Royal Pains (USA): Favourite show from last summer is back. The interplay with the characters especially with Even and Divya and Henry Winkler joining the cast as the crooked father, makes this show a delight. I loved the punch Hank laid on his father to end the show. A

I am off to see Splice today and then watch Three Rivers, which returns with unaired episodes on CBS, and watch Doctor Who, new episode on BBC America.

Oh well.

Thoughts: 31-May-2010

I just read a terrible review of Sex and the City 2 on rogerebert.com. I guess I should not have loved it as much as I did. I agree that the film was over the top, but that was the show's premise. As I said yesterday, if you are a fan of the show like I am, you will love this movie.

Sports Update.

Boston Red Sox: They beat the Royals yesterday 8-1 with a great Jon Lester pitching performance. So they split the series and have today off, before they start a three game home series with the Oakland Athletics.

NCAA: Big 12 is going to talk about conference realignment at their upcoming annual meeting. I guess that Nebraska and Missouri are going to consider a switch to the Big Ten if an offer is made. Big 12 may be trying to get their wayward members back in line.

Eleventh Hour (British version): I watched on DVD the first two episodes of this series which starred Patrick Stewart as Ian Hood (Rufus Sewell played John Hood in the American version). Both episodes were remade in the American version of the show, the British episodes were about 23 minutes longer. Pretty well done and makes me want to watch my DVD set of Sewell's show. A

I mentioned some guilty pleasures yesterday. Charlie Chan movies were regularly broadcast on local Harrisburg TV stations when I was growing up. They even had a Charlie Chan theater every Saturday that my dad and I would watch. Then they kind of faded from being shown on TV, AMC when they used to show old movies without commercial interruption would do Charlie Chan marathons. every couple of months, those made my day. TCM got the rights to the films but decided not to show them because of complaints regarding racial issues with the portrayal of Asians in this film. Actually, African Americans were the ones who had stuff to complain about, those portrayals are really bad, the Chinese were a lot more respectfully treated in these films. At least now these films have been coming out in DVD sets, so I can again watch them at my leisure.

Some debate about the Warner Oland-Sidney Toler-Roland Winters portrayals of Chan. I like both Oland and Toler's work on the series, my favorite Chan is one that Toler did, "Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum". I have never seen any of the Winters' Chans, but a couple are going to be released with the next DVD set which is coming out this week. I cannot wait.

Oh well.

Thoughts: 30-May-2010

Movie Review.

Sex and the City 2, directed by Michael Patrick King and starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, Kim Cattrall, and Kirstin Davis. I went to this movie expecting to be disappointed. I figured that while the first film was a hit due to the show being off the air for awhile, that this sequel which was rushed into production would be bad. And the reviews have not been kind. All I have to say is that if you are a fan of this show, you will love this movie. Quite funny, quite fabulous, and was as good as the first film. The opening sequence which featured Stanford and Anthony's wedding in CT was very funny and over the top. The whole story set in the Middle East at this super rich hotel with this unbelievable plush luxury was eye opening. All in all a great time. A

Sports Update.

Boston Red Sox: Clay Buchholz pitched a solid 7 innings of shut out baseball to help the Red Sox beat the Royals in Game 3 of this four game series. Buchholz looked good and maybe the other pitchers can return to winning form.

Boston Celtics: The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Phoenix Sun last night to advance to the NBA championship round to take on the Celtics. Lakers-Celtics, what a familiar match up. While I hope Boston can pull it out, I just don't know. Gut is telling me the Lakers win this series, let us hope I am wrong.

NHL: Chicago beat the Flyers 6-5 to take Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals. Somewhere my dad is smiling.

Treme (HBO): This post Katrina series set in New Orleans has been quite a delight to watch. Great music, great characters, and one great time. A

Friday Night Lights (NBC): Another great show that I am really enjoying. Best that TV has to offer. A

Guilty Pleasures.

Perry Mason TV show with Raymond Burr.

Godzilla Films.

Charlie Chan Films.

Oh well.

Thoughts: 29-May-2010

Sports Update.

Boston Red Sox: They have lost the last two games to the Kansas City Royals after taking the first game in this series. The pitching has disappeared once again. We, Red Sox fans, get some hope and it gets dashed. This will be a long season.

