It's Friday and I'm bored

Can't I just go home? It's almost 4 o'clock....

I'm seriously out of things to do. I think I've read every website on the internet at least twice. Except the porn ones, because I'm at work. And the afternoon is dragging because I went to lunch early (I had lunch with Andrew, who is lovely, but his failure to eat breakfast and consequent need to eat lunch early has left me with way too much afternoon to fill).

Trolling around on TWoP, I found this interesting feature, which examines whether or not Indiana Jones is a criminal. (He totally is, but most of his crimes are against Nazis, so we don't care. He does seem to break a lot of stuff, though. Mainly other people's vehicles.)

What a day

Well, Chelsea’s sleeping in bed with me now… except she’s decided that it’s HER bed and so she gets to lay in the middle, and I have to sleep off to one side, which usually ends up with me accidentally rolling over on her. She likes to play for a couple hours after I go to bed, so I got smart and started taking away the toys with bells at night, so she can’t make noise.

We’ve already lost two mousies, one of which ended up so far under the refrigerator, I couldn’t even see it with a flashlight. (That was about 10 minutes after I gave it to her.) Chelsea was very adamant I get it out, but I couldn’t find it. No idea what happened to the other one.

In other news, I desperately want to see Recount, the Danny Strong (yep, that'd be Jonathan from Buffy) TV movie about the 2000 election. It aired on HBO this weekend, which I don't get, and I wanna know when it'll be on DVD so I can watch it.

Also, props to Scott McClellan for his new book, which has the longest title ever (the short version is "What Happened"). I cannot tell you how badly I felt for this guy while he was standing up there doing Bush's spin. He looked unbearably uncomfortable, and it was so painfully obvious that the words coming out of his mouth were utter bullshit, but there wasn't a thing he could do about it. Considering the way he was pushed out of his job, I guess this kind of thing was to be expected, but I really have to laugh at the Bush staffers calling him disgruntled. As though he's saying anything the public doesn't already know or suspect about the administration.

And, apropos of nothing, Kristen Bell is a Red Wings fan.

I have a kitty!

Slow day today. I'm actually running out of things to do to keep myself occupied.

There's a good chance this may become a "what Chelsea did today" blog, but I can't help it if she's adorable. She slept in bed with me last night. She also woke me up at 4am, but that's at least an improvement over the first night, when she wouldn't even let me go to sleep until 3. She's very clingy... she'll keep pestering me until I pet her, and paws at me if I stop. We're trying to set rules, like no walking on the dining room table and no jumping in my lap while I'm on the toilet, but it's touch and go.

She fell in the bathtub today, which was pretty hilarious. She likes walking on the rim in between the curtain and the liner, and she was leaning over to drink out of the faucet (I don't know why that's so fascinating, but she does it with the bathroom sink, too). Anyway, she slipped off and slid right in the tub. Doesn't seem to have great coordination for a cat... she also fell off the sofa because she tried to sit next to me and there wasn't enough room. She's such a little goofball. I went home for lunch today and we played with string (to keep her from climbing all over me while I was trying to eat my sandwich).

Anyway, just so this post isn't all about Chelsea, here's an interview with Glenn Close (I can't wait for season 2 of Damages!) and another one with Joss about (you guessed it) Dollhouse. I find it interesting that he's been making all these comments about how he staged an intervention for Eliza because her roles in crappy horror movies "broke" Joss and "she's better than that." Mainly, I'm curious why he hasn't done the same thing for Sarah Michelle Gellar. Also, much as I like Eliza, to hear Joss say, "I think you have something that no other actor that I've worked with has" makes me go "huh?" I mean, of all the talented actors on Buffy and Angel, Eliza is not one I would single out as special.

TV catch-up

It's been several days since I made the rounds of my usual websites, so here's a bunch of info for you.

First, did you know that this website grades House on its medical accuracy? I was actually really curious, since most of that shit seems pretty outlandish (and sometimes, it seems, it is). I'm still working on season 3 of House, by the way. It's turning into a "watch while I do other things" kind of show - you know, the kind that only requires half my brain, and I can check my email or chat on AIM at the same time.

