Chuck Season 3

The biggest fear I had last week (and this should tell you something about the a-perilous nature of my life) was that, despite my anticipation, despite my giddiness at the prospect of its return topped off with the unexpected gift of the Season 2 set from TLomL (squee!), Chuck's magic would be gone, or at least greatly diminished. Given the season 2 finale, and the new/augmented direction the show would take as a result, the possibility was certainly there.

And after the first two episodes aired as the season premier, I thought that might be true. Yeah, it was good to see Chuck, Sarah, Casey, Awesome, Ellie and the Buy More gang back, something felt off. I enjoyed the episodes, don't get me wrong, but it was almost like an athlete coming back from an extended time injured to be almost his former self (obviously, this was an athlete who didn't take PEDs). Were all those Subway sandwiches bought in vain?

Nope. Episode 3, "Chuck Versus the Angel De La Muerte," proved that the show was the same goofy bundle of action, comedy, romance, and fun that it's been, it just needed those first two episodes to establish its new direction. Between Chuck's new abilities, and new organizational nemesis there was enough foundation to be laid that it makes sense the episodes wouldn't feel quite the same.

What did this episode feature? The episode featured Awesome being awesome, Ellie getting to do something other than be in the background/nag her brother, Sarah and Chuck (hopefully) putting the crushes aside for awhile, Casey being all sorts of growly-gruntily awesome, getting to see another aspect of the Intersect 2.0. A decent bad guy, a great bad guy trying to be not-so-bad, and a jaw dropping cliffhanger.

Should've seen the cliffhanger coming, but was enjoying myself too much to look around for it (which made it so effective); and NBC's promo department have ruined it between commercials for next week/promo photos they've released. Oh well.

It wasn't quite a pure return to formula, there was only a passing reference to any of the good people down at the Buy More(which we can use less of--as long as it's not too much less), which is good, really--I'm not against growth, I'm just not crazy about fixing what ain't broke.

I should note, in light of episode 3, the previous two seem better, which is a plus.

If you missed these episodes, fear not, you can still catch them thanks to the magic of teh Intranets.

The Mermaids Singing by Val McDermid

I've been watching (read: obsessing over) the BBC's Wire in the Blood over the last couple of weeks, and but haven't been terribly inclined to read the source material -- which is more than a little odd for me, I normally have to immerse myself in that kind of thing. Something about the stories and the way they were being told kept me from it. On the whole, I'm not a big serial killer fiction kind of guy--I'll dip into that type of thing occasionally, but generally if it's from an author I follow (I'm a little more inclined to handle the subject on TV than I am in movies or in print, but even then...)It was an aside in a blog entry by Lee Goldberg, contrasting TV series adapted directly from books vs. those based on the character/franchise that gave me the necessary push. I thought I knew what he was getting at, but wanted to see it in practice.

The Mermaids Singing is the first installment in the novel series (which was also the first story adapted for TV), the setup is essentially this: Detective Chief Inspector Carol Jordan and her the Assistant Chief (who's name I can't recall atm because the book's already back at the library) are convinced that a series of murders are the work of a serial killer, despite the outright (and seemingly blind) hostility Jordan's immediate supervisor has to the idea. The Asst. Chief recruits a local psychologist, Dr. Tony Hill, to work out a profile of the killer--luckily, he's heading up a nationwide task force to profile killers of this sort in an effort to help the police. Jordan's assigned to liaise between Hill and the investigation. As they work together, the two recognize kindred spirits and a shared idea for how a profiler can best assist the police in their investigations (both for this case and others), and a friendship--and partnership--develops between the two.

McDermid's point of view keeps jumping from character to character -- primarily between Hill and Jordan, with a handful of supporting characters getting their moment in the sun -- with journal entries from the killer in between chapters. Normally I'm not crazy about this technique, but on the whole, I thought it worked here -- particularly as a way of focusing on the two methods of tracking the killer: the police procedure (seen through Jordan's eyes) and the psychological profile (Hill's). Hopefully as the series progresses we lose the voice of the killer, while we see Jordan's and Hill's voices become stronger.

The killer's work is highly sexual in nature, but not even the densest copper needs Hill to tell him that. McDermid makes a lot of hay along these lines -- almost, but not quite, going overboard. Not just with the killer's sexual problems, but with one of her protagonists as well. The thematic link here worked well, but I hope that's not something that's dwelled upon in future installments.

It's not an equal partnership, by any means, Jordan's in the driver's seat, and she's not too intimidated or outclassed by Hill's expertise. I think a little of that is lost in the TV series, where it almost seems that the detectives are but means for Hill to gather information that they are clueless when it comes to interpreting. In fact, it's solid police work that saves the day--police work guided by the profile, no doubt, but police work nonetheless.

But I'm getting ahead of myself, I think I see what Goldberg was talking about: as an adaptation, the TV show captured the essence of the core of characters, and did a fantastic job of bringing 85+% of the novel to screen. The changes in plot were small, and the one new character introduced helped the adaptation into a better set up to an ongoing series than the novel did. That character also toned down the least appealing feature of Hill's character, making him palatable to TV.

As a novel, it worked well (even without reference to the TV series), the relationship with Hill and Jordan will easily lead to further cases together, and character development. McDermid's style, and the cleverness of her plot, definitely create a desire to see further adventures with the pair, and it's easy to see why this is a series that's lasted over a decade.

Secondhand Smoke by Karen E. Olson

As I mentioned last week, when reading over my list of '09 reads, I couldn't recognize one title, Karen E. Olson's debut, Sacred Cows, and that I felt incredibly guilty about that. So I picked up the second installment in her Annie Seymore mysteries this weekend to assuage that guilt. It didn't take too long to get re-immersed in Annie's world, I'm glad I did.

Olson's focus isn't on the case, it's not about the mystery for her. This is Annie's story--it's about what happens to her (and those around her) while she investigates/reports on this case.

Annie Seymore is a single woman, pushing 40; a life-long resident of New Haven, CT; and a newspaper reporter getting tired of it all (I look really forward to seeing how that progresses in further novels in particular--especially in light of all the industry troubles). This particular novel finds her between relationships--still dealing with the detrius of her last as she begins her next. While reading, I thought Olson focused too much on that, but in retrospect, I think I was wrong. Not sure why it struck me that way.

Of course Annie has her share of family issues (who doesn't?). She has a strong relationship with her father--who seems to have some connections with certain nefarious types. Things with her mother are more strained--an upstanding member of the community, lawyer, who happens to be dating the new publisher of Annie's paper.

Oh yeah, the mystery, can't forget that--a neighborhood institution, an Italian restaurant, burns down on Thanksgiving across the street from Annie's apartment. A body is found inside, but the building collapses before the firemen can retrieve it. This sets off a domino effect involving illegal gambling, animal rights protesters, the Mob, the FBI, and of course, Annie and her circle.

This book did have the misfortune of being the book I started within the same hour that I finished Val McDermid's rather intense, The Mermaids Singing, so I spent the first 75-100 pages thinking how lightweight it was. True, comparitively speaking, it is--but that's a good thing, Annie's not Tony Hill or Carol Jordan, and the world's better off that she isn't. A good, fast-paced, entertaining read--definitely coming back for more.

Thought for the Lord's Day - #54

We believe that this true faith, being wrought in man by the hearing of the Word of God and the operation of the Holy Spirit, sanctifies [1] him and makes him a new man, causing him to live a new life, and freeing him from the bondage of sin. Therefore it is so far from being true that this justifying faith makes men remiss in a pious and holy life, that on the contrary without it they would never do anything out of love to God, but only out of self-love or fear of damnation. Therefore it is impossible that this holy faith can be unfruitful in man; for we do not speak of a vain faith, but of such a faith which is called in Scripture a faith working through love, which excites man to the practice of those works which God has commanded in His Word.
These works, as they proceed from the good root of faith, are good and acceptable in the sight of God, forasmuch as they are all sanctified by His grace. Nevertheless they are of no account towards our justification, for it is by faith in Christ that we are justified, even before we do good works; otherwise they could not be good works, any more than the fruit of a tree can be good before the tree itself is good.
Therefore we do good works, but not to merit by them (for what can we merit?); nay, we are indebted to God for the good works we do, and not He to us, since it is He who worketh in us both to will and to work, for his good pleasure. Let us therefore attend to what is written: When ye shall have done all the things that are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants; we have done that which it was our duty to do. In the meantime we do not deny that God rewards good works, but it is through His grace that He crowns His gifts.
Moreover, though we do good works, we do not found our salvation upon them; for we can do no work but what is polluted by our flesh, and also punishable; and although we could perform such works, still the remembrance of one sin is sufficient to make God reject them. Thus, then, we would always be in doubt, tossed to and fro without any certainty, and our poor consciences would be continually vexed if they relied not on the merits of the suffering and death of our Savior.

