violetismycolor

big bang theory...

I have only recently become a fangirl of the Big Bang Theory.  The writing is so funny and clever and smart.  I love the science humor, the immigrant humor, the nerdiness.  Buzzinga!

You be the judge:

listen to this State of Washington...

Last night, Steven Colbert made a joke about changing the name of Washington to "Starbucksistan". 

Funny. 

And appropriate.

funny baby...

 

I have to say that I love the eTrade baby commercials.  Of course, I love babies...what's not to love?  They are cute, funny, and they don't live at my house. 

But I watched the Super Bowl for two reasons:  to be a TV buddy for my hubby and to watch the baby ads.  I am not kidding.

You can tell how big a football fan I am by the conversation John and I had as the game was starting.

John:  So, which team are you going to root for?

Me:  Who is playing?

John:  Wow, you are so sad.

Yah, I was out of the room when the baby ad came on.  I had to go watch it on You Tube later.

Lost in Austen...

British actor Elliot Cowan is AWESOME as Mr. Darcy in the new iTV (British) series called Lost in Austen. In Episode 3, he did the classic wet shirt move and it was pretty memorable. 

You can watch all the episodes at www.surfthechannel.com.  Just type in the name of the show and it will stream for you.

 

Let's recap: 

Amanda Price (a Pride and Prejudice maniac) is miserable in present-day Hammersmith/London.  Elizabeth Bennett somehow emerges from the airing cupboard in her bathroom and Amanda goes into the cupboard to investigate.  Door closes.  Amanda ends up in the Bennetts house.  The family is just about to meet their new neighbor, Mr. Bingley.

Havoc ensues and Amanda tries to fix it.  Not so well.  Without Elizabeth there, all hell breaks loose.  Jane ends up marrying creepy Mr. Collins.  Bingley turns to drink and may be running off with Lydia in Episode 4.  Darcy falls in love with Amanda.  Bingley's sister comes on to Amanda...cooing and reciting Sapphic poetry. 

OooLaLa...

trying to watch the olympics...

 

I have been trying to watch the Olympics, a frustrating experience. Though I have an expanded digital cable package, I have been frustrated at the timing and the content of what is on all these channels.  When I try to watch the evening fare, it seems to be oriented towards the East Coast...the delays are for prime time there but that means it is bad timing for me.  At 9 pm, my choice of Olympic sports seems to be Beach Volleyball...every night.

Now, I have nothing against beach volleyball, but I want to be watching the swimming or the gymnastics or (especially tennis, but that's another story).  And I am OLD and I go to bed at 10pm.  Yes, I am THAT old.

As for the TENNIS:

• They don't seem to show it at all on TV, besides maybe highlights
• As far as the Internet content, there is no commentary and the coverage is spotty. In the case of one doubles match I was watching yesterday, it ended halfway into the tiebreaking sets. Why would you do that?
• I finally (by sheer accident) found out that there is something called 'Olympics On The Go', which I can watch through my Media Center PC. You download a program and then you can subscribe to whichever sports you want and it records it. Then you watch at your leisure, i.e. NOT in the middle of the night.

So, I am now sitting here, watching yesterday's Nadal vs. Djokovic semifinal. Which is AWESOME, btw.

Who won?

NADAL

doppelgangers...

Hayden Panettiere and Dominika Cibulkova...definitely doppelgangers.

Hayden, 18, is the 'cheerleader', the sweetheart of the Heroes TV Series---Dominika, 19, is a Slovakian tennis player, who just today became the number 20 female tennis player in the world. 

I have been watching a fair amount of tennis lately, and I was watching the 2008 Rodgers Cup final and couldn't help seeing that this young tennis player was such a ringer for Panettiere. 

Cibulkova is young but she is one to watch.  She couldn't keep up with Dinara Safina, but Safina has been unstoppable lately. 

BTW, did I tell you that Bonnie and I ran into Hayden P. and Milo (THE Hero) here in Portland last month?  We saw them at the Pioneer Place movie theatre.  But I didn't say anything then, since I didn't think they wanted folks to know they were in town...trying to get away from the paparazzi and all...And they were both very nice.

mad men...

I watched a couple of episodes of season one of Mad Men, since it has been so highly acclaiimed, is up for multiple Emmy's, they got a fantastic piece on NPR today...and I have to say that I am underwhelmed.  These people are all so scuzzy and have no sense of decency, as far as I can see. 

I can't wait for season three of Brothers and Sisters...please Actor's Union, don't go on strike, PLEASE....

let's dance...

Disclosure:  My childhood nickname was Twinkletoes.  This was because I was always dancing/walking/running on tiptoe because I wanted to be a ballerina. 

So, it's probably no surprise that I just love watching Dancing With The Stars!  I was a huge fan of Apollo Anton Ono, when he was on.  And now, I am definitely hoping Kristi Yamiguchi will be the ultimate winner.  She is such an incredible dancer...not surprising, given her prowess as a skater. 