Boston Celitcs: They won game 6 against the Magic and have advanced to the NBA finals. I really was worried that they were going to blow it like the Bruins did against the Flyers. So now we just have to wait and see who wins the Suns-Lakers series. Good job Celtics!

Political Fun in CT.

So Chris Dodd was going to run for re-election as our US Senator and his poll numbers were low. The two Republican contenders were leading him by double digits. So Linda McMahon, the CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment and wife to Vince McMahon, decides to spend her money and try for the Republican nomination. Then Dodd drops out and Richard Blumenthal, the very popular State Attorney General, goes for the Democratic nomination. So, McMahon promising to spend $50 million bucks in her election bid gets the state Republican convention endorsement for the nomination. Rob Simmons, a great candidate, decides not to challenge her in a primary and that leaves only Peter Schiff, a Tea Party guy, trying to challenge her in a primary. McMahon has also been digging dirt up on Blumenthal, she is the one who made public his statements about serving in Vietnam when he had not.

So will the pro wrestling promoter, one of the most corrupt jobs ever created, get to represent CT? I cannot believe that people are stupid enough to vote for her.

Season Finales.

NCIS (CBS): Another great season comes to an end for this show. The Colonel Bell subplot turns out to be a red herring for the Mexican drug cartel, the head of which was killed by Gibbs years ago in revenge for the death of his wife and daughter, to come over Gibbs. The daughter of the man he killed ended the show by meeting his father, who she told Gibbs she was going to kill. And the Tony-Ziva storyline put on hold for all this to happen! It is amazing that a show like this that has been on for a while can put such a fresh spin to things. A

NCIS: LA (CBS): Okay ending to the season, we find out that G Callen has been watched over by someone his whole life, who appears to be his mother. Overall this has been a fun season, but there is room for improvement for next year.

The Good Wife (CBS): The show that beat the CBS Tuesday 10 pm dead zone ended its season with, will Alicia go to Will or Peter? I don't see her leaving Peter hanging at his press conference and given that she has not left him by now, I don't see that happening. What will be Chris Noth's involvement for Season 2? Will the wonderful Alan Cumming be back? I think that this show was a surprising hit and will be curious to see how season 2 bears out. B

CSI: NY (CBS): So serial killers reign supreme on the CSI shows. All three ended their seasons with the CSIs confronting serial killers who inflicted potentially mortal wounds on our heroes. The Ed Furlong character manages to survive a fall off a lighthouse unto a rocky beach by the sea unscathed like a Jason Vorhees to go after Danny and his kid to end the show. Come on now, I thought these shows had some pretence at realism. Very disappointing ending to a good season of this show. D

I am off to see Sex and the City 2 today, I am not expecting as good a movie as the first one. I think that they rushed this sequel to soon to the theaters. But the show and Sarah Jessica Parker are just some of my guilty pleasures.

Oh well.

Thoughts: 28-May-2010

Memorial Day Weekend, the official start to the summer.

I woke up early today and could not get back to sleep. So I decided to surf the Internet until it was time to get ready to go to work. Most of my lab is taking the day off so it will be very quiet today. Too bad I have a long experiment to do.

My landlord informed me yesterday that the owner complained about my Boston Red Sox beach towel that I have hanging in my front window. I guess the new lease prohibits any "curtains" that portray images that someone could complain about. My guess is that he is a Yankee fan and got psychological problems. I have had it hanging there for the last five years and never had a complaint. They are going to install blinds on Tuesday so that I conform. Maybe they should worry more about who the rent these apartments to as opposed to my Boston Red Sox beach towel curtain.

Sports Update.

Boston Red Sox: After taking two out of three against the Phillies, the Red Sox swepted the Tampa Bay Rays three straight. Pitching is looking good. Last night Dice K dropped one to the Royals, so a little set back, but I am starting to feel good about the team.

Boston Celtics: After winning the first three against the Magic, the Celtics dropped the next two to lead the series 3-2. Shades of the Boston Bruins, let us hope that Game 6 in Boston will be a win and not a loss. It would be ironic for both Boston teams to lose the series after being 3-0.