The Belgic Confession of Faith, Article XXIV
Man's Sanctification and Good Works

6 Reasons Why You Should Watch Chuck

As I've indicated a time or two in the past, I really love NBC's Chuck. Super TV Critic Alan Sepinwall wrote an open letter to people who don't watch the show earlier this week listing the reasons why they should start watching Chuck now.

Especially now, when NBC seems to be trying to self-destruct, the fact that they air any goo TV is laudable and should be encouraged. But frankly, I don't care what network this is on, you should watch Chuck. Therefore, I've copied and pasted the bulk of Sepinwall's letter for your perusal and consideration. Be sure to read the whole thing and/or send some love and pageviews to The Star-Ledger.

...this particular open letter is for the many of you who don't watch "Chuck" — either because you didn't realize it existed, or it was on in a brutal timeslot, or even if you watched the show in its earlier days (when the show was still finding itself) and decided it wasn't for you. I gave NBC six reasons to renew the show, and here are six reasons you should watch, in large enough numbers that we might get a fourth season:

1. It's funny. When I wrote last spring that "Chuck" was the best comedy on NBC at the time, I wasn't exaggerating. Now, most of NBC's Thursday sitcoms were slumping back then, but even with that quartet in much stronger shape this season, "Chuck" remains a goldmine of laughter.

As Chuck, an underacehiving nerd who does tech support at an electronics store, Levi is a gifted, expressive physical comedian, and creators Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak have surrounded him with a cast of exceedingly funny sidekicks, whether disturbing store employees Jeff and Lester (Scott Krinsky and Vik Sahay, aka Jeffster!), Chuck's homicidal government bodyguard John Casey (Adam Baldwin, able to wring laughs with just a grimace or grunt) or Chuck's brother-in-law Devon (Ryan McPartlin), so perfect in every way (even his awareness of his perfection seems admirable) that he's nicknamed Captain Awesome.

The series' comic tastes range from abundant pop culture references (early in Sunday's premiere, Chuck morphs into a character from "The Big Lebowski") to slapstick (Chuck falls down a lot) to explosive dialogue (when Jeffster! crashed Captain Awesome's wedding last season, his father complained, "Why are you letting Sam Kinison and an Indian lesbian ruin your wedding?"), and all of it lands, hilariously.

2. It's exciting. No, it's not a Bond movie, or maybe even "24," but "Chuck" doesn't skimp on the cool stunts and fights. Sometimes, they've been done relatively straight, like Chuck's CIA handler Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) having a fight inside a tiny sports-car (using the CD player, bucket seats and airbags as weapons). Other times, they get a comic twist, like Chuck being chased through the Gravitron ride at an amusement park.

The new season offers plenty of both stripes, with a highlight being a sword fight between Chuck and wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin in the cargo hold of a passenger jet. In seasons past, the show leaned on Strahovski (a trained dancer who's become very good at martial arts choreography) and Baldwin (who's been beating people up on-screen since 1980's "My Bodyguard") for the fight scenes. The kung fu twist, in which the computer in Chuck's head can briefly turn him into a great martial artist (among other skills), doesn't put them on the sidelines, but it does let Levi in on the action, and Levi (and/or his stunt double) proves adept at the punching, kicking and gymnastics that go with the new role. While Chuck's new abilities aren't reliable enough to solve every problem, they do let him at times appear more the confident hero than the trembling coward he often turned into in years past.

3. It's dramatic when it needs to be. It would be easy for the show to just ride the '80s movie references and fight scenes, but "Chuck" takes itself just seriously enough to feel like something more than a diversion. Strahovski in particular does a strong job reacting to this world like it's real, and in the process making even the most ridiculous plot seem believable. And she has chemistry to burn with Levi, making Chuck and Sarah's mutual, unconsummated crushes on each other something more than an excuse for the show to leer at Strahovski in a bikini or lingerie (opportunities for both are provided in the first two episodes), or to make a joke out of the nerd falling for the sexy spy.

(If the show has an obvious flaw, it's that the writers have dragged things out a bit too long with keeping the two apart. It's not so much that the show needs them to be together to work, but that the number and duration of the obstacles in their path has become distracting. Take a cue from "The Office," guys: resolving sexual tension can actually make a show better if you do it right.)

4. It has great guest stars. This was one of the biggest improvements of the second season, and one that carries over to the third. Where most TV shows that employ a lot of recognizable guests lean on them like a crutch, "Chuck" does something smarter: it takes your familiarity with the guest and uses that as shorthand to establish a new character, so they can then spend less time on exposition and more time wringing laughs and/or menace out of them. So when you see soccer-thug-turned-actor Vinnie Jones as a lovestruck arms dealer, or Armand Assante as a smarmy Central American dictator, or Brandon "Superman" Routh as a square-jawed spy, you get what they're about in 10 seconds and then the show can quickly get to the good stuff.

5. It has great music. As he did on "The O.C.," Schwartz enjoys filling the soundtrack with songs from his favorite indie bands, which the show uses to pump up the action or heighten the drama. (I've been listening to In-Flight Safety's soaring "Model Homes" pretty much non-stop since I heard it in a key scene in Sunday's second episode.)

But Schwartz and company also take great pleasure in slathering on cheeseball classics of yesteryear, sometimes for giggles, sometimes to make you appreciate a song you long ago dismissed. Last year featured the likes of Huey Lewis & the News, Toto and Rush (Chuck used "Tom Sawyer" to save the world), while in the new episodes we discover that store manager Emmett Millbarge (Tony Hale) has a fondness for embarrassing power ballads, and the second episode makes liberal use of David Lee Roth's "Just Like Living in Paradise."

6. It is, simply, fun. Because the comedy is so strong, the cast is so likable, and everyone involved so obviously has a passion for making the show as entertaining as it can be, there's a sense of joy around "Chuck" that's infectious. Rare is the episode that doesn't make me smile for the hour.

For all that it likes to mock the '80s culture its writers grew up on, "Chuck" also feels like exactly the kind of mass-appeal adventure series that would have been an enormous hit in that decade. It deserves to be a success in this one.

So watch already. Okay?

A Belated Birthday Gift

Dave Kellett, probably my favorite working cartoonist, had a birthday the other day and asked his readers to recommend his strip in honor of the day. I've done so in person, but I figured why should the precious few people I talk to in Real Life™ get all the good stuff?

Really, truly, if you like comics, if you feel yourself not laughing enough at the sorry state of "funny pages" in your local newspaper (assuming you're one of the dying breed who still get one of those things), or if you like reading things that range between quite amusing to laugh out loud funny, you need to read Sheldon.

Kellett describes the comic thusly:

Sheldon is a sarcastic, nerdy family strip filled with pop-culture references and fun, random storylines. At its center is this weird, wonderful little family: a boy, his duck, and the grandfather that raises them both. It's a strip of geeks, for geeks, drawn by a geek. You'll dig it: trust us.

He forgot the lizard being raised by the duck--who talks, by the way. And even if you're not that much of a geek, the frequent food/beverage (esp. coffee) strips will be enough to keep you coming back for more.

The four members of this household who read comics (Arnold's not quite old enough, but he will) love this strip, we have the computer/phone wallpapers, Tshirts, books, and daily emails that demonstrate it. Better yet, we have the laughs. Heck, Frodo and Samwise are known to re-enact certain strips/storylines, like this one (click for enlargement)


Incidentally, I should add that I found Sheldon a few years ago when listening to the commentary tracks from season 1 of How I Met Your Mother--one of the many reasons to be obsessive about such tracks is that you get to find little gems like this.

And So it Begins...Netflix to Delay Releases

Back in November, I posted that Netflix was negotiating with movie studios to delay renting DVDs.

It was announced this week that they've reached a deal with Warner Bros. Netflix will delay new WB releases for 28 days, in exchange, WB will provide more from their catalog for Netlix to stream.

It's a win-win for everyone--'tho personally, I'd have preferred savings over streaming (maybe I don't stream as much as I should). Interesting to know that 75% of DVD sales happen in the first four weeks of release. I wonder if this will affect that somewhat, personally I rarely buy a movie until I see it in the theater/rent it, and I can't be the only one.

