Here's your damn update

So, it was ever so kindly brought to my attention *cough*Kelly*cough* that I haven't updated in a while. There's a very good reason for that. Normally, I update at work, when things are slow and I have time to troll the half-dozen websites I usually look to for news and random fun. But lately, I've been super-duper unbelievably out-of-control busy in work. So much so that I don't even have time to finish my actual work, let alone keep you people entertained.

BUT since Kelly demanded asked so nicely, I took some time after work today to check out what's been happening in the past... week? Ish.

I guess everyone knows by now that Heath Ledger died. It's absolutely shocking, especially since he never struck me as the drug-overdose kind of guy, even accidental. He was a talented actor, and always seemed to have his head on straight, unlike a lot of the out-of-control celebrities his age. It's a terrible shame.

Someone thought now was a good time to remind us all that Heath's first major role was in a short-lived TV show called Roar, which I mention because it was the first thing I ever saw him in, and I remember loving that show and being disappointed when it was canceled. And then, when everyone fell in love with him in 10 Things I Hate About You, I was all, "Hey, I saw him first!"

In happier news, NBC is having another auction, where you can bid on merchandise from their shows, including Friday Night Lights, Heroes, and The Office. Guess whose birthday is coming up? *grin*

Also on Friday Night Lights, this article pisses me off. It drives me crazy that TV has become all about franchising. That's the exact thing that kept me from watching Heroes at first. I'm glad there are no FNL trading cards or board games or... vibrating brooms? What? (Wow, Harry Potter fans are kinky...) Anyway, it's the simplicity of the show, the genuine reflection of everyday life, that makes it so wonderful. Turning it into a soulless commercialized franchise would totally destroy the magic, and I resent the fact that this purity is what keeps it from being a hit show. I felt the same way about Veronica Mars -I was so sorry to see it canceled, but at the same time, I would hate it if the show compromised its values and quality just to become a trashy hit. I worried that FNL was going that way in the beginning of season 2, but I think they've recovered, and I'm once again finding myself completely charmed by this little show. Don't take it away from me, you evil corporate bastards!

Okay, then. Jericho has two possible endings, one in the event it is canceled after its 7-episode 2nd season, and one if it's picked up for a third. Good plan, really, because God only knows how many nuts would be shipped to studio execs if the show got canceled on another cliffhanger.

Are you starting to feel the effects of the strike, as all of your favorite shows disappear from the prime time schedule? This feature might help you find a new show to watch. (I think my favorite is, "If you like Heroes, try Buffy the Vampire Slayer." I'm already into season 3 in rewatching my Buffy DVDs. Thanks, Strike!) Also, I'm throwing out my personal recommendation for Battlestar Galactica. I just watched all of the first two seasons on DVD, and now I'm ripping my hair out because season 3 doesn't come out on DVD until March. The fourth and final season airs starting in April.

Well, that should keep you busy at least until the weekend. I'd talk about politics, but that'd probably be a whole separate post (makes it easy for you all to ignore it that way, lol).

I want a casino caucus!

Forget Iowa, I'm moving to Nevada. Not only do they get the fun and chaos of a caucus, they get to do it in a CASINO. This is truly democracy at its best. Where else in the world can you cast a vote for President and play a round of blackjack in the same place?

Update on the primary watch: Mitt Romney won Michigan yesterday. (So did Clinton, but it's not quite as remarkable, since she was the only one on the ballot.) So, for those of you keeping score, that's Huckabee, McCain, and Romney, each with one win on the Republican side, and Obama with one, and Clinton with... well, we'll call it one and a half wins on the Democratic side. Next up is Nevada (casinos!! seriously!!) and South Carolina.

I think it's actually really interesting that the field is so wide open on both sides. Everyone was concerned that moving the primary dates up would lock up a winner too quickly, but no one seems to be able to gain enough momentum, probably due to the broad differences in the states that have voted so far. Of course, to be fair, it's still only January, and even if we don't get a clear frontrunner until Super Tuesday (which I'm assuming is what we're now calling Feb. 5th), that's still a full month ahead of prior primary seasons. (Last election cycle, Super Tuesday was March 2nd, I believe.)

It's snowing...

Again. Still. Seriously, I'm tired of winter.

Not that I've taken down my Christmas tree or anything, but that's just 'cause I'm lazy and don't have anyplace to put it.

Good news for those of you who don't have cable and have not yet clued into the brilliance of Psych, or for those of you who are brilliant and just want to watch the episodes again, and enjoy that real-life experience of TV with commercials. Due to the writers' strike and an embarrassing lack of programming, NBC will be airing full seasons of Psych and Monk starting March 2nd. CBS will also be showing Dexter, which I wanted to watch, but I have a feeling it's going to be edited, so I might as well just wait for the DVDs.

In other news, they're making a reality show to cast a Broadway musical based on a movie. Does the madness never end??

In politics, Hillary Clinton is now being compared to Paris Gellar (of Gilmore Girls). I have to admit, the similarity is uncanny. And I also really enjoyed the point that it's "insane (and immensely misogynistic) that American media have been covering the first female front-runner with a real shot at the Oval Office as if she's campaigning for Prom Queen, rather than POTUS".

I did make a tragic discovery the other day. My George W. Bush countdown clock has stopped. I glanced at it and thought, "Hmm, there aren't 390 days until January 20, 2008." And that's when I realized it stopped counting down, leaving me with the paralyzing fear that time could be suspended and George W. Bush would be President forever. Gahhh! Fortunately, I think it's just a battery problem, and not a rift in the time-space continuum; however, I can't figure out where the batteries go in my little clock, or what type of batteries it uses (I'm guessing small ones). Sadness!