Also, this poll proves British people are stupid, or just like ticky boxes. How is it possible that three of the same people could be in the top four on both the "Best American Accent" and "Worst American Accent" list?? Personally, I think Hugh Laurie, Jamie Bamber, and Matthew Rhys all have great accents (I didn't even know Matthew Rhys was British, although the last name should've been a dead giveaway). Worst award definitely goes to Marianne Jean-Baptiste. I can't stand listening to her.

What else? Oh, new cast members for the 24 movie. Tony Todd scares the hell out of me, so he should be very good as a "cruel African dictator."

Also, my boy James Marsters is getting some play for his role as Buzz Aldrin in "Moonshot." (That's the reason he had to cancel Fangoria, by the way. Becky and I are still very disappointed. Morale will probably sink lower if he shaves his head again for this role.)

Still pissed about the Bones finale? (Seriously, it's been a week. Get over it.) Here's an interview with Hart Hanson, which probably won't make people feel better. Although it is nice to know that they intended to have more character development leading up to the reveal, had it not been for the writers' strike. Also heartening to hear that Eric Millegan may be back occasionally.

And finally, an interview with Joss about the reduced commercial time for Dollhouse.

New roommate!!

I hope everyone had a nice Memorial Day weekend. Mine was rather eventful - went to DC on Friday for the grad school meeting, which went very well. Scoped out neighborhoods full of apartments I probably can't afford (although my mom did spring this idea on me that now that they've paid off the mortgage on their house, they're considering buying a condo in DC and renting it to me), and got to hang out with Becky (especially nice now that we're not going to Fangoria).

Saturday, we went to the Philips Museum, because my mom wanted to see this Renoir painting, but we spent most of the time mocking the modern art that looked like a four-year-old did it with fingerpaint. Drove back to NJ on Saturday and spent the rest of the weekend with my parents.

But the big news is that on Monday, I got a cat!! My mom went to PetSmart last week, shopping for Patches, and saw the cutest little kitty up for adoption. She teased me with it all weekend, saying, "Oh, she'd be just perfect... but she probably won't even be there when we get back." But she was! And I got her! And she's adorable! Her name is Chelsea, and she's about a year old. She's a "tuxedo cat" - black with a white bib and white paws. She's very sweet and friendly (likes to be cuddled - Mom is jealous, Patches doesn't like to be touched), and got along well with everybody... except Patches.

We all thought they'd be fine. After all, Patches is okay with Rusty and Kitten when they come around, and Chelsea was with all the other cats in the store, so we didn't expect them to have a problem with each other. Well, little Patches took one look at Chelsea and ran in the opposite direction, and didn't come out from under the sofa for the rest of the day. My dad was all, "Come back and fight, you little sissy cat!"

Chelsea did not like the carrier, and cried for much of the car ride home, but she was fine once we got back to the apartment. She's settling in well, and spent most of last night exploring every inch of the apartment. Kept me up until 3am wanting to play (good job Mom, giving her toys with bells), pouncing on me in bed and meowing very loudly when I didn’t get up. She seemed intrigued by the bathtub – after I took my shower this morning, she jumped in and then looked at me like, “How did it get wet?” Did NOT like the hair dryer. She seemed to take it as a personal affront and had not come out from under the bed by the time I left for work.

This post is entirely thanks to Kristin...

...Kristin at E!, that is, who interviewed lots of interesting people.

If you're still angry/upset/shocked/whatever about the Bones finale, check out this interview with Eric Millegan. I'm so sad that he's leaving.

Also, lots of Heroes news - Jack Coleman talks about taking down Kristen Bell and the beatings he's received for revealing spoilers, Milo Ventimiglia warns us that season 3 will "melt your brains," and the Pasdar lets it slip that he will be the cheerleader next year (also, Ma Petrelli does a Hiro impression).

Season finales, part 2

Okay, HIMYM. Rules from last post still apply.

I'm feeling almost as ambivalent about this one as I am about the Bones finale. Not because it was so much shocking, but because while there was some interesting character development and some excellent plot twists, it wasn't very funny. And for a comedy, it really ought to be funny.