The 2009-10 TV Season, MidSeason peek

Since it was popular (moreso in other forums than these comments), figured I'd do a follow-up on the post from Sept. 30 now that things are starting to come back from the December break...

• Better off Ted it's so, so, so tragic that ABC has tossed this on the trash pile to burn off in January. At least we'll have DVD. Never fails to deliver big, big laughs. My wife has no interest in the show at all, but if I'm playing it in the background, she'll crack up at least twice.
  
• Big Bang Theory--They don't seem to know for sure what to do with Leonard while in the relationship with Penny, but the show's good enough that it'll survive. Still the funniest thing on TV.
  
• Bones--really enjoying this show this year--they've even turned the rotating assistants thing into a strength, a good improvement over last season.
  
• Castle--fun, fun show, improving on it's first short season. Great comfort food.
  
• Community--a real treat, now that they've started focusing on the whole ensemble especially. Watching these people bounce off each other is everything a comedy should be.
  
• Cougar Town--also strongest when it's an ensemble comedy, not just a Courtney Cox vehicle. Not as good as the first episode or two made me think it would be, but it's good, and the writers/producers seem to be learning how to improve.
  
• Dexter--what to say about this year? Jennifer Carpenter remains the best reason to watch this show (not that Michael C. Hall's any slacker). John Lithgow is the creepiest serial killer this side of Silence of the Lambs, but until the end of the season finale, I really didn't find it all that compelling. But for the first time since Lila set her last fire, I'm really looking forward to the next batch. One faithful reader told me on facebook that the finale is where Dexter jumped the shark, tho. He's encouraged to defend that thesis in the comments here.
  
• Dollhouse I'll be honest, I only watched the first episode of this season. Watching "Epitaph One" on the BluRay set really soured me on the series, but from what I hear, I really need to shake it off and get back to this.
  
• Family Guy--wearing a bit thin for me this year. Not worth a lot of effort, but good for a laugh.
  
• Fringe--I really wish this show would get the ratings it needs to survive, I'm getting more and more into this one. The character development--and show mythology development--has really endeared Fringe to me. Definite appointment TV.
  
• Glee--a not-so-guilty pleasure. This article sums up everything I wanted to say (and a few things I should've thought of) about it.
  
• The Good Wife--I can't say enough good things about this show. Still not sure it can sustain the story for more than a season, but want to see it try.
  
• House--has eroded most of the good will that the first episode or two of the year generated from me--not as bad as last year tho, but stumbling again. But that Wilson-centric episode? Loved it.
  
• How I Met Your Mother--this isn't the strongest season, but it still has its golden moments--and even when it's not that strong, it's still one of my favorites. Can't wait for the 100^th ep, what little I've heard (and I've avoided as much as I can) sounds great.
  
• Lie to Me--much improved over a good first season. Some outstanding individual episodes. Still essentially The Mentalist but far less annoying.
  
• Men of a Certain Age--this quiet little drama is a real treat. Nothing flashy--in fact, it avoids the flash--just a few friends growing old and trying to get by.
  
• The Mentalist--really don't know why I watch this show. It's moderately entertaining at best.
  
• Modern Family--great, great sitcom. Something heartfelt, something laugh out loud hilarious, and more than a few quotable lines every episode. Great characters (all of the kids not named Manny need a bit more work tho'), good stories. People actually caring about every member of the family.
  
• NCIS--nothing remarkable, but a solid procedural show with good characters. Textbook entry on how to get it done right. Am actually watching the latest episode as I wrap up this entry--Ziva just quoted Charles De Mar of Better off Dead, even in NCIS there's character development. :)
  
• NCIS: Los Angeles--when the best episode of the year relies on a guest star from the show you spun off of, you know you're struggling. There's potential here, but I think it's being wasted.
  
• Numb3rs--something seems off this season, can't put my finger on it.
  
• Scrubs--AfterScrubs, Scrubs 2.0, Scrubs: The Next Generation, ZombieScrubs/whatever you want to call it. Close to funny, better since Braff left (can't believe I said that!). Still wish ABC let this thing die a natural death.
  
• The Simpsons--hey, it's The Simpsons still pretty good after all these years. What else can you say?
  
• Supernatural--lovin' absolutely lovin' this year, I should have something more to say than that, but I don't. Can't wait for the second half of the season.
  
• V--Never got into the original version--even after I bought TLoML the series on VHS (kids, ask your parents to explain) for our first Christmas, so I'm coming to it new. I've only seen 50% of the episodes ABC ran this fall, and think it has promise, but not sure it's gonna deliver on 'em (or that ABC will give it the time it needs). But hey, Tudyk and Baccarin back together again--score.
  
• White Collar--I don't think it's lived up to the promise of the pilot episode, but it's close. Hope they haven't screwed things up too much with that mid-season finale cliffhanger.

Coming up soon: Caprica (intriguing pilot DVD, very curious about it), can't wait for Burn Notice's return, and so, so, so psyched about Chuck's premier--am like a kid on Dec. 22^nd thinking about this weekend's episodes (not to mention Monday's). Oh, and there's this little thing called Lost--don't know if you've heard about it, guess it's coming into its last year soon. I finally succumbed to peer pressure and have started watching it. Now pushing myself to get through with the previous seasons by Feb 2 (if for no other reason than I won't be able to talk to coworkers once it comes back if I don't).

Fer-de-Lance by Rex Stout

Rex Stout's Fer-de-Lance is the first of 40+ books (novels or short story collections) featuring the exploits of private investigator Archie Goodwin (2 parts Huck Finn, 1 part Philip Marlowe) and his eccentric employer, Nero Wolfe (1 part Sherlock Holmes, 1 part Mycroft Holmes)--yes, I am one of those who think that Archie's the main character in the mis-nomered Nero Wolfe Mysteries.

In reading about Rex Stout/Nero Wolfe (either by fans or professionals) there's an oft-quoted line from Walter D. Edmonds that you simply cannot avoid seeing, "I shall never forget my excitement on reading Fer-de-Lance, sprung like Athena perfect form the Jovian brow, fresh and new and at the same time with enough plain familiar things in scene and setting to put any reader at his ease." Aside from Oliver Wendell Holmes' margin note ("This fellow is the best of them all."), there's nothing that sums up Fer-de-Lance better, sprung like Athena indeed.

It really doesn't matter how many times you've read it, but upon re-reading (and probably even initial reading if this isn't your first encounter with Wolfe and Archie--my initial read was more than 20 years ago, so I don't remember) you can't help be struck by how much Fer-de-Lance fits the model of a mature Wolfe novel--almost all the elements are there. These characters are introduced in practically their final format--a little tweak here and there over the course of the first few novels (off the top of my head I can't say how many) will get them in their final form, plus the addition of a few other characters will be necessary, but the cast of characters is already over 90% complete. In the first chapter we already have Wolfe, Archie, Fritz, Theodore, Fred and Saul presented in a manner fully recognizable to the familiar reader. The story follows a fairly typical route ('tho the identity of the murderer is revealed far earlier than is the norm), and the essential environmental elements are there--the beer, Wolfe's eccentric schedule, the orchids, a relapse, the food, a cocky scheme to land a client, an outrageous stratagem for getting that last essential piece of evidence (not that Wolfe needs it to solve the crime, merely to prove he was correct)--the only thing missing is the gathering of the witnesses/suspects/clients for Wolfe to reveal everything in his characteristically dramatic fashion. One recurring thought I had while reading it this time was that this could just as easily have been the fifteenth installment in the series as the first.

As I don't recall reading about Stout consulting notes--and he's known not to rewrite any part of these stories--the fact that he can keep all the idiosyncrasies he establishes here well-intact over the next 40 years is a testimony to his mental prowess as much as anything else could be. (Contrast Stout to contemporary authors who find themselves re-writing their own protagonist's biographies thanks to their refusal to check their facts/fix errors).

Enough of that--what about the book itself? Wolfe takes a small case as more of a favor/indulgence/get-him-off-my-back to one of his operatives and in doing so, stumbles upon a fact or two that leads him to conclude that a university president has been murdered in a preposterous manner. Seeing (and seizing) the opportunity to earn a large fee from this, Wolfe sends Archie to place a $10,000 bet with the District Attorney responsible for the area the president died in--wagering that an exhumation of the body will produce two particular evidences of homicide. No bet is made, but since it's Nero Wolfe suggesting it, the body's dug up, the evidence found and we're off...