New England Patriots: Arlen Spector, the PA senator who hassled the Patriots during the "Spygate Scandal", lost his bid to win the Democratic nomination for US Senator. This jerk who is in the pocket of Comcast, made a big stink about the NFL not coming down harder on the Patriots, why, because the NFL and Comcast were in a big fight on what cable tier the NFL network was going to be offered by Comcast. The NFL wanted to be on the basic tier to get more subscribers, Comcast wanted to put it on a a higher tier that required subscribers to pay extra to get it. Honestly, I never watch the NFL network unless the Patriots are playing, it seems kind of boring to me the rest of the time. Spector showed his true colors when he refused to help out basketball fans who were upset about an NBA policy, Comcast was not in a fight then. So old Arlen is out and I say frak you buddy.

NHL: Chicago Blackhawks meet the Philadelphia Flyers in the finals, first ever match up for the Stanley Cup with these teams. My father loved the Blackhawks and hated the Flyers so he would have loved watching this series.

Season Finales.

Lost (ABC): The series is over, I thought the finale was okay with all of the important stuff answered. Lots of people did not like the alternative world being a purgatory where the folks were waiting to move on. It did not bother me at all. A for both the finale and the series.

24 (Fox): The series ended with Jack bloody and battered but having once again saved the day as he goes off to star in a movie version of the show. I thought that this season was just a C, too much repetition from seasons past. The CTU mole, Jack being hunted, someone takes over for the director of CTU, yadda yadda yadda. Series overall deserves an A for making this concept work for eight seasons.

CSI: Miami (CBS): What is it with the serial killers showing up in the season finales of all the CSI shows? And is everybody dead over at the lab? I thought it was a bit much bringing in a serial killer in the last show. And I get a major Jigsaw vibe with the way it preceded, CSI: SAW anybody? C for the finale, B for the season.

Oh well.

Thoughts: 23-May-2010

Sports Update.

Boston Red Sox: A near no hitter by Daisuke Matsuzaka and the Red Sox win over the Phillies. Game 3 is today. Pitching is starting to look good, maybe just maybe, we have a turn around for Boston.

Boston Celtics: A win over the Magic in Game 3 gives Boston a 3 games to none lead in this series. One game away from the championship series. Let us hope that this series does not end up like the Bruins-Flyers series.

College Football: SEC is now talking expansion plans. Looks like the Big 12 is in serious trouble, lots of rumors about teams leaving there to join other conferences.

Movie Review.

Shrek Forever After: What promises to be the last Shrek film was a notable improvement over number 3. Still not as good as the first two films, it was watchable. Worth a rental. C

Season Finales.

CSI (CBS): Dr. Jekyll is caught and Ray gets stabbed by the serial killer who helped him catch Jekyll. I did like the fact that he pointed out the Jekyll was the good guy in the story. Okay ending to the season, I do think that they need to step the game up for next year. B

Ghost Whisperer (CBS): What cold be the series finale, we find out who the Shinnies are (ghosts of children who crossed over), see that Aidan needed to lead them to defeat the Shadows, and get a little mythology established. Big problem with this series, unlike Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Supernatural, was an incomplete development of mythology. In Season 1 we were introduced to a being who brought the ghosts of dead infants into the light, then never saw them again. The Watchers were never developed completely. And replacing Aisha Tyler with Camryn Manheim never worked. ABC may pick up this series, I kind of doubt it. B for the season finale, C for the whole series.

The Mentalist (CBS): Red John makes an appearance in the finale, kidnapping the psychic who Jane has a crush on and killing some imitators of his work. So-so ending, overall this is a very solid bit of TV entertainment. B

I forgot to mention on the Grey's Anatomy (ABC) season finale, Kallie and Arizona got back together. That was nice.

Next Season TV schedule.

So next season we are going to have a big jam up on Thursday night as we did this past season.
Once again, I have six shows to watch and maybe a new one (Nikita) on the CW. Supernatural got moved to Friday which frees up my schedule some what.