I also have to admit that I love watching Marissa and Tony dance.  Marissa is so full of enthusiasm and verve, and Tony is such a great dancer that he is incredible to watch.

I always went to dances in high school, and loved going out disco-ing when I was in college and in my 20's.  I would love to do some ballroom dancing, but I just don't think John would be into it.  So, the next best thing is dancing vicariously with my 'stars' on Monday nights. 

I have to go off and vote for my faves on the ABC website.

tv soap...and I love it...

So, Kitty is pregnant...hah, take THAT presidential bid of hunky-fiance-played-by-Rob Lowe!  "This shouldn't matter in America today," he says. What America are you living in, REPUBLICAN-presidential-candidate-played-by-Rob Lowe?  Isn't this the kind of behavior the Republican right is condeming all the time?  Might as well fold that hand right now. 

And what is up with Tommy?  Sleeping with practically-still-a-teenager friend of the newest Walker?  And he thinks his wife is being a jerk? 

And Justin, Justin...going straight back to taking too many drugs when you went through that rehab just months ago?  What are you thinking?

Ah, Kevin...thank God we didn't have to see that skeevy Scottie on last night's episode.  He's just not right for you.  Don't you know that cute-minister-boyfriend-who-is-in-Malaysia is definitely worth waiting for?  And now that his other show got cancelled (after ONLY two episodes), he's likely to be back sooner than we had hoped.  Don't be like Tommy and run after the nearest guy for some fun!  Wait, oh please just wait!

Sarah,  I almost cried right along with you when those kids left with their dad last night.  Two weeks without them and then no promise that you'll get shared custody.  How is your almost-ex-hubby supporting them, anyway?

And Norah...the pantry?  Don't you know what the pantry signals?  Secrets...delicious secrets that the rest of the family will never be able to keep?  Gossips, the whole bunch of them. 

Oh Brothers and Sisters...how I love you!

entertaining myself...

I love all forms of story:  books, television, and movies...

So, much to my joy, there are all sorts of new entertainments just waiting for me around the bend.  Around the bend of the new fall season:  the new-fall-shows-tv season, the leading-up-Christmas movie season, and the continuation of my year-round book group.

There's some exciting stuff on the horizon. 

In the new tv season, besides being so ready for Grey's Anatomy to come back, there are a couple of shows that should be really good.  First is Journeyman, about a man who starts time-traveling, much to the upset of his wife and boss and well, everyone.  Also, Pushing Daisies, about a man who has the power to bring people back to life with his touch.  The problem there is:  one more touch from him and the person is dead again...problematic when you bring your mom back from a stroke or the love of your life back from being murdered (both plot points of the show). 

In the movie game, my push is for August Rush, which has been shown in previews.   About a musical prodigy looking for his parents, who are played by Keri Russell and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers.  Looks magical.

As for books, I have updated my 'what is she reading?' typelist.  Included are:  Annie Dillard's The Maytrees, Booker-shortlisted The Secret River by Kate Grenville, and Claire Messud's The Last Life. 

So much great entertainment to choose from!

big night on tv...

New episodes of Gilmore Girls and House...all on ONE night.  From goody-two-shoes girliness to that mean man; it's schizophrenic fun...I love it.

the tudors...

If you go to the Showtime website, you can watch (for free, password is king) the first two episodes of The Tudors.  It is fabulous and, I think, pretty realistic to what life was like at the court of the young Henry VIII. 

Being a bit of an amateur historian of the time (my favorite historical time period being 1500 - 1560), I have a pretty large personal library of books about England, France, and The Holy Roman Empire at this time.  Henry VIII was reputed to be a very young, handsome, smart, athletic monarch.  He was also volatile and had great hubris, which led him to his own personal demons...playing out in his choice of his five wives and their eventual sad lives. 

This is definitely television worth watching.  And given my own personal interests in the material, lots of fun for me.

tv, and me...

I got the COOLEST thing today.  The fact that it came to me today had to do with bad timing with something else.  I'll explain.

I was trying to free up some space on my computer and was burning images to DVD.  Just as I opened a bottom drawer, the DVD burner door sprung open and hit the drawer warping the drive door and making it inoperable.  Crud!  I had to call Larry, my computer guy to save me.

I have been talking to him about installing a tv tuner to my computer (it runs on Windows XP Media Center Edition) and we chatted about resolving this issue while resolving my DVD drive issue...we DID!  So, we got everything we needed (a cable signal splitter, more coaxial cable, a tv tuner card, etc.) and popped back to my house.  Larry managed to fix the DVD drive door AND successfully got my computer tv/recorder working.

The gist is:  I now have a TiVo, without paying a TiVo subscription fee.  The Media Center software finds your Cable TV listings and it allows you to record one show, while watching another...on your computer.  It is just too cool.  Now, I don't have to tape my favorite shows, most of which John hates...I can just schedule them to be recorded by my computer...YAY!!!