So... we got Ted and Stella breaking up, only to get back together, only for Stella to realize they'd broken up and actually break up with him. Yep, that's definitely a HIMYM relationship, lol. Ted's proposal at the end was probably the least shocking thing about their arc. It seems way too soon, but then this is the guy who told Robin he loved her after one date. I'm super excited that this will probably lead to more Sarah Chalke next season, but my big fear now is that they'll break up and it'll be disaster. Sarah Chalke is so awesome that I'm really starting to want her to be the mother, and I think there's lot of potential for disappointment if the mother doesn't measure up to her in terms of awesomeness.

Sidebar: Has anyone else noticed that Lily and Marshall really should stop talking to Stella? They keep causing problems... first by letting it slip that Ted blabbed about her not having had sex in five years, and now tipping Stella off to the break-up.

Of course, Ted and Stella weren't the only reunion in this ep. Barney is back in the fold, and he and Ted are bros again. Everybody now: awwww. And how about that sidelong glance at Robin? I'm curious where that ends up going, especially since Robin seems pretty nonchalant with Barney. Is it possible that Barney will find himself on the other side of things for once?

Marshall's miracles. Oh, man. I think the pencil up Barney's nose might be my favorite, although the expressions Jason Segal made with the lice were priceless.

I kinda missed talking about the Office finale, since I watched it in my hotel room in Williamsport, so I think this is pretty much it for the season. I don't watch any other shows... Gosh, that's depressing. Damn writers' strike. Oh, well, at least I still have Battlestar Galactica.

Season finales, part 1

There was a lot of "what the hell?" on my TV last night. But before I get into season finale talk, here's the link to the Dollhouse preview. Now, for those of you who for whatever bizarre reason haven't watched Bones or HIMYM yet, scat!

Let's talk about Bones first. I really haven't decided yet how I feel about it. There was a "huh?" in the beginning, and a "WTF?" at the end, but the middle was actually really, really good. I'll try to go in order here...

Okay, Booth's "death." The fake-out thing is kinda lame on this kind of show, since I can't imagine there's a single person out there who actually believed they'd kill Booth. I was expecting it to be Brennan's dream or something, so the FBI set-up was kind of a nice twist, but considering how poorly developed that plan was, I can't help feeling that the whole thing was just for shock value. I mean, I understand that they wanted to deal with Brennan's feelings for Booth, and her not being in on the fake death created tension between them. But isn't there enough genuine emotion in that relationship (Emily Deschanel was certainly showing it in the end of last week's ep) that Booth almost dying would've been enough?

I guess the other reason for the fake death was to make Sweets seem more cold and calculating by not telling Brennan. Maybe that was to make him more of a suspect in the Gormagon thing, but I think he did enough of that on his own. (I was seriously sold on Sweets as the apprentice, except that it didn't make sense, casting-wise.)

That said, I think the Gormagon mystery played out really well. They had two really strong candidates in Hodgins and Sweets, and I loved seeing them trying to help even though they were under suspicion. (Hodgins' scene with Cam totally solidified it - I want to marry that guy.)

So... Zack. I kinda get it, and I kinda don't. I think part of the problem is that the writers' strike disrupted both Zack's character development and the Gormagon plot. I mean, remember, this is the guy who was too fucked up for Iraq. That's a pretty serious issue right there, which got kind of ignored. And although it's probably hard to tell, what with the 4 month gap, the shortened season, and the fact that the episodes we did see were occasionally out of order, since coming back from Iraq, Zack definitely seems to have regressed in his social development. He's been more of the early season 1 weirdo than the guy with close friends who's earned respect from his colleagues that he'd become during season 2.

It feels especially jarring to have this right after the karaoke episode, where Zack's singing made him seem more human than ever (which was in itself jarring), but I suspect that was a result of the strike as well. On the whole, I think we've seen Zack become even more clinical and logical this season, and the singing thing totally throws me off. If we'd had another five or six episodes in between the singing and the murder reveal, it probably wouldn't seem so contradictory.

Zack being the apprentice doesn't really sit well with me right now, but I'm actually looking forward to going back and rewatching this season, and I think it'll make more sense then.