I do find it interesting that CSI: Miami (CBS) got moved to Sunday Night. Let's see, Shark, Three Rivers, and Cold Case all got cancelled at that time slots, does CBS think they can improve ratings by putting CSI: Miami on at that time. How about not screwing up the schedule with sports overruns. When that happens, have your sports pregame show run to 8 pm and start then. You can put 60 Minutes on at 8, and one of those crappy reality shows on at 9 on those days.

For some reason, I don't think that will happen.

Oh well.

Thoughts: 22-May-2010

Lots of stuff to comment on today.

Sports Update.

Boston Red Sox: Last weekend, they lost two out of three to the Detroit Tigers, one of those losses can when they had a 6-1 8th inning lead. Then they split two in New York against the hated Yankees, swept the Minnesota Twins, and lost the first game in a series with the Philadelphia Phillies. Up and down this team goes, one bright spot is the brilliant pitching of Jon Lester, so hope remains.

Boston Celtics: They defeated the Orlando Magic in the first two games and may make it to the championship round. Very unexpected three round performance by the Celtics. Good job guys!

Big Ten: Rumors still fly about expansion. Missouri keeps coming up as a possible team. Maybe they will join at the 12th team and that may force Notre Dame to make a decision.

Movie Review.

Robin Hood, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, and William Hurt (three Oscar winners). This film tells the story of how Robin Hood comes to be the legendary outlaw. Several critics have complained that it is not the Robin Hood story or it is not swashbuckling enough. I guess they forgot about the Sean Connery-Audrey Hepburn film, Robin and Marion which also did a revisionist take on the story. I liked this film very much and would recommend this to anyone. A good time at the movies. A

I will be seeing the fourth Shrek film today, I did not care that much for the third one, and reviews have not been good for this entry. We shall see.

TV show Cancellations.

CBS cancelled Cold Case and Ghost Whisperer. Cold Case was expected and Medium was thought to be the show in trouble. I will comment more about Ghost Whisperer when I watch the series finale and comment on that. Cold Case was a good show, but with 7 seasons under its belt, and a big time syndication deal that has the show on constantly on TNT, maybe its time was over.

Season Finales.

Desperate Housewives (ABC): I did not care that much for this season, I think that this show has run its course. At least they did not kill off Angie, they allowed Drea de Matteo to leave the show with a nice send off where she was clever and got her revenge on her ex husband. Looks like Kyle McLaughlin is leaving the show, he is such a good actor and was wasted the last couple of seasons. The cliffhangers for next season look to be a baby switch at the hospital, my guess is that MJ is not Susan and Mike's, they will lose the kid for a while, then his biological parents will die and they will get MJ back by the end of the season. Also Mary Alice's husband returns to cause more havoc. Yawn. C

The Pacific (HBO): This ten part miniseries ended and I thought it was very good. Really shows how brutal the war with Japan was. Excellent. A

House (Fox): Okay ending to a very good season of House. He almost goes back on drugs when Cuddy shows up to tell him that she loves him. 13 also goes off on a leave of absence that may play a part next season. I wished that they did not do the Cuddy thing to save House at the end, I think that it may have been more powerful to end the season with House holding the pills in this hand and trying to decide what to do. B

Bones (Fox): Nice end to the season as all the characters take a year off to reevaluate their lives. Looking forward to seeing how this all plays out next season. A

Fringe (Fox): Nice two part season finale, Peter is back in our world while Olivia is trapped in the alternate universe with her double pretending to be her. And how evil is that Walter-net? I do have to say that having your child get stolen from you is pretty bad, but to want to destroy a whole universe for revenge? Great series. A

Grey's Anatomy (ABC): Shonda Rhimes must have a thirst for blood. She kills off Del on Private Practice and then has Mr. Clarke who lost his wife earlier in the season, coming gunning for doctors, two unknowns were killed, two Mercy West transfers were killed, and Derick, Hunt, and Alex all get shot. Oh, and Meredeth has a miscarriage. While this episode had me on the edge of my seat, and wondering why the SWAT guy did not do a head shot, I have to say in the light of the next day, a bit over the top, don't you think? C

New shows that interest me for next season.

CBS

The Defenders: Jim Belushi and Jerry O'Connell play two Las Vegas lawyers who go to bat for their clients. Could be interesting.