A fun read, a decent mystery (Stout will get better at this), great characters, and a good introduction to a wonderful world fit for revisiting over and over again.

2009 Books

Last year I tracked the books I read like the movies I watched. I was quite disappointed by the total, I have to say. I have resolved to do better, and that's probably a resolution I can keep (much to the chagrin of TLomL). Not only did I not read as much as I thought I should, I wrote about what I read far less than I should've. I make no promises in that regard--time will tell.

Going over the list this morning I had a really bad moment, I absolutely couldn't recognize book #4 on the list (Sacred Cows by Karen E. Olson). I had to go to a couple of different websites before the thing clicked with me--worse yet, once I remembered the book, I recalled enjoying it. And there are 3 sequels! I actually feel guilty about not reading more of Ms. Olson's work (and forgetting that which I did read). I'll fix that as soon as I can.

Anyway, if you're interested, here's the list.

I had a hard time coming up with "best of" lists, my instinct was to go for the "most literary" or whatever, but that ended up leaving off most of the books that I enjoyed most, had the biggest impact on me, etc. So instead, I went with the books I most wanted to write about (one I actually did), most of which I at least have a draft post about.

Non-fiction:
3. Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog - John Grogan
22. Confessions of a She-Fan: The Course of True Love with the New York Yankees - Jane Heller
29. John Calvin--A Biography - T. H. L. Parker
49. In Living Color: Images of Christ and the Means of Grace - Danny R. Hyde
56. Meltdown: A Free-Market Look at Why the Stock Market Collapsed, the Economy Tanked, and Government Bailouts Will Make Things Worse - Thomas E. Woods Jr.
88. Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing - Elmore Leonard

Fiction:
26. Turn Coat - Jim Butcher
50. Spook Country - William Gibson
51. Dog on It: A Chet and Bernie Mystery - Spencer Quinn
55. The Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss
69. This is Where I Leave You - Jonathan Tropper
75. The Sleeping God - Violette Malan
103. The Magicians - Lev Grossman

As far as the worst go...well, there's the handful of books I didn't bother finishing (poorly written, just offensive, couldn't hold my interest...tho' to be fair, some of those should get another shot from me) and then these, which for some reason I just finished.

20. Stalking the Unicorn - Mike Resnick
47. Chasing the Bear - Robert B. Parker
67. An Underachiever's Diary - Benjamin Anastas 8/18/2009

104. Is This a Great Game, or What?: From A-Rod's Heart to Zim's Head--My 25 Years in Baseball - Tim Kurkjian (this was a fun read, just not a good book--a fine collection of brief anecdotes)
110. Bright-sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America - Barbara Ehrenreich

Yo Joe!

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra: I really shouldn't have delayed watching this as long as I did -- thankfully, I got a free redbox rental today, and didn't know what else to do with it, usually, I end up renting something I regret, not this time.

I had I don't know how many G. I. Joe action figures as a kid--I loved the Marvel comics, and probably watched every episode of the animated series 5+ times (at least). In other words, I was the target demo for this movie: had the nostalgia thing going for me and I have three sons who are of the toy buying age.

However, this was not a movie for the G. I. Joe I knew and loved--last year's animated G. I. Joe: Resolute was that flick (and it's a cryin' shame it didn't get the promotional push this one did).

That said, this was one fun flick. In many ways, this was a sequel to the '07 Transformers movie -- you take the basic premise of an 80's cartoon/toy franchise, surround that kernel with an outrageous story and F/X that defy belief, and infuse the whole thing with a sense of fun. This was obviously not intended to be anything other than a movie to enjoy -- there's not a lot of deep thinking to be done on this one (there probably is some).

None of the performances really stood out, every actor did their thing well (not that a lot was required of any of them). I do feel bad for poor Ray Park, guy must feel like he's stuck in the pre-Jazz Singer era (not the Neil Diamond one). Can I just say how nice it was to see Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje in a role where he could crack a joke and smile a little?

Only one quibble, if it's an international team, why does it have a moniker denoting American troops?

Changing of the Guard

Several things I wanted to try to talk about today, but all my efforts along those lines were derailed by waiting for mechanics and washing machine repair people to come by (don't want to be mid-thought and interrupted, makes for posts weaker than the norm)--and then further derailed by both of them being hours late.

If only I didn't need clean clothes and a running vehicle. Silly me.

Anyway, I don't know what the rest of you thought of Part 2 of The End of Time, but I quite enjoyed it--it made up for some of the weaknesses of Pt. 1--and the self-indulgent victory lap taken by Russell T. Davies/David Tennant was justifiable, earned--and best of all, fun to watch. The first few seconds of Matt Smith's tenure were amusing as well.

I cannot fathom the hate that Mr. Smith has already engendered. Mind-boggling, really. Particularly from people like my co-worker, who is proud to not have watched an entire Tom Baker episode--and has watched less of the other pre-Eccleston Doctors than of him. Yet, based on watching each episode of Davies' run (some even twice), she has pronounced Smith unfit to helm the TARDIS. And there are many, many like her.

Frankly, I'm not sure--why am I not sure? Haven't seen much of him, practically nothing. A few seconds at the end of an episode aired within the last week (far after many people had judged him a mistake). That's all--who knows what TPTB have in mind for this personality, this regeneration, this actor. And given that one of those powers is Steven Moffat, and other powers include a network that's been dealing with this character since the 60's...just don't get why everyone's prejudged him so harshly.

Anyhow, BBCAmerica launched a trailer for this Spring's upcoming episodes...still can't tell much about him. But looking forward to meeting this guy--and seeing Karen Gillan move from a one-episode character to a companion (worked out pretty well for Freema Agyeman).

...can't say I'm looking forward to the Weeping Angels from "Blink" coming back all that much, had finally got the nightmares to stop. But hey, if Sally Sparrow gets to come along for the ride, it could be worth it.

But just so I can remain relevant to the hate-fest surrounding this upcoming season, I should note that I'm not crazy about the new logo. Seriously. Not my cup of tea at all. Down with the New Logo!!!

Phew. Glad I got that off my chest.

(you know what's really funny? I'd initially titled this post "In Lieu of Actual Content" and planned on whining a bit in the first paragraph and then embedding the preview, but once I got started, guess I was able to find the time today to write something)

Thought for the Lord's Day - #53

A friend posted most of this to his blog recently, and it really stuck with me...what was deserved, what could have been done to Adam, vs. what actually happened to him. Striking really.

From Matthew Henry's Commentary on Gen. 3:22:

God drove him out, made him go out, whether he would or no. This signified the exclusion of him, and all his guilty race, from that communion with God which was the bliss and glory of paradise. The tokens of God's favour to him and his delight in the sons of men, which he had in his innocent estate, were now suspended; the communications of his grace were withheld, and Adam became weak, and like other men, as Samson when the Spirit of the Lord had departed from him. His acquaintance with God was lessened and lost, and that correspondence which had been settled between man and his Maker was interrupted and broken off. He was driven out, as one unworthy of this honour and incapable of this service. Thus he and all mankind, by the fall, forfeited and lost communion with God. But whither did he send him when he turned him out of Eden? He might justly have chased him out of the world (Job xviii. 18), but he only chased him out of the garden. He might justly have cast him down to hell, as he did the angels that sinned when he shut them out from the heavenly paradise, <2 4.="" a="" abandoned="" and="" be="" blockquote="" but="" by="" chain.="" converse="" designing="" despair="" drag="" dungeon="" earth="" eating="" end.="" excluded="" first="" for="" from="" fruits="" god="" good="" grave="" ground="" he="" him="" his="" hold="" humble="" ii.="" improvable="" innocency="" its="" keep="" latter="" love="" man="" new="" not="" observe="" of="" only="" our="" out="" parents="" pet.="" place="" plough="" prison-house="" privileges="" probation="" purposes="" recompensed="" remind="" s="" second="" sent="" state="" taken.="" taken="" terms.="" that="" the="" their="" them="" then="" they="" though="" thoughts="" till="" tilling="" to="" toil="" torment.="" upon="" was="" were="" whence="" which="" with="" work-house="" would="" yet="">

Since You Asked...

In response to my last post, a friend asked, "Out of the 166, how many were totally lame?" Not sure about totally lame, but here are my bottom 13--am sure some of them had some redeeming value but were "almost completely" lame, as hard it it might be for me to think of what the redeeming value is.