I was a little surprised that Gormagon turned out to be nobody, but I can't help thinking that no matter who it was, they would've been overshadowed by the Zack reveal, so why bother even trying to make them important. I think it also emphasizes the contrast with Zack - this guy was killing people because he wanted to be noticed, but no one will really remember him. And if anyone remembers Zack, it'll be his friends, because they cared about him, because they respected him, not because of this.

One final thought - the bathroom scene. I'd probably be all a-twitter about David Boreanaz naked, except I was so unbelievably distracted by the BEER HAT. OMG, best thing ever. And the comic book... yeah, that's up there with my favorite Bones scenes ever.

Hmm, this has gotten quite long, so let's just wrap up with some quotes and leave HIMYM for the next post:
Hodgins: "It's Schrodinger's cat."
Zack: "That makes sense to me. Cakes and pickles mean nothing to me."

Booth: "She breaks into my bathroom, and I'm weird for being naked?"

One more before I go

This post looks an awful lot like the last one, with another interview about HIMYM (this time with the other half of the team, Craig Thomas), and an interview with Joss, about Dollhouse and Dr. Horrible, and general Jossy musings on life.

Since I'm going to Williamsport tonight and tomorrow for a student government seminar, that'll have to tide you over until next week. Happy weekend!

Okay, happier thoughts now

Like lots of info on upcoming TV shows.

• Dollhouse scoop
  
• the 24 prequel-to-s7 movie
• an interview with Carter Bays on HIMYM
  

Mini-rant

Newsflash: People in West Virginia are racists.

I'm referring, of course, to the reports that Hillary Clinton won the WV primary, "where racial considerations emerged as an unusually salient factor." I don't know. Maybe it's just me, but I pretty much expected race to be a factor in a backwoods kind of state full of white working-class voters.

I also think it's interesting that while Obama's candidacy is prompting everyone to talk about racial issues, no one seems willing to address the rampant, disgusting sexism that has reared its ugly head in the anti-Clinton rhetoric. I can't even begin to imagine the uproar that would result in the media and across the country if people used racial slurs against Obama the way they have used sexist ones against Clinton.

I've mentioned this before, and I still can't get over it. So, what I've learned from this election is that it's still socially and politically acceptable to demean and hate women. Fan-fucking-tastic.

OMG

How about Bones last night? It was totally worth it to put up with the blatant American Idol references (not to mention the former contestants) just to hear Eric Millegan belt out "Love is a Many Splendored Thing." I almost hyperventilated through the entire thing. I knew Brennan was going to sing, but Zack took me totally by surprise. Also have to say, Booth's hilarious facial expressions during Brennan's song were even better than the singing itself. It was up there with Angel's dancing skills.

Oh, and um, did someone get shot? I'm pretty much not worried about that, considering this just isn't a show that kills off its main characters. (Come on, it's Bones, not Buffy.) You could see it coming a mile away (pretty much as soon as they introduced stalker-chick), so it wasn't really much of a shocker, except I was kind of expecting Zack to get hit, after Millegan's interview. Props to Brennan for that fantastic shot, btw. Next week, season finale - whee!!

And I am officially tired of Britney Spears. One episode was fine, two is pushing it. She just can't deliver lines without sounding completely wooden. But I guess we have to thank her for getting our show renewed.

My mind has just been blown...

...by the Dictionary.com Word of the Day, no less.

The word for today is cavil, which means "to raise trivial objections to." Not so astounding, you may say. Well, sure, unless you watch Battlestar Galactica, and then you'd know that Cavil is the name of one of the Cylon models - in fact, the leader of one of the factions in the civil war, though I'm not sure you could call his objections "trivial" - and nothing on that show is a coincidence.

Speaking of BSG - Kelly, where are you? I know you're home, which means we need to plan some BSG watching ASAP.

Anyway, less mind-blowingly, Dollhouse has been slated for a mid-season premiere. Oh, hush. You've waited 5 years for more Joss on your TV, you can wait a few more months. Besides, whether it airs in September or in January, we all know that Fox is just gonna show four episodes (out of order) and then cancel it.