Blue Bloods: Tom Selleck plays the head of a family of Irish cops who also is the NY Chief of Police. I like Selleck and will check it out.

Hawaii Five-O: Alex O'Loughlin plays Steve McGarrett in this remake. Daniel Dae Kim, from Crusade, Angel, and Lost also stars. I always liked this show and am curious on how they plan on updating it

ABC

No Ordinary Family: Michael Chiklis and Julie Benz in this show about a family that gets super powers. I like both of these stars and will check it out.

Off the Map: Shonda Rhimes is producing this three medical show about doctors with past issues trying to find themselves in a clinic for the poor in Costa Rica. I thought that this was going to be set on a tropical island with lots of eye candy to go along with the junior high drama. Could be a tad depressing for fans of her other shows.

Fox

Terra Nova: Steven Spielberg is producing this show about a family of scientists sent to prehistoric times to study dinosaurs. Kyle Chandler is being considered for a role. A mid season replacement show.

NBC

Law & Order LA: Only show I want to watch on NBC.

Oh well.

Thoughts: 15-May-2010

Sports Update.

Boston Red Sox: They took 2 out of 3 games over the Blue Jays and defeated the Tigers last night in that series opener. Let us hope the Red Sox are finally on a constant winning track.

Boston Bruins: They take a 3 game to 0 lead over the Flyers, their goalie goes out for the season due to injuries, and they lose the next four games. The Flyers advance to round 3 to take on the Montreal Canadians who have already defeated the Washington Capitals (President's Trophy winner for having the best regular season record) and the Pittsburgh Penguins (defending Stanley Cup champions). I expect the Flyers to lose that series. Too bad, I really thought Boston would go to round 3.

Boston Celtics: They defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 4 games to 2, LeBron James is now looking at free agency and may go the New York Knicks. I think if he makes that move, he will be missing Cleveland big time. The Celtics go on to meet the Orlando Magic. One of my co-workers who knows more about basketball, told me that nobody is going to beat the Magic. Of course the Celtics were not supposed to beat Cleveland either.

Big Ten college football: Lots of rumors about expansion. Supposedly Nebraska and Missouri from the Big 12 along with Notre Dame got invitations to join. The Big 10 and 12 commissioners are both denying it. I was surprised to learn that Notre Dame would make more money by joining the Big 10 than they are making from the NBC contract to televise their home football games. I think that unless Notre Dame joins the Big 10, no deal will be made this year for expansion.

Season Finales.

Supernatural (CW): What a great and satisfying season finale. Sam says yes to being Lucifer's vessel, hoping to take control and jump back into the pit. Lucifer stays in control. Dean, Cass, and Bobby find out from the prophet (hack writer who uses his visions from God about Sam and Dean to write a Supernatural book series, which is to be the Gospel of the Winchesters) where the big showdown between Michael (who is using Sam and Dean's half brother as a vessel) and Lucifer is taking place. Dean shows up to try and reach Sam. Cass throws a holy fire bomb to get rid of Michael for a few minutes so Dean can try and do this. He and Bobby get killed, Lucifer beats up on Dean until Sam using his memories of his time with Dean (sparked by the car they grew up with) gets control, opens the pit, and jumps in taking Michael (who ended up acting like a big old jerk) with him. God restores Cass making me he archangel in charge of heaven. He heals Dean and brings Bobby back. Dean goes to Lisa (old love of Dean's) to try and have a normal life. And we find out the prophet is God in disguise who has been manipulating all this stuff from behind the seasons, Oh and God does bring Sam back, just in time for Season 6 next year. I do not know how next year will go, but this was the best season finale I have ever seen. A

Private Practice (ABC): I dislike this show for the junior high antics that these doctors engage in. Yet the season finale was not to bad at all. Here is a wrap up.

Del: He dies bring Maya and her unborn baby girl to the hospital. Maya's life is saved as is the baby's. Del really was put through the ringer this season, too bad, he was not too bad a character.

Cooper: He proposes to Charlotte and she accepts. He is not worth it, but just my opinion.

Pete and Violet: Addison tells Pete to go back to his true love and he does. Addison hosed again.