7.8% of my 166 weren't worth the time and trouble. That's not bad.

5. Rightous Kill - Jon Avnet
11. Repo! The Genetic Opera - Darren Lynn Bousman
19. Dead Like Me: Life After Death - Stephen Herek
25. What Just Happened - Barry Levinson
36. Punisher: War Zone - Lexi Alexander
66. Life of the Party - Barra Grant
85. Two Lovers - James Gray
114. Let the Right One In - Tomas Alfredson
118. Good Dick - Marianna Palka
135. X-Men Origins: Wolverine - Gavin Hood
139. Chéri - Stephen Frears
145. The Marc Pease Experience - Todd Louiso
157. Mr. Art Critic - Richard Brauer

2009 Movies

Last year, for the first time, I decided to log the movies I watched. The end total (166) is somewhat depressing (2008 would've had a higher result, I think). If you want to see what things grabbed my attention in 2009, take a peak.

While I was getting the list ready, I compiled a list of my personal top 10 films I saw last year (for the first time, anyway, so Star Wars, etc. doesn't make the list). These aren't ranked in order of preference, cuz I don't think I could make that call. Instead, they're in order I saw them.

• Tropic Thunder - Ben Stiller
  
• Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father - Kurt Kuenne
  
• Rachel Getting Married - Jonathan Demme
  
• The Visitor - Thomas McCarthy
  
• Slumdog Millionaire - Danny Boyle, Loveleen Tandan
  
• Sunshine Cleaning - Christine Jeffs
  
• Phoebe in Wonderland - Daniel Barnz
  
• Whip It - Drew Barrymore
  
• Up - Pete Docter & Bob Peterson
  
• (500) Days of Summer - Marc Webb

Runners-Up (many of which would be tied for 11th, the rest are somewhere in the top 20 or so), again, in order I saw them:

• The Wackness - Jonathan Levine
  
• Pride and Glory - Gavin O'Connor
  
• Il y a longtemps que je t'aime - Philippe Claudel
  
• Marley & Me - David Frankel
  
• Frozen River - Courtney Hunt
  
• The Wrestler - Robert Harmon
  
• Wendy and Lucy - Kelly Reichardt
  
• The Go-Getter - Martin Hynes
  
• Gran Torino - Clint Eastwood
  
• Fanboys - Kyle Newman
  
• The Soloist - Joe Wright
  
• SherryBaby - Laurie Collyer
  
• Away We Go - Sam Mendes
  
• Funny People - Judd Apatow
  
• Paper Heart - Nicholas Jasenovec
  
• Julie & Julia - Norah Ephron

Obligatory End of '09 Post

if you want a little soundtrack for the post, go ahead and get the embed playing below, there's nothing to see there, just to listen.

Anyway, it's time to wrap up this fairly productive year--'tho I just noticed it was nowhere near as productive as I thought when compared to years past. Oh well. I've had fun, I hope you have. I have some plans for next year, and who knows? I just might live up to them :) If I do, I'll let you know what they are (never works out when I announce in advance, that just seems to be the kiss of death). Naturally, any suggestions are welcome.

In particular, I want to thank tusconmom, Micah, TLomL, Steve and the other people kind enough to comment--even those who left their comments for facebook/email/IM. Major thanks need to go to Chris Oates who's done more to promote this thing than I've ever done.

I hope you all had a good year, with a better one to come. God bless.

Sometimes the Smurf Turf Isn't So Ugly (just sometimes)

Have to feel sorry for the poor folk over at KTVB today who had to interrupt their coverage of the Fiesta Bowl with items such as horrible road conditions, traffic fatalities and the like--but to add insult to injury, on top of that they had to acknowledge that there are other college football programs in the state besides BSU? Oh, your heart just breaks for them.

Yeah, no, it totally doesn't. Especially when the other football team they had to acknowledge was the winners of the 2009 Roady's Humanitarian Bowl: Theeeeee Idaho Vandals!

I've said everything I really have to say about this season already...today was just terrific. Best football I've watched since '98. Loved it, loved it, loved it.

Just Needs a Vangelis Soundtrack...

my new favorite non-Yankee athlete is a rugby player named Euan Murray who's causing a bit of a stir in Scotland...

According to The Daily Record:

SCOTS rugby international Euan Murray has spoken for the first time about why his faith led him to quit playing on Sundays.

The 29-year-old has told how he even snubs coffee or dinner invitations on the Sabbath as he does not want to "encourage other people to work".

Euan said: "It's basically all or nothing, following Jesus. I don't believe in pick 'n' mix Christianity. I believe the bible is the word of God, so who am I to ignore something from it?

"I might as well tear out that page then keep tearing out pages as and when it suits me. If I started out like that there would soon be nothing left."

(Be sure to read the rest)

"Don't believe in pick'n'mix Christianity..." gotta love it :)

A Road Not Taken

So my parents gave us a book today called 501 Must-See Movies, a coffee-table book with nice color photo stills from the various movies and a few paragraphs explaining each film's inclusion on this list. Some of the films they included surprised me, some not included did, too--but on the whole, the list makes sense.

I've seen 136 of them, so I've apparently been wasting a lot of my movie-viewing life. I toyed briefly with the idea of turning this list into a project for 2010--viewing and blogging my way through the entire list (alphabetically or by category) in a year like say, Julie Powell's project.

And then I did the math. 9.6 of these a week--which would involve a lot of time and an upgrade to my Netflix account. Well, maybe a 2 year project...still not that appetizing a number. Especially when you take into account the fact that roughly 70 of these flicks aren't on my "have seen" list because I have no desire to see them based on subject/director/stars/something else.

Feel free to breathe a collective sigh of relief that you don't have to read my musings on 8 1/2, Halloween, Hua yang nian hua, 28 Days Later and 497 others over the course of the next few months.

Darlene Love on Letterman '09

As I've mentioned before, since back in his NBC days, it's just not the holiday season for me without this performance on Letterman's show (which, sadly, I can't catch anymore due to work). Thankfully, we have youtube:

Merry Happy!

I'd hoped to embed a video of Shirley's PC "Silent Night" (from NBC's Community), but alas, I cannot find it, so I'll have to find other ways to annoy my evangelical friends who doubt my salvation because of my attitude towards tomorrow (or whatever).

I do hope that everyone reading this has a good celebration and time with family, whatever justification you use for it.

Oh, speaking of which, you should all read this piece by an atheist, David Harsanyi, "Heathen's Greetings for Christmas"--not the most flattering piece, but well worth the time.

Another link I need to throw out is Stan "The Man" Lee's reading "'Twas the Night Before Christmas". A true classic.

Have a good one, everybody!

And I Thought TV Was Fake Before I Watched This...

(h/t: Lee Goldberg)

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

I'm going to try really hard not to over-hype this book, so I have to be brief here. Read this novel.

I haven't blogged about books much lately for some reason--I have about a dozen drafts about various books started, tho. But I'm going to see this one through to the end (yet another reason to keep it short).

This is one of my Top 5 of the year. No question about it. A gripping mixture of "real world" and "fantasy"--without being an "urban fantasy." This is Harry Potter + C. S. Lewis tossed in a blender operated by Michael Chabon or Jonathan Lethem. I think knowing too much about the plot beforehand would hurt the experience, so in brief, it's about a high schooler named Quentin who's accepted into a small private college version of Hogwarts in New York and then follows Quentin and his friends/classmates through school and into adulthood.

The world created here is fully formed, and fully capable of being the setting for a series of novels. The characters are well-drawn, brilliant and tragic--most of whom could carry a novel by themselves. In real life, I don't think I'd want to call any of them friends, but am sure I'd love knowing them. The plot isn't perfect, and there are many, many places in which I wished things had gone differently, but I can't say that Grossman erred in going where he did with his creation (I just would have preferred it--I feel like Fred Savage's character at the end of The Princess Bride complaining about the ending).

A Virtual Xmas Card from All of Us

my vacationing wife clearly has too much time on her hands...

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Everything Wrong with The Phantom Menace

probably 95% of you have seen this 70 min. review of The Phantom Menace (or part of it anyway) floating around the 'Net the last week or so. Still, I feel compelled to post this...spot-on stuff, really. As Mo Ryan described it, it's a work of "cogent, impassioned criticism, snarky humor and creative weirdness." Who could ask for more?

