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hypothesis
Aug. 17th, 2010 08:28 pmWhen watching a British mystery from the 80s or later, if you recognize someone from "I, Claudius" in it, you have identified the murderer.
TV Graveyard Rules
May. 1st, 2010 07:38 amThe Funeral
1. Funerals are always at the graveside
2. The eulogy is given by a main character, even if they weren't the closest person to the deceased or even getting along very well at the time they died
3. The casket is never actually lowered into the earth...
4. ...because everyone except the main bereavee walks away from the grave site immediately after the eulogy...
5. ...in multiple random directions.
Visiting the Grave
1. there is always a bench directly in front of your loved one's grave
2. If they have a marker, it is the approximate size of Mount Rushmore
3. If someone wants to talk to you during your mourning period, they will drive clear across town and walk to the grave site to see you there, instead of phoning your cell or coming to your house...
4. ...and then after saying 3 sentences to you, will immediately leave again.
I'm sure there are more...what am I missing?
1. Funerals are always at the graveside
2. The eulogy is given by a main character, even if they weren't the closest person to the deceased or even getting along very well at the time they died
3. The casket is never actually lowered into the earth...
4. ...because everyone except the main bereavee walks away from the grave site immediately after the eulogy...
5. ...in multiple random directions.
Visiting the Grave
1. there is always a bench directly in front of your loved one's grave
2. If they have a marker, it is the approximate size of Mount Rushmore
3. If someone wants to talk to you during your mourning period, they will drive clear across town and walk to the grave site to see you there, instead of phoning your cell or coming to your house...
4. ...and then after saying 3 sentences to you, will immediately leave again.
I'm sure there are more...what am I missing?
(no subject)
Nov. 4th, 2009 09:35 amAre any of you watching Stormchasers on Discovery? It's pretty much the only show we watch in realtime here at Casa Dell. It follows a couple of groups of tornado chasers, and has awesome footage of tornadoes and also some fun personality stuff and some annoying personality stuff. And vehicular geekery as well, since all their equipment has to be mobile.
( Cut for SPOILERS and also length of obsessive ranting about Reed Timmer )
( Cut for SPOILERS and also length of obsessive ranting about Reed Timmer )
I just got CM Season 4 on DVD because I like being hopelessly behind on shows. So far I've watched the first two episodes.
Spoilers. And cussing.
( Spoilers...for Season 4, which is last season, because I am way behind )
Spoilers. And cussing.
( Spoilers...for Season 4, which is last season, because I am way behind )
Models of the Runway
Aug. 24th, 2009 12:29 pmIs anyone else watching this? It's the "Project Runway" models, so we get to see their side of things. It sounded fun, but since they're not actually in a competition, no matter what Heidi says, there is no potential for Top Model/Make Me A Supermodel hilarity, other than the awful outfits they will have to wear on PR.
So, the first episode was pretty much "I hope I don't get eliminated," "I love my designer, I hope he continues to win;" "Since my designer got eliminated, I could get eliminated too; I hope I don't," with a brief interlude of "OMG I got free stuff as a result of winning! Awesome free stuff that I will mostly not show to the camera!"
I dunno, I think it's going to suck, but I guess I'll watch one more episode and see if something interesting happens.
So, the first episode was pretty much "I hope I don't get eliminated," "I love my designer, I hope he continues to win;" "Since my designer got eliminated, I could get eliminated too; I hope I don't," with a brief interlude of "OMG I got free stuff as a result of winning! Awesome free stuff that I will mostly not show to the camera!"
I dunno, I think it's going to suck, but I guess I'll watch one more episode and see if something interesting happens.
Too Much TeeVee Brain
Jun. 11th, 2009 03:29 pmThe Abilitations catalog is full of all kinds of awesome stuff for kids with special needs, ranging from simple school/focus aids like "pencil fidgets" (things that go on the end of a pencil that you can twiddle around) and wiggle cusions (a cushion that has air in it, so you can't really settle on it and have to wiggle around to stay in place) to a whole range of mobility devices and cool stuff you'll mainly only encounter in the therapist's office.
However, when I saw the "no mess sandbox" on the lower right of this page, I couldn't help but think that the plastic dinosaur in there is really an alien life form, and it's going to escape and turn that kid into a replicator, or give him a sleeping sickness, or one of the other things that invariably happens on Stargate: SG1 and other SF TV whenever they trot out the box with the glovey things in it. So if you're tempted to get this for your child, please don't use it as a biological containment field, because that only leads to heartbreak and needless deaths of extraneous characters.
However, when I saw the "no mess sandbox" on the lower right of this page, I couldn't help but think that the plastic dinosaur in there is really an alien life form, and it's going to escape and turn that kid into a replicator, or give him a sleeping sickness, or one of the other things that invariably happens on Stargate: SG1 and other SF TV whenever they trot out the box with the glovey things in it. So if you're tempted to get this for your child, please don't use it as a biological containment field, because that only leads to heartbreak and needless deaths of extraneous characters.
I Totally Skipped Dollhouse
Feb. 16th, 2009 09:32 pmSo when I read about Dollhouse, the new Joss Whedon TV Adventure, I was not enthused, because it's supposedly about a hot girl who has no personality of her own, who becomes different people based on the needs of the current adventure. Which is a pretty textbook male fantasy, and if we're going to explore it I'd rather see a reality show about Japanese fantasy sex clubs, because those are cool.