Addison: She decides to be with Sam, seems kind of contrived to me.

Sheldon: He gets hosed again by Charlotte and I think that Brian Benben is off the series. Too bad, he is a good actor and I hope he can get on a better TV show.

C

Smallville (CW): Another cliffhanger ending that we have to wait until the next season for resolution. The Kandorians are off to another world, Clark with Blue Kryptonite (takes away his powers) he falling from a tall building, and Green Arrow has been captured by some unknown new group. I was glad to see the Kandorians gone, now let's bring Supergirl back. Oh and Lois finally figures out Clark is the Blur. C

TV Renewals and Cancellations.

Human Target and Lie to Me (Fox): Both are coming back for a 13 episode run. Good for Human Target as the cliffhanger will not get resolved. And really if Fox can give Dollhouse two seasons why not these shows?

Law & Order and Heroes (NBC): NBC pulled the plug on both these shows. Heroes never lived up to its first season and deserved the cancellation. Law & Order was still a good show but I guess 20 seasons is all it gets. I think that TNT or USA should pick this up, who knows maybe they will.

Oh well.

Thoughts: 11-May-2010

The Boston Red Sox beat the hated enemy, the New York Yankees, last night 9-3 to avoid a three game sweep. Jon Lester has been dead on his last couple of outings. Maybe there is hope for the Red Sox after all.

The Boston Celtics beat the Cleveland Cavaliers last night to tie the series up 2-2. Outstanding performance by Rajon Rondo. Can the Celtics win two more games? I still have my doubts, but hope never dies in New England.

Bones (Fox): I wanted to comment on an injustice finally getting corrected on Bones. Hodges and Angelia were married this past episode, and I say hurrah. I never liked the fact that they split them up, for what I thought were dumb reasons. Now, Temperance and Booth need to get together. A

Jesse Stone: Last Remorse (CBS): Another great performance by Tom Selleck in the always excellent Jesse Stone films. Nice story line, but come on did you really have to leave the outcome of the hearing unresolved. The saving grace is that another Jesse Stone film is in the works. B

With the Jesse Stone films, I wonder why CBS does not revive the mystery movie concept where we have some rotating series characters, plus some adaptations of original novels that are not popular enough for the big screen. Could be a good Sunday night attraction for CBS.

Oh well.

Thoughts: 09-May-2010

Happy Mother's Day.

Film Review.

Iron Man 2: Director Jon Favreau. Very good sequel, as good as the original. Great story and lots of great action. Scarlett Johansson was very good in the role of the Black Widow and Jon Favreau did a great comedy bit with her during her big fight scene. I thought that Don Cheadle was wasted in his role, was not given that much screen time or character development. For that matter, Terence Howard who played James Rhodes in the first film, did not get that much screen time ether. Mickey Rouke did a great job playing the villain Ivan Danko aka Whiplash. And after the final credits, we get a setup for the upcoming Thor film with the reveal of Mjolnir crashing into the New Mexican desert. Great movie and a must see. A

News item: The Washington Post company puts Newsweek up for sale.

According to an article in the Atlantic a few months back, newsweeklies have not been doing well as the Internet and cable news channels are getting information to people a lot fast than a weekly magazine can. Only The Economist and the Weekly seem to be doing well. US News and World Report is now a monthly, Time has cut back on news reporting to focus on longer essays, and Newsweek went through a revamp to make it more like the Economist and be more of a thought publication as opposed to a news reporting magazine.

Well, the revamp is not successful. I picked up a copy of Newsweek a while back and it was a great issue on true crime. This got me to subscribe. I was unimpressed with the run of magazines I received, the content never lived up to the promise of that first issue that I read. Now the magazine is for sale.

I say that a weekly news magazine, should have a summary of the top stories of the week, some lengthy investigative journalism articles, and then a review section for movies, TV, theater, books, music, and other fine arts. Maybe some commentary on the sports world too. That to me could be a successful combination.

Also, who ever buys Newsweek, please fire Eleanor Clift.

Boston Red Sox were again smoked by the evil empire. Lord, do I hate it when the Yankees win and to smoke us like that. Good night nurse.