Naturally, after "amen"ing and laughing my way through the first 20 minutes of this last week, what are the clients watching when I arrive at work Friday? Yup. It was all I could do to stop myself from stopping the DVD and insisting everyone huddle around my laptop to watch this.

Part 1 is here, the rest is here.

Meditation Worthy Thoughts on the Incarnation of Christ

Patrick Ramsey just posted a link to a great lecture by Carl Trueman "The Glory of Christ: B.B. Warfield on Jesus of Nazareth." This brief sample is worth chewing on by itself before going on to read all of Trueman's lecture.

It is, of course, a truism that the language of Chalcedon, of substance and personhood, is absent from the New Testament, and, of course, no advocate of the Chalcedonian definition would ever have claimed its explicit presence in the text. Warfield’s own view of the Chalcedonian definition is that it functions as a presupposition which makes the teaching of the Bible comprehensible as a single, unified whole. To quote him on this point:

Only on the assumption of this [the Chalcedonian] conception of Our Lord's person as underlying and determining their presentation, can unity be given to their representations; while, on this supposition, all their representations fall into their places as elements in one consistent whole. [6]

This is an important point which has a general application well beyond its specific concerns. For a start, it flags up Christ's humanity and divinity as the only means of making coherent sense of the gospel accounts of his life. It is thus not in the first instance an exercise in metaphysical speculation but rather an attempt to think out the necessary presuppositions about his person which make sense of the historical account of his actions and teachings given in the gospels. This is a very important point, particularly at a time when theological diversity is something of a buzzword among biblical scholars. The current trend is, I am sure, intimately connected to the increasing subdisciplinary specialization of higher learning, fuelled in large part by the information revolution; but Warfield is surely correct to point to the presuppositional nature of our theological approach to the Bible. If we go to the Bible without a commitment to the unity of revelation and the coherence of the biblical witness at the level of epistemology, then we will inevitably find ourselves drawing certain conclusions from that, such as the God of the Old Testament is not that of the New or the way of salvation for Paul is not the same as for James. It is perhaps no surprise that the Chalcedonian definition is being called into question by theologians at exactly the same point in time as the fundamental theological unity of the Bible is also being subjected to vigorous assault.

For Warfield, the idea that Christ is one person in two substances is one of the necessary counterparts of his commitment to the unity of scripture's teaching: in other words, it must be true because it allows the church to make sense of the Bible’s teaching about Christ. The formula itself is not inspired in the way that the Bible is inspired; it is not therefore sacrosanct; one can indeed go to heaven without ever having heard of the definition; but it is nonetheless a necessary presupposition, implicit or otherwise, if the message of the Bible concerning Christ is to be properly and thoroughly understood.

emphasis mine, and done so for obvious reasons.

Ramsey (who's posted some reflection-worthy words of his own on the Incarnation lately) also provided a link to Warfield's fantastic "The Emotional Life of our Lord," which it's been entirely too long since I've read. Criminal, really. If you haven't read it in the last month or so, I encourage you to get at it :)

That Explains That

According to a New York Times/CBS News poll, 26 percent of unemployed adults blame George W. Bush for the high unemployment rate. The other 74 percent blame the fact that they majored in English Literature.

- Jimmy Fallon
12/17/09

Trailers, Trailers, Trailers

Quite the harvest of new trailers hit teh IntraWeb this week. Entries from all over the spectrum. There's:

• the ugh, really? (Shrek Forever After)
• the hmmm, has potential (Alice in Wonderland)
• the wow, they've improved on the last trailer a lot! (Hot Tub Time Machine)
• the still not sure I want to see this, but I'm more interested now (The Clash of the Titans)
• the ohmanohmanohmanohmanohmanohmanohman (Iron Man 2)

and then this one, quite possibly the cutest trailer in history:

If only all lessons in ethics were as catchy

from this week's Lie To Me:

“Impatience does not diminish but augments the evil.”

Victoria Jackson quoted that Latin proverb at the beginning of her latest blog post, "What's the Rush?".

Victoria (Ms. Jackson if you're nasty) points out the fairly obvious trait of this Congress, this presidential administration: they seem to be in an awful hurry to do things. Ignoring their grandmother's advice, "Haste makes Waste" (assuming their grandmothers are like every other grandmother I know).

I cannot fully agree with everything that Ms. Jackson says, I think her underlying point is sound. One instance she cites:

What’s the Rush?

Okay, we all know that our country has the best medical system in the world, and that the majority of Americans are very happy with their health care. But, what if it was true that we needed to reform this system a little, this system that is already the best in the world? Yes, I said it twice.

…wouldn’t the intelligent thing be to slowly and carefully dissect exactly what the problems are, and then have experts in that field give presentations to back up their carefully thought out solutions? For example, the problem that doctors are being sued so much that they are forced to spend incredible amounts of money on lawsuit protection, thus raising the costs to their patients? Talk. Think. Discuss. Think?

She's really on to something -- especially as I remember reading one of Ron Paul's Facebook Statuses (Statusi?) Tuesday, "This is really outrageous - House leadership just announced that we will be voting on a $75 billion "Jobs" bill tomorrow - and we just got the legislation today."

Deadlines seem to be a big deal on the Health Care "Reform" discussion--remember when something had to be done this summer? And then when that didn't happen, it has to before this year is out? Is every hospital, clinic, doctor's office going to close for good come Jan. 1, 2010? I tell my 10 year old son this all the time--it's more important to get the job done right than it is to get it done. When he remembers that, our dining table and kitchen counters get clean. When he's focused on getting done, crumbs, spilled liquids and trash get left on the supposedly clean surfaces.

Just what's being left on the table after the rush to discuss Man-Made Climate Change laws/treaties; health care bills, etc.? This is the first time in my life that a rush to judgment is being portrayed in a positive light, and I just don't see why.

Sometimes Congress Makes it Too Hard to Complain

I've wondered how much weight I could lose if I hid my remote control and forced myself to get up and manually change channels, adjust volume, etc.--particularly the volume: stand up, walk to the TV, turn the volume on commercials to a comfortable level, return to the couch, wait 3 minutes, stand up, walk to the TV, turn the volume up to a level you can understand what people are saying, return to the couch. Repeat as needed.

Wondered about it. Won't do it. But, man...my thumb strength is up (you don't want to thumb wrestle me).

Sure, there are other ways to deal with the louder-than-everything-else commercial volume, my dad's approach, for example, is to adjust for the commercial volume and then strain to hear 80% (at best) of the dialogue on whatever show you're watching. Reason #1 I don't watch anything I care about in his house.

But now, the government is stepping in to help--a frightening concept, indeed. Frankly, I think Congress has as much business messing around with this as they do College Football (read: None.At.All.), but man...it's hard not to be happy to read on USAToday's site:

The House passed has passed a bill that would bar TV commercials from being louder than the programs in which they appear.

The Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act (CALM) passed Tuesday on a voice vote, presumably expressed at a comfortable level.

It now goes to the Senate, which is considering an identical bill...

(the whole article is here)

Christmas Concert

So the Offspring had their Academy's Christmas Concert last night. And, with the exception of a program Frodo was in for the Day Care he spent 1 day/week in for a year, this was the first such time for their parents to witness something like this. Ohh, the fun we've been missing out on (that's only 50% sarcastic). There was a general lack of organization, but as it was the first such thing their Academy had ever done, it made sense--hopefully they learned a lot.

I learned a few things, too:

• My camera's zoom is nowhere near sufficient.
• There's simply nothing like listening to 60(+/-) largely untrained 4^th graders singing the Hallelujah Chorus.
• No matter how strict the uniform policy, there's just no getting around individual personality. It's going to shine through in appearance and/or behavior.
• Arnold is as short as we feared (first time he's ever been in a good sized group of same aged kids)
• Even if your kids aren't the world's best singers, most enthusiastic performers, or all that coordinated -- they are still a great source of pride, and their classes are at least 3x as entertaining to watch as classes they aren't in. (I'd have guessed that before, but I know it now)

Here are the obligatory pics: (click on the thumbnail to see a larger pic, which are equipped with arrows to indicate ours)

Arnold's class sang "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" (hence the antlers) and "Jingle Bells"
The Princess' class did "Jolly Old St. Nicholas" and "O Hannukah" (for safety concerns due to excessive amounts of cables all over the stage, they decided at the last minute not to do the hora...ratz)
Samwise's class sang something called "Snowflakes" and a nifty little tune called "Christmas Shopping Blues" (featuring about half the kids wearing sunglasses--many of which actually fit)
Frodo's class sang a French tune that I vaguelly recognized "Il est ne, le divin enfant" and a sonc called "Christmas Line Dance" (which featured, well...a line dance done on the risers. The last stanza brought in the Macarena. I'm thinking about filing a grievance with the State Department of Education over that one)

Feliĉan naskotagon L. L. Zamenhof

Do hodiaŭ estas la naskotago de la viro kiuj(n) inventis Esperanton. En lia honoro, Mi irus legitan iuj Harry Harrison ia, ŝajne -- lia Rustimuna ŝtalo Rato libroj estas la solaj loko Mi sci* kie ... uzis grave.