Quick update

Just stopping by to say yay Hillary, and to let y'all know that Chuck will be airing its two final pre-strike episodes on January 24th. Also, check out this blog interview with all the Daily Show correspondents. Wonder when we'll see them all again on the show...? (But sidebar: John Oliver was hilarious on Tuesday.)

Bad news for Bones

When I made my TV update post last week, I thought that Feb. 22nd was an awfully long time to wait for a new Bones ep. I had no idea.

Now, the report is that a new episode won't air until April 28th! Gah! But, I guess the up-side is that it'll be on Mondays at 8 instead of Fridays. And yay for possibly getting the school shooting ep from last season.

To take your mind off the depressing news, here's some still shots from Torchwood's season 2 premiere. Oh man oh man oh man. James kissed a BOY! (Okay, I already knew that was gonna happen.) And I'm finding it way hotter than I should.

I completely forgot to watch Friday Night Lights last week (I was too wrapped up in my BSG). This whole "watching network TV again" thing is gonna take some getting used to. For about a month, until they all run out of episodes. *sigh*

Also, the CW is mucking around with their schedule, and will be airing Reaper in its regular time next week (Jan. 15th) and then moving the last episode filmed before the strike to Thursday, Feb. 28th after Smallville.

And so it begins...

The Presidential election, that is. The Iowa caucus was yesterday, an astoundingly bizarre system that involves standing in corners and complicated math. Obama and Huckabee came out the winners, which was a bit of a surprise. Here are the full results.

I think everybody knows I'm a Hillary fan, but I don't dislike Obama, and obviously I'd support whichever Democrat wins the nomination. I've found myself impressed by both candidates at some point, but I still can't help feeling that Obama impressed me with flash and rhetoric (I've never felt quite as enamored with him as I did the first time I saw him, giving a speech at the Democratic National Convention), whereas Hillary impressed me by being intelligent, engaging, and well-prepared for the job. So there's a sort of "meh" feeling with these results. Like, he's not bad, but we could do better.

On the Republican side, oh boy. I'm not sure whether to be happy, because I think either Clinton or Obama could defeat a southern minister with no foreign policy experience in the general election, or worried, because what if he actually won?? Not that this suggests that he could be the nominee. There are plenty of other candidates who still have a better shot, even with the blow of losing Iowa. This article seems to think McCain would benefit from all this, although I tend to think McCain's pretty much finished. Who knows?

Check back in five days for the results of the New Hampshire primary, which could have a decisive impact on who stays and who goes.

TV update

With the holiday season come and gone, I thought you might be curious when your favorite shows will be coming back. TV Squad has a list, although it looks incomplete... but that might be because there are more shows than I realized that aren't coming back at all due to the writer's strike. :( Anyway, here's the rundown of shows I care about:

1. Friday Night Lights has six episodes left, starting Friday, January 4th.
2. The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are both coming back January 7th with new episodes but no writers. Should be fun!
3. Psych is coming back to finish the second half of season 2 starting Friday, January 11th.
4. The seven-episode season 2 of Jericho starts Tuesday, February 12th.
5. Oh, the injustice! Bones doesn't come back until February 22nd (now relegated to Fridays - thanks American Idol!), with only three episodes left to air.

Nowhere to be seen: How I Met Your Mother, Heroes, Pushing Daisies, 24, and The Office (which I didn't expect to see), and Chuck, Reaper, and Dirty Sexy Money (which I did expect to have one more episode each). Also not on the list: Torchwood season 2 premieres January 26th, guest-starring James Marsters as a poodle-chasing, Jack-kissing, omnisexual time agent with absolutely no morals. And a big-ass sword.

There's also a bunch of new shows that are premiering as mid-season replacements, but I can't remember what any of them are about. I'll just go back to my Battlestar Galactica DVDs. I just started watching it, since everyone else seems to think it's the best thing ever, and although the miniseries was a little slow, I'm really getting into the show.

Also, a funny mixing of politics and Buffy: The Republican presidential candidates and their corresponding Buffy villains. Hee!

How many resolutions have you broken today?

Happy New Year! I've been somewhat slacking in the posting department lately, but honestly, not much to talk about. Christmas was nice - other than one drunk aunt (too many cosmopolitans) and the usual irreverent grandmother, nothing was too over the top.

(Sample conversation:

Grandmom: What religion are the Buddhists?
Laura: They're Buddhist.
Grandmom: But I mean, what are they? Are they Jewish?
Laura: No, they're Buddhist. Buddhism is a religion.
Grandmom: Oh. Really? They look Chinese. (pronounced "Chin-ee")
Laura: *facepalm*)

I got lots of awesome presents, including snazzy new work clothes and a George Foreman grill, which Kelly took for its maiden grilling yesterday.

New Year's Eve was fun, no buildings were burned to the ground despite the city's insane decision to shoot off fireworks in the middle of downtown rather than over the river (two blocks over) like non-pyromaniacs, and no eyes were poked out by champagne corks, although it was touch and go there at 11:59 when we couldn't get the damn bottle open.

This is my first new year in central Pennsylvania, and I discovered something hilarious about the way it's celebrated. Maybe other places do this, too, but they never did it where I'm from. I'm sure you're all familiar with the ball dropping in Times Square. Well, here in central PA, every town drops something that has some connection to the town. So, for example, Hershey drops a Hershey's kiss. Mechanicsburg drops a wrench. Lancaster drops a red rose, and I think York drops a white rose... or if they don't, they should. Carlisle drops a car (that seems dangerous to me, but it's their second annual car-dropping, so I'm assuming they did it last year without any casualties). And my personal favorite, Lebanon drops a 150 lb. bologna, which is then donated to a local homeless shelter or something.

God, this state is weird.