Britney may be coming back to HIMYM. Again. That is, in addition to her "coming back" tonight. Does it never end? *crosses fingers for more Sarah Chalke* Also HIMYM-related, tonight's episode will feature the website lilyandmarshallselltheirstuff.com, which is a real charity auction selling props from the show.

And finally, an article discussing whether "House" has gotten too formulaic. Jesus, I think it's too formulaic NOW, and I'm only on season 2. You're telling me it doesn't get better?

Political adjustment

I haven't mentioned the results of Tuesday's primaries yet. Obama took North Carolina, Clinton won Indiana, but not by enough to make a strong argument for staying in the race. I had drinks last night with Ben (who worked on the Clinton campaign in PA) and we decided we're giving ourselves until Monday to be sad and bitter (during which time we will cling to our guns and our religion), and then we'll get over it and support Obama. We're both party people when it comes down to it (that's political party folks, and if anyone questions why happy hour last night lasted for five hours, well... no comment), so it'll just take some adjustment and then we'll be okay.

To be honest, I'm starting to feel like a kid who ate too much candy. At the beginning I was all, "Woo! Exciting primary season! Super fun!" but now I've totally overdosed on politics, and I just want it to all be over.

Innnnteresting

Check out Eric Millegan's cryptic/confusing interview with Michael Ausiello on upcoming episodes of Bones. I'm curious how someone could die but not be leaving the show, but hey... whatever. Also interesting is the distinction between "casualties" and "death."

Also from Ausiello, House might be getting a spin-off. I haven't decided yet whether I like House enough to watch a spin-off, but I'm only on season two. We'll see how I feel once I've seen the whole thing.

I just have to share this comic strip. Awesome! I so want it to end like that now.

Oh, for pete's sake

We still haven't fully recovered from the writers' strike, only to find that the specter of a SAG strike is looming. Not surprisingly, one of the sticking points is DVD residuals. Haven't we déjàed this vu?

But better news on HIMYM: Josh Radnor is not worried about cancellation.

Schedule your vacation time...

OMG, forget about stalking James Marsters... I totally want to go on this cruise. It's definitely more expensive than a regular cruise (you could go on a 7-day NCL cruise that week for the same price), but still - Veronica Mars!

Other stuff: This week's Scrubs episode is a "giant homage to The Princess Bride." Also, Barney and Britney are dressed alike! Isn't that cute?

And happy actual birthday to Megan. You'll probably get a present some time in June, since I think that's the next time I'm coming home, lol. Maybe I should mail it...

Very important question

Can you throw a toaster oven down a trash chute?

'Bout damn time we heard something good!

Okay, it's not a network announcement, but this article has the magic words in relation to How I Met Your Mother: "a pickup is considered a given." Squee!

In other news, that chick who dated Landry on FNL is gonna be on Heroes next season.

I went on a shopping spree this weekend, good old retail therapy, and came home with new clothes, matching earrings, perfume for myself and my mother (Mother's Day is coming up), and a new toaster oven! I also went grocery shopping, but that was less fun.

Speaking of Mother's Day, my mom called me yesterday to see if I was coming home. I said no, since I just went home two weekends in a row in April, and we're going to DC in a few weeks. So Mom gives me the mopey, "Oh well. Another Mother's Day you're not going to be home."
Me: But I'll see you when we go to DC. We can celebrate then.
Mom: Oh, well, maybe next year we'll celebrate your birthday the week after, too.
Me: Uh... that's what we did this year, remember? Since it was a waste to celebrate my birthday and Easter on separate days?
Mom: Oh yeah...

And speaking of birthdays, shout-out to Megan, whose is tomorrow! Yay!

But he's still a big jerk

Just a quick happy Friday, and a video of Hillary Clinton's interview with Bill O'Reilly. Now, I am still bitter at Bill O'Reilly from the time his producer bitched at me and threatened the Governor back when I was an intern (I can hold a grudge like no other), but I have to say, he reined in his unbelievably assholish personality to conduct this interview. I never would've expected him to be that respectful in debating with a Democrat. Anyway, check it out.