Kiu estas ia honto, vere, Mi havis amuzon lern ĝi jam en Mezlernejo -- nur dezir Mi memorita ĝin.

Not Done With Your Shopping?

Polymathis has a handy-dandy shopping guide to Cafe Press for those of you still looking for a gift for that special Calvinist in your life (tho' you should take a look at the offerings from Sola Fide, too)

Another Beloved Memory Gone...

This isn't a major thing, I grant you, but since when do I focus on major things here?

This weekend, I opened a new pack of Big Red and was shocked by what I saw, rather, what I didn't see.

Foil.

There was no foil protecting the little pieces of cinnamony goodness from contact with the air, each other, the silly cardboard packaging. Instead, there was this flimsy white paper, barely stiffer than tissue paper. Sacrilege!

All my life this little bit of foil has been a constant. It made Wrigley's best product stand out from the rest. It looked snazzy. It created that really strange sensation when you chewed it using teeth with fillings.

I'll pause a moment for you to cringe.

And now it's gone. Why? I've looked all over, can't find an explanation. I'm sure it has something to do with costs, or the environment, or medication helping too many paranoiacs dropping the need for sources of foil for their hats.

Thought for the Lord's Day - #52

Every grace that brings a Christian to heaven must be a tried grace. He must try his patience, his contentment, his humility. How shall all these graces be tried but in a variety of estates and conditions?

And secondly, How should we have experience of the goodness of God but in variety of estates? When we find the stable, certain, constant love of God in variety of conditions, that howsoever our conditions ebb and flow, be up and down, like the spring weather, sometimes fair and sometimes foul, yet not withstanding the love of God is constant always, and we have never so sure experience of it as in the variety of conditions that befall us; then we know that in God there is 'no shadow of changing,' howsoever the changes of our life be. Is it not a point worth our learning, to know the truth of our grace, and to know the constancy of God's love, with whom we are in a gracious covenant?

And then again, we learn much wisdom how to manage our life hereby, even in the intercourse of our changes, to be now rich, now poor, now high, now low in estates. He that is carried on in one condition, he hath no wisdom to judge another's estate, or to carry himself to a Christian in another condition, because he was never abased himself. He look very big at him. He knows not how to tender another, that hath not been in another's condition. And therefore to furnish us, that we may carry ourselves as Christians, meekly lovingly, and tenderly to others, God will have us go to heaven in variety, not in one uniform condition in regard of outward things.

- Richard Sibbes

Just Who Approves the Ads at CBS Nowadays?

Sure, I have/will defend the "Frosty the Inappropriate Snowman" ad. But this? I can't think of anything to say, honestly.

Ken Levine titled his embed of this as, "A jaw dropping CBS ad. Not a joke. They really aired this"...pretty well sums it up.


Watch CBS Videos Online

Top 5 Holiday Movies

Something got me thinking the other day about my favorite Christmas/Holiday movies and I figured just for fun, I'd list my Top 5 and ask you, my faithful readers, to speak up and name your own/debate mine. Hit a little roadblock, but still, worth a shot...

1. A Christmas Story, it's just the best, hands down, by far, the best. Funny, heartwarming, there's no way you can't relate to Ralphie/his brother/his parents/friends -- no matter how far we are from the time it's set in.

2. White Christmas, this is my mom's fault, she insists on watching this every year, it's just not Christmastime without this little gem. And hey, at the end of the day, Danny Kaye's funny.

3. Die Hard, "Now I have a machine gun. Ho ho ho." 'Nuff said.

oh, yeah, and Al's a better movie fat guy than anyone who's donned the Claus uniform

1. Elf, one of three Ferrell movies I can stand/enjoy. Honestly only watched this to kill time one Christmas Eve with TLomL. But Ferrell, Caan, Newhart sold me and had me rolling on the floor. Now that I know who Zooey Deschanel is, I should probably rewatch it just.

5. Uhhhh, this is pathetic, I can't come up with a fifth. The Scrooge flicks are okay at best, It's a Wonderful Life isn't that wonderful...can't think of any others, honestly.

Capitalism Works

Over at the Denver Post, David Harsanyi relates an important Lesson in Capitalism from an USAToday investigation.

In the past three years, the government has provided the nation’s schools with millions of pounds of beef and chicken that wouldn’t meet the quality or safety standards of many fast-food restaurants, from Jack in the Box and other burger places to chicken chains such as KFC, a USA TODAY investigation found.

Go read the rest

(just curious, am I the only one who remembers when USAToday was a joke?)

Thinking of Starting a New Series of Posts

"What I Almost Choked to Death on While Watching The Big Bang Theory

• "The Vengeance Formulation" (11/23/09): Reese's Pieces
• "The Athens Recurrence" (12/7/09): Coffee

Or, I guess I could just stop eating and drinking while watching the show...kind of like you have to with Bones nowadays...did anyone else catch "The Gamer in the Grease" last week? When they carefully pull the corpse out of all that cooking grease and the flesh literally falls off--followed by the entrails? If I watched that a couple more times, I'd probably lose 10 pounds this week.

I've Shed Most of my Computer Nerdhood, but...

Here I was, about to go catch my evening nap, when I remembered that Thunderbird 3 was officially released today and I haven't downloaded it yet. Color me strange, but my email client is one of the pieces of software I care most about. I dropped good ol' Eudora (big mistake) when I became addicted to Outlook at work, but that torrid affair burned out quickly, and I spent years trying to find something worth my affection--by that time Eurdora had evolved into something I really didn't care for, sadly.

Anyhow, I'm babbling -- I hopped on the Thunderbird bandwagon years ago, and, while it's not perfect, I really like the little guy. Incidentally, Lifehacker's article about the release has a mini-review for those interested. The features and add-ons for this new version make me think I'm going to have far too much fun over the next few days just setting this up.

Anyone else care? Or are you all web-based emailers now?

Talk About Missing the Point

Good Night Nurse. Really? Are you kidding me?

So last week, I and several fans of the show How I Met Your Mother (and other people, too) hooted and hollered, ROTFLOLed, tweeted, retweeted, shared, embedded, digged and had all other sorts of social media responses to CBS' "Frosty the Inappropriate Snowman" advertisement. I thought about posting it, but not really the style of this place...I think.

Anyway, I just read a story over on FOXNews.com about the commercial is "is offensive and should be pulled" according to many critics. The story claims:

Colleen Raezler, a research assistant for the Culture and Media Institute, a division of the Media Research Center, said the spot is "highly inappropriate," and improperly uses a Christmas special to promote an adult-oriented comedy.

"The ad introduces children to the idea of strippers and pornography," Raezler told FoxNews.com. "The people in charge obviously thought this was funny, but the question they should ask themselves is if this is appropriate, not if it's funny."

Wow, the ad does that? Children are clearly not the target demographic for this advertisement. Did this person watch the whole thing?

Raezler said the advertisement is another example of popular culture "pushing the envelope" on everything.

"It's sexing up Frosty," she said. "It really drives home the idea that nothing is sacred anymore."

Again, watch.the.whole.thing.

...says Bob Peters, president of Morality in Media, adding that officials at the Federal Trade Commission should be concerned about the promotion.

"CBS is doing much the same thing that alcohol and tobacco companies have done in the past -- namely, using imagery in advertising that would naturally attract children in order to market an adult product," Peters said in a statement to FoxNews.com. "Legal matters aside, it should go without saying that CBS TV ought to be ashamed of itself -- using an animated Christmas season setting, complete with young children, to chat about strippers, whores, pornography, sadomasochism, sexual promiscuity, and more."

Tim Winter, president of the Parents Television Council, a watchdog group based in Los Angeles, said the advertisement was reprehensible.