I have to admit that I am a gadget  geek...so true.  But I love it!

Rush and Michael J. Fox

I just got an email from a friend with a link to YouTube and Katie Couric's interview with Michael J. Fox.  They were talking about what Rush Limbaugh said about MJF not taking his meds in order to gain sympathy...that he was being political with his illness.  What a total ass Rush Limbaugh is! 

If you want to see the interview, click here.

last of Scottish reminiscenses...

For those who asked about the photos...that was obviously me and John, and our kids, Adam and Bonnie.  In addition, we were joined in Edinburgh, for the weekend, by our dear friends John and Judith...the ones whose son's wedding we went to a month ago...  They live in the Wiltshire (about an hour and a half west of London.

We had really good weather in Edinburgh, and our hotel (the Parliament House Hotel) was just off Princes Street and near the Royal Mile.  So, we were able to walk to Edinburgh Castle and to Holyrood Palace.  These are at either end of the Royal Mile...Edinburgh Castle being the old medieval edifice and Holyrood being the Renaissance-built favorite of Mary Queen of Scots. 

Bonnie and Adam wanted to do a nighttime Ghost Tour of Edinburgh, so we did that too, and found out about all the horrible ways folks died in Edinburgh over the centuries and how their ghosts are still roaming free.  We ended in some underground caverns...pretty creepy.  But fun for a change of pace.

We did High Tea at the Balmoral Hotel...very fancy, very posh.  There were several wedding receptions going on while we were there, so there was a bagpiper in full kilt regalia standing at the door and 'piping in the bride'.  Sounds nasty, but it was merely musical.  There are a couple of photos of our very English-tea-proper goodies...cucumber sandwiches and scones and the like.  Lots of fingerfood size desserts, too.  Yum.

We had our last day, Monday, at St Andrews, just wandering around...looked at the golf course and did some shopping and just sort of relaxed...let the kids do their school thing during the day, ate out that night, and then said goodbye till Christmas break. 

It was all very nice and very lovely.  And yes, Scotland always looks beautiful because it just is. 

another Jon Stewart moment...

check out the NY Times (Arts section) on Jon Stewart and the awesome Crossfire appearance:

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/20/arts/television/20watc.html?oref=login

just a hint of what was said (credit to ALESSANDRA STANLEY of the NY Times):

The transcript of Friday's "Crossfire," and the blog commentary about it, popped up all over the Internet this weekend. Mr. Stewart's Howard Beal (of "Network") outburst stood out because he said what a lot of viewers feel helpless to correct: that news programs, particularly on cable, have become echo chambers for political attacks, amplifying the noise instead of parsing the misinformation. Whether the issue is Swift boat ads or Bill O'Reilly's sexual harassment suit, shows like "Crossfire" or "Hardball" provide gladiator-style infotainment as journalists clownishly seek to amuse or rile viewers, not inform them.

Mr. Stewart is very funny, but it is the vein of "a plague on both your houses" indignation that has made his show a cult favorite: many younger voters are turning to the "The Daily Show" for their news analysis, and are better served there than on much of what purports to be real news on cable.

And of course it was fun just to see television pundits who think they are part of the same media version of the Algonquin Round Table as Mr. Stewart lose their cool when he tore off the tablecloth and shattered the plates. "Wait,'' Mr. Carlson said querulously. "I thought you were going to be funny. Come on. Be funny." Mr. Stewart was funny. And it was at their expense.

He is sooooo cool!

Jon Stewart is my hero...

I just LOVE Jon Stewart. For anyone out there who is clueless, he is the star of The Daily Show, which is the best political news show/comedy show on TV today. If you don't have cable, call your cable company NOW and order it. It is worth it if only to see this show 4 nights a week.

Okay, why the rave?

Jon Stewart was on Crossfire (CNN) on Friday. The show, which is a conservative vs. liberal 'debate' show invited him on to promote his new book, America.

Instead, they got a show full of Jon Stewart taking them on as pandering to the politicians and not doing their job of informing the public on what is really going on out there.

Here's a snippit of what went on when Tucker Carlson got offended by Stewart saying that they were not doing their job of asking the tough questions:

STEWART: It's not honest. What you do is not honest. What you do is partisan hackery. And I will tell you why I know it.

CARLSON: You had John Kerry on your show and you sniff his throne and you're accusing us of partisan hackery?

STEWART: Absolutely.

CARLSON: You've got to be kidding me. He comes on and you...

STEWART: You're on CNN. The show that leads into me is puppets making crank phone calls.

[LAUGHTER]

STEWART: What is wrong with you?

It was awesome!

To watch the video, go to www.mediamatters.org and check it out.

To read the transcript of the show: http://mediamatters.org/items/200410160003

Bonnie has now announced that she would like to marry Jon Stewart, or at least someone just like him only younger and not already married...(Good thinking!)