Alias embraced this concept by dressing Sydney up in hooker clothes all the time, but she had her own personality, so it was a contrast thing, in which the fantasy object was really a sweet, complex person with a family, who will kill you 18 different ways.
So, the other thing this concept immediately reminded me of was Molly in <i>Neuromancer</i>, who used to work as a "meat puppet," being given to clients who would do nasty things to her that she wouldn't remember, except that one time she "woke up" in the middle of a session and she killed the hell out of the client because he was cutting her up or some shit like that. See, it was just one conversation in a book I read 20 years ago, but it was VIVID and has stayed with me, and Molly was SO AWESOME. So I don't want to see a lameass rip-off of the same concept that's crossed with a lame-ass rip-off of Alias.
So I skipped it. Judging from my flist's reactions to the show, I totally did myself a favor, because it's bad, bad, bad, and also has more of Joss' annoying old-school Orientalism, which I managed to deal with in Firefly by coming up with my Theory of Chinese People in Firefly* but just don't feel like dealing with any more.
Yay, me! Reading 2-line descriptions of show concepts does pay off.
*Theory: there are a lot of Chinese characters in Firefly. They just aren't played by Chinese actors.
Alias embraced this concept by dressing Sydney up in hooker clothes all the time, but she had her own personality, so it was a contrast thing, in which the fantasy object was really a sweet, complex person with a family, who will kill you 18 different ways.
So, the other thing this concept immediately reminded me of was Molly in <i>Neuromancer</i>, who used to work as a "meat puppet," being given to clients who would do nasty things to her that she wouldn't remember, except that one time she "woke up" in the middle of a session and she killed the hell out of the client because he was cutting her up or some shit like that. See, it was just one conversation in a book I read 20 years ago, but it was VIVID and has stayed with me, and Molly was SO AWESOME. So I don't want to see a lameass rip-off of the same concept that's crossed with a lame-ass rip-off of Alias.
So I skipped it. Judging from my flist's reactions to the show, I totally did myself a favor, because it's bad, bad, bad, and also has more of Joss' annoying old-school Orientalism, which I managed to deal with in Firefly by coming up with my Theory of Chinese People in Firefly* but just don't feel like dealing with any more.
Yay, me! Reading 2-line descriptions of show concepts does pay off.
*Theory: there are a lot of Chinese characters in Firefly. They just aren't played by Chinese actors.
Playing the odds the Criminal Minds way
Oct. 22nd, 2008 11:44 am"Nearly 100% of child abduction victims are dead within 24 hours."
"Ok, she's been gone 20 hours, so we have 4 hours left to find her."
(Thus far, as I'm watching S1, the show is very, very smart, so the stupid tends to stick out)
"Ok, she's been gone 20 hours, so we have 4 hours left to find her."
(Thus far, as I'm watching S1, the show is very, very smart, so the stupid tends to stick out)
Catching up on TV
Oct. 13th, 2008 12:47 pmBeing home on the couch for a few days has given me time to watch lots of stuff on TV. A few thoughts:
1. Criminal Minds, thus far, really IS as good as Bear & Bull say it is. I picked up the S1 DVD and am really enjoying it. So is Mike, who normally doesn't like cop shows. His take: "wow, they're catching the criminals by being smart, rather than by lying to them and bullying them!"
2. Project Runway: Not only does Kenley come off like a bitch throughout the season, which might be partly the editors' fault, but she apparently has no friends! Tim Gunn goes and meets everybody's family and friends every season, and Kenley doesn't introduce him to a soul. I get that living in NYC means maybe not having your family nearby, but you don't know anybody who wants to meet Tim Gunn? WTF.
3. Project Runway, continued: Do these people not watch the show? They ALWAYS give you an extra challenge when you arrive in NYC for fashion week. Just budget the freaking extra time, people.
4. Cutting the reruns of sitcoms to make them shorter makes them LESS FUNNY. Stop it. (Fortunately I have Scrubs on DVD, so don't have to watch the chopped-up versions on Comedy Central, but it would be nicer if they would knock it off.)
5. Jaws never gets old.
1. Criminal Minds, thus far, really IS as good as Bear & Bull say it is. I picked up the S1 DVD and am really enjoying it. So is Mike, who normally doesn't like cop shows. His take: "wow, they're catching the criminals by being smart, rather than by lying to them and bullying them!"
2. Project Runway: Not only does Kenley come off like a bitch throughout the season, which might be partly the editors' fault, but she apparently has no friends! Tim Gunn goes and meets everybody's family and friends every season, and Kenley doesn't introduce him to a soul. I get that living in NYC means maybe not having your family nearby, but you don't know anybody who wants to meet Tim Gunn? WTF.
3. Project Runway, continued: Do these people not watch the show? They ALWAYS give you an extra challenge when you arrive in NYC for fashion week. Just budget the freaking extra time, people.
4. Cutting the reruns of sitcoms to make them shorter makes them LESS FUNNY. Stop it. (Fortunately I have Scrubs on DVD, so don't have to watch the chopped-up versions on Comedy Central, but it would be nicer if they would knock it off.)
5. Jaws never gets old.