"It's either ignorance or arrogance, but I can't imagine the folks at the once-Tiffany network should think this is OK," he told FoxNews.com. "Someone had to write it and someone had to approve it. It speaks to the decisions that are being made at CBS these days."

Winter also called for the advertisement to be pulled, characterizing it as the outcome of the network attempting to do "everything they can to be offensive rather than creative."

The whole point of the ad is that it's crass, tasteless, offensive, etc to do this to a holiday classic. Which is why "Some Holiday Classics are Better Left Untouched." Where did I get that line? The end of the ad in question. Instead, you should watch the classics the way they're meant to be seen, in their original form on CBS Friday.

Really people, your shoes are on wayyyy too tight. Adjust your laces, watch the whole thing, and think a moment to see if the frenzy you're trying to lather up is either on target or worth it. You missed it this time.

Thought for the Lord's Day - #52

Our happiness consists in due subordination and conformity to Christ, and therefore let us labor to carry ourselves as He did to His Father, to His friends, to His enemies. In the days of His flesh He prayed whole nights to His Father. How holy and heavenly-minded was He, that took occasion from vines, stones and sheep to be heavenly-minded, and when He rose from the dead His talk was only of things concerning the kingdom of God, in His converse to His friends. He would not quench the smoking flax, nor break the bruised reed; He did not cast Peter in the teeth with his denial, He was of a winning and gaining disposition to all; for His conduct to His enemies, He did not call for fire from heaven to destroy them but shed many tears for them that shed His blood. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" (Matt. 23:37), and upon the cross, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). So that if we will be minded like unto Christ, consider how He carried Himself to His Father, to His friends, to His enemies, yea to the devil himself. When He comes to us in wife, children; friends, etc. we must do as Christ did, say to Satan, "Get thee hence," and when we deal with those that have the spirit of the devil in them, we must not render reproach, but answer them, "It is written."

Carly Fiorina on Health Care Reform

GOP Senate Candidate Carly Fiorina delivered the weekly GOP talking point snoozefestradio address this week -- without mention of parties, election campaigns, or any individual politician, that alone should warrant a lot of attention. Maybe even a Congressional Medal of Honor or something.

Anyway, this particular breast cancer survivor looks at the effect that the recent recommendations from that task force on changing when women should get mammograms would have under proposed Heath Care Reform bills. And the picture she paints ain't pretty.

Multiply that out over the effect such committees could have over all sorts of medical tests/procedures, and you begin to get an idea of what a devastating impact this reform could have on lives (ignoring quality of care, economics, taxes, etc.).

Here's what she said:

Hello. This is Carly Fiorina. And today I’d like to speak to you as one of the more than two and a half million women in America who have been diagnosed with breast cancer — and beaten it.

Like everyone else who’s diagnosed with cancer, I never thought it would happen to me. I was fit, healthy, and active. I even got regular check-ups. But earlier this year, just two weeks after a clear mammogram, I discovered a lump through a self-exam.

Soon after that came the diagnosis, the surgery, the long and difficult treatment regimen, and the painful experience of wondering whether I would make it, whether I’d pull through.

I’m fortunate to live near one of the greatest cancer centers in the world. I’m fortunate to have the incredible love and support of family and friends. And my diagnosis gave me time to think about my future — because one of the things that happens when you have to face your fears, including the fear of dying, is that you can face your future with renewed hope and enthusiasm.

My doctors tell me I have won my battle with cancer. And, I realize that this makes me one of the lucky ones. Last year alone, more than 40,000 Americans died from breast cancer. Aside from lung cancer, breast cancer is the most fatal form of cancer for American women. Nearly 200,000 new cases were reported last year alone.

That’s why a recent recommendation on mammograms by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a government-run panel of health care professionals that makes recommendations on prevention, struck such a nerve. The task force did not include an oncologist or a radiologist, in other words cancer experts did not develop this recommendation. They said that most women under 50 don’t need regular mammograms and that women over 50 should only get them every other year. And yet we all know that the chances of surviving cancer are greater the earlier it’s detected. If I’d followed this new recommendation and waited another two years, I’m not sure I’d be alive today.

What’s more this task force was explicitly asked to focus on costs, not just prevention. As it turned out, costs were a significant factor in this recommendation. Will a bureaucrat determine that my life isn’t worth saving?

All this takes on even greater urgency in the midst of the ongoing health care debate in Washington. We wonder if we are heading down a path where the federal government will at first suggest and then mandate new standards for prevention and treatment. Do we really want government bureaucrats rather than doctors dictating how we prevent and treat something like breast cancer?

The response we’ve gotten to these questions has been less than encouraging. In the face of a national outcry over the recent task force recommendations, the Secretary of Health and Human Services said the Preventive Services Task Force doesn’t set federal policy. The real question, though, is whether bodies like this would set policy under the $2.5 trillion, 2,074-page plan that’s now making its way through Congress?

Unfortunately, the answer to that question isn’t encouraging either. The health care bill now being debated in the Senate explicitly empowers this very task force to influence future coverage and preventive care. Section 4105, for example, authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to deny payment for prevention services the task force recommends against. Another section requires every health plan in America to cover task force recommended preventive services. In fact, there are more than a dozen examples in the bill where this task force is empowered to influence care.

There is a reason American women with breast cancer have a higher survival rate than women in countries with government-run health care. Unlike those countries, our government doesn’t dictate what prevention and treatments women can get.

While some defend the idea of a government task force, my experience with cancer tells me it’s wrong. Cutting down on mammograms might save the government some money that it will then spend on something else. But it won’t save lives. And isn’t that what health care reform was supposed to be all about?

This is just one in many examples of serious problems with this healthcare reform legislation. Rather than remaking the entire national healthcare system at the cost of higher taxes and exploding deficits, we should build on what works, such as expanding access to integrated care and to community clinics that will give those most in need appropriate care at a reasonable price.

Congress should reform medical malpractice to match what we have in California where frivolous lawsuits are a thing of the past. We should permit consumers to purchase health insurance from any company in the country, expanding consumer choice and driving down cost and unnecessary mandates.

People want to know that their care will stay where it belongs: in the hands of doctors and patients. Unfortunately, the path Congress is on in this debate is not giving us the confidence that it will.

Thank you.

A Nice Niche, but Probably Not a Career Path of Choice

I started catching up on season 3 of The Guild this week, and was pleasantly surprised to see everyone's favorite Starfleet alumn, Wil Wheaton.

I keep running into Wheaton over the last few months, and think I've spotted a trend. Wheaton, who spent years being the target of the spite of geeks everywhere because he was cast as Wesley Crusher (and honestly, most of the blame for the Crusher stuff belongs to the writers/producers, if you ask me). Now, Wheaton's basically embraced that spite, and turned it into affection via his blog, books, appearances, etc. And how he's taken it a step further, and he's turned it into a niche career, I've run into him as:

• hacker Colin Mason, foil of beloved hacker Alec Hardison on Leverage
• MMORPG player, foil of the much beloved Codex on The Guild
• former child actor/gamer/douchebag Wil Wheaton, foil of beloved uber-nerd Sheldon Cooper on The Big Bang Theory

He's gone beyond being the unjust target of spite, to being the geek we're all supposed to hate. Nice way to turn lemons into imdb credits.

I just remembered him playing a real prick of a comic collector on Numb3rs a couple of years ago, too, now that I think of it...so this isn't a totally new thing, just something he's doing more often, and with a certain focus.

Don't Shoot this Messenger

Friends, Romans, Countrymen…

If you're insulted by the songs they loop on the radio all day. If you're
tired of your parents repeating the phrase "music meant something in my day" with baseless contempt. Here's a chance to do something about it…

So said Joe Pug at the beginning of a pretty strange music promo campaign. All you had to do was give him a number of CD's and he'd send you that many sampler CDs to give to your friends (I gave away 6). Then I went and bought the rest of his EP Nation of Heat and played it endlessly.

Then a few months ago, Pug gives away more music -- 5 tracks from the Nation of Heat sessions. In addition, he will tweet/post to facebook all sorts of free downloads from concerts, radio shows, etc. Following Pug's career is a veritable cornucopia of free, high quality, thoughtful, folk-rock.

But now he's doing a couple of different things as he releases his first full length album: 1. he's playing with a full and "plugged" band and 2. he's apparently going to charge for the whole thing. I'm not complaining or anything, it's just an adjustment. The widget below has a couple of samples from the upcoming album, check 'em out--and then go grab some of the free music above--you'll be glad you did.