Cold Case (CBS): The season finale was on this past week and the show ended with some nice tie ups to previous story lines. That evil assistant chief got his comeuppance, Lily saved her sister and newborn baby, and the rapist who raped the mother of Scotty got killed in prison after getting set up as a rat by Scotty. The show may have seen its end with this season as CBS may not renew it. Good show over all, with 7 seasons under its belt has plenty of episodes for syndication. B

Oh well.

Thoughts: 08-May-2010

I am planning on seeing Iron Man 2 today, looking forward to seeing the sequel. I loved the first film and have seen lots of good reviews for this movie. Tomorrow, I will give my review.

Sports Update:

Boston Red Sox: They were swept in their series with the Baltimore Orioles, then swept the series with the Angels, and got blown out by the Yankees last night in the first game of their weekend series with the hated enemy. I wish the real Red Sox would show up.

Boston Bruins: They beat the Flyers to get a 3 to 0 lead in their playoff series, and lost last night to them in overtime. 3-1 is the current count, hopefully they can put them away in game 5.

Boston Celtics: The Cavillers beat them last night to take a 2-1 lead in their playoff series. I hope the Celtics still have a few wins left in them, but I think that the Cavs have this series.

Two shows that I cannot stand to watch anymore.

McLaughlin Group (PBS): Eleanor Clift's constant interrupting and screeching has finally gotten to me. She has gotten so bad, that even when her fellow comrade on the left tries to get a word in, she needs to screech over her, and all she wanted to do was say she agreed with Eleanor. Clift has not spoken an intelligent word since I started to watch this show again. Not going to waste anymore time on it as long as she is on the show. F

Ancient Aliens (History Channel): The last episode did me in, what a bunch of nonsense they are spouting to fill the two hours. First we are told that these ancient aliens came to Earth to mine gold and genetically manipulated the DNA of cavemen to create a slave labor force to mine the gold. But if they wanted gold, why did they leave with so much gold left on Earth, it was the genetic manipulations that was the real goal. So they periodically return to Earth to check on the progress of this work by doing cattle mutilations. Huh? We also heard nonsense about crop circles being an attempt by these ancient aliens to communicate with us. Never mind that folks have come forward saying they created the circles, their attempts were crude, the real alien crop circles are too perfect, they could never be created by us dumb humans. The same prejudice exhibited against our ancestors, they could never build pyramids or come up with anything intelligent on their own. Enough of this crap already. F

Now for some good TV.

Friday Night Lights (NBC): I watched the first episode of the season that Direct TV had shown earlier last night. What a great show, what a amazing turn around where Coach Taylor goes from the most to the least. Kyle Chandler is a great actor and I hope he can find another vehicle that will get better ratings, he deserves it. This promises to be an awesome season. A

Supernatural (CW): We are getting set up for the big season finale next week. This show gets better season after season. My guess is that poor Bobby is going to bite the bullet so that Sam and Dean survive for next season's run. I hope not, I like him. A

Comic Book News

DC is cancelling the Warlord with issue 16. Mike Grell returned to his series this year, but I guess the sales were not good enough. Though why this book gets cancelled and Magog is still being published is beyond my understanding. I am hoping the DC cleans up all those multiple Batman books and gets the number down to a reasonable amount.

Marvel is cancelling X-Force and replacing it with the New X-Force. Do we still need all these X-Men related books, and for that matter all these Avengers books that will be coming out. Talk about killing the goose with the golden egg. One bright sign is that one of the Deadpool books is going to end, man am I sick of that character already. He is starting to remind me of Ambush Bug, who I see is showing up in the next issue of Doom Patrol. Really? Do we need to keep using these lame characters and who the hell is buying these comics to make the publishers think we want to see more of them?

Oh well.

Thoughts: 01-May-2010

Lots of stuff to post about today.

Sports Update.

Boston Bruins: Boston won its first playoff series by eliminating the Buffalo Sabres. Next up, the Philadelphia Flyers. Last year the Bruins were heavy favorites in the second round over the Carolina Hurricanes and were eliminated by them. Boston has not had too much luck advancing beyond the second round in the NHL playoffs, so I am thinking the Flyers take this series.'

Boston Celtics: Boston eliminated the Miami Heat in the first round and now face the Cleveland Cavaliers in round 2. James and O'Neill may be too much for the Celtics to handle, I am thinking that Cleveland takes this series.

Boston Red Sox: They started out slow with the pitching not coming through for them. Then Buchholz and Lester pitched two great games. Right now they are hovering around 500, I hope their pitching can settle down, at least they are scoring runs.

Ancient Aliens (History Channel): Episode 2 was on this week and they are really doing quite a stretch in filling two hours of this dribble. Two guys who are so talking out of their asses, Giorgio Tsoukalos (publisher of Legendary Times, a magazine devoted to ancient astronaut theory) and David Childress (wrote a book called Technology of the Gods and has no credentials as an archaeologist according to Wikipedia), spent most of the two hours repeating themselves over and over again without presenting any evidence at all. The first part of the show dealt with the practice of primitive people artificially elongating their skulls. This we are told, started because they wanted to look like the space gods. Then in the second hour, the same people argue they the ancient astronauts look like us, so why would they elongate their skulls? Why can't the History Channel bring some real archaeologists on board to dispute this nonsense? F

Doctor Who (BBC America): Matt Smith has taken over the role of the Doctor in his 11th regeneration. So far so good, I like what he is doing and I think his new companion, Amy Pond, is just great. A

Private Practice (ABC): This show just gets worse and worse, my god do all these doctors have to act like they are still in junior high? An original cast member is going to get killed off, please let it be Cooper or Violet though I think it is going to be Charlotte. D

Shows that I like that may not be getting renewed.

Cold Case (CBS): Last year, CBS picked this show over Without a Trace in the renewal sweepstakes. This year, while the ratings have been good, it looks like no renewal. Too bad, but I think that 7 seasons provide plenty of episodes for syndication money for the producers. And this crap with sport events running over and screwing up my DVR recording is really getting kind of tiresome.

Law & Order (NBC): Depending on whether TNT is going to commit to buying syndication rights for beyond a 20th season, this show may be on its way out. NBC really does not have anything better to show, which may save it, gut feeling tells me, it will get saved.

Human Target (FOX): High production costs and lackluster ratings may kill this show, too bad one of the better things on TV. NBC, how about saving this for us?

Lie To Me (FOX): The possible cancellation of Human Target could save this show, but Fox is not showing much love for this show. Why delay new episodes until June? 50-50 chance this gets renewed.

Ghost Whisperer (CBS): Show has not really grown in its concept since season 1, more like a stagnant Touched by an Angel then the ever changing dynamic of Supernatural. Also, syndication has this show on all the time over on other channels. Still it is a rating winner on Friday night, so it may get renewed.

Heroes (NBC): The rumor is that there will be a 13 episode pick up by NBC. I say, kill it dead and get the rights to Human Target.

Oh well.

Thoughts: 26-April-2010

I saw two films recently, that I did not post about.

Clash of the Titans: I did not care for this remake at all. I liked the original Ray Harryhausen film a lot better. They just seemed to rush from one scene after another and while the effects looked okay, there was no character development and I thought the Kraken from the original film got more screen time. And the original had nudity that this film did not have the guts to do. D

The Losers: I loved the Vertigo comic book series that this film was based on and thought that they did a very nice job in bringing this to the screen. I thought it was well casted and both Chris Evans and Jeffrey Dean Morgan were very good as well as Jason Patric who played Max. Room for a sequel, so I hope it does well. A

I saw a trailer for the Expendables, the new Sylvester Stallone movie coming out. Lots of big names, some like Dolph Lungren had seen better days. Still looks entertaining enough to check out.

I have been reading Swan Peak by James Lee Burke, which is a David Robicheaux book. He is a very good writer and while I liked the two films of his Robicheaux books that were made, he has not find film success with his character. Very good writer who reminds me of Elmore Leonard.

Justified (FX): Elmore Leonard has really found some success with this show, his characters and prose really comes through in this show. Timothy Olyphant is very good and the show gets better and better. FX needs to do a show based on the David Robicheaux novels, that would be a hit. A

I have to play catchup on TV today, just too far behind.

Oh well.