Criminals and Heroes December 22, 2006

I am now up to the Homecoming episode of Heroes. I am finally willing to admit that the show is worth all the hype. The characters I did not like I now do. It just took their powers getting fleshed out. I have 3 more episodes until I am caught up. I really want to just sit down and watch them tomorrow, but I might try to space them out so I don’t have too huge a gap until the show comes back.

This evening, realizing that I had absolutely nothing I wanted to watch on Tivo and that there was nothing worthwhile on TV, I decided to surf the movie channels on Directv. Let me admit here that I get them all. Every single movie channel. I watch the television shows on both HBO and Showtime but rarely watch anything else on them, unless my Tivo tapes it for me. Yes, I trust my Tivo to tell me what I want to watch. For the most part, the Tivo suggestions are right on and I never feel like I missed anything because I set season passes for the stuff I really want to see.

So I headed up to the 500s and started surfing. I found the movie Criminal starting right when I got to it. It has Diego Luna (of Y Tu Mama Tambien) and Maggie Gyllenhaal and the description looked interesting so I stopped to watch. I honestly don’t remember this movie ever being in theaters, but it was really entertaining. It had a nice little twist at the end which I did not see coming (and I am usually pretty good at predicting them–I ruined Fight Club for everyone when I guessed the twist about 15 minutes into the movie). So, if you are surfing your movie channels and see Criminal, I recommend stopping and checking it out.

While watching the movie and then two episodes of Law and Order Criminal Intent (it is just me or is one of the three law and orders on some cable channel every hour of the day?) I finished my first Jaywalker sock. It looks really good. No holes on the gussets where I picked up stitches. I am going to start the second one tomorrow. Now I have to decide if I am going to keep them for myself or give them to somebody. I never decide if my knitting is a gift until I see what it looks like. I am a total perfectionist and most of my friends and family think my knitting is just something to keep my OCD in check (you know, keep my hands busy) so I only give stuff if it is perfect. Otherwise I get all the comments that they could buy something in the store and I shouldn’t bother. It is only the stuff that looks as good or better than store stuff that doesn’t get the comments. While it sucks that they don’t appreciate my hobby (and yes it did start to keep my hands busy) I have no problem keeping the stuff for myself. I always knit stuff that I would be happy keeping for myself. Also, my kids love it when I knit stuff for them, so I try to make them stuff at tournaments. Right now, most on my team have hats and I have requests for fingerless gloves (gauntlets) and scarfs, so I am not lacking for projects or people who will appreciate them.

Break = Televison and not much more December 19, 2006

This is the first week in ages that I really have nothing planned, nothing I have to do. It is great, but I am also going a little nuts. I purposely didn’t plan anything but now I regret that. This weekend I managed to watch the entire CSI:NY Season 2 DVD set. Then I watched the BBC Pride and Prejudice miniseries yesterday. Today I went to lunch with a former student and then started re-watching the first season of Queer and Folk. I need help. If I don’t make plans or something, I will easily sit and watch the entire QAF series (well all but season 5 which sucked). So I have decided to go somewhere tomorrow. I am not sure where yet, but I will go.

I also downloaded Heroes to my computer and have started watching some of them. I know I am late jumping on this fad, but I was not sure it was my “type” of show. I mean I like comic books and comic book movies, but don’t watch shows like Lost or 24. The only thing that was making me want to watch it was the press it was getting. Magazines and critics that I generally respect were raving about it. I set my Tivo for an episode and then my kids all freaked out that I couldn’t just start watching, I had to watch from the beginning. One iTunes gift card from them, with explicit instructions that I had to download the Heroes season pass, here I am. They were so serious it was funny. They threatened to check my laptop for it. Truth be told, I think they all plan on putting it on their iPods from my computer, but oh well.

So far I am on episode 3. I like it but don’t love it. I am enjoying the storyline with the politician and his brother. I also like the policeman who can read minds as well as the cheerleader. I like Hiro but not so much his storyline. I totally hate Nikki and find myself fast forwarding when she is on screen. I hope maybe my opinion on her will improve as the season goes on. All I can hope for is that as I approach the critical “Save the Cheerleader, Save the World” episode, I will get hooked. Regardless, thanks to my kids, I will have the whole series on my laptop. And one more way to waste my time over break.

TV and More TV December 17, 2006

I have been watching the CSI NY Season 2 DVD set. Let me just say, I actually like the New York series in Season 2. I was not a big fan of Season 1, but I like the new girl Lindsay and I like how they broke from the usual CSI framework. In fact, right now it might be my favorite CSI. I loved the original CSI Las Vegas, but I have not been a big fan of it this year. Something changed for me at the end of last year, beginning of this year. I think it may be that there personal life’s became to much a part of the show. Now, call me hypocritical but that is what I like about NY, you get to know the characters and their life’s. I personally am rooting for Danny and Lindsay, once we figure out what her big “secret” is. I guess it is ok because they started it in season 2, not season 8. I guess I cannot explain it. Despite my love of both of these series’ don’t even get me started on CSI Miami, possibly one of the worst TV shows on right now.

So that has been my weekend. Watching CSI NY on DVD and knitting. I am about 2 inches from turning the heel on my first jaywalker sock. I am using a Lorna’s Laces self-striping yarn in blue, green and black. They look really cool. I love how the jaywalker pattern is coming out in stripe pattern. I don’t have much planned this week, so I hope I can get them done before I go out of town for Hanukkah. Yeah I know it already started, but our Hanukkah party is Christmas eve since that is when people could get away from work since we live in a Christian religion centric society.

I’m going to leave y’all with another video in honor of Christmas and Hanukkah or whatever holiday you celebrate. This is Andy Sandberg and Justin Timberlake in a sketch from last nights SNL.

Note: This is the uncensored version.

Scrubs Love December 15, 2006

I love Scrubs. It is by far one of the best shows on television now. I also read a lot of the television spoiler sites and keep reading about an upcoming Scrubs musical episode. Then I was told that NBC had posted a musical number from that episode. I watched it and now my excitement for the episode has sky-rocketed to unheard of proportions.

Since we all have to wait until January to see the episode, here is JD and Turk professing their love for each other. Enjoy!

A long day into night December 4, 2006

Practice was, well interesting. Much as I expected, the kids were all over the place, and in a lot of cases just plain bitchy. I think we all need winter break. I was going to lose it if I got one more eye roll. I swear, I talk to their parents and they all say how much better behaved and easier their kids are to deal with now that they joined debate, I truly think that is because their kids get all their teen angst out on me. Now don’t get me wrong, I love my job, but some days like this, I am just counting the days to break. Next Tuesday is the last tournament and then we will have a after school party and then an out of school party and then NOTHING until January. Trust me when I say, I need to not be around 13-17 year olds for a few weeks.

Tonight when I got home I tried to find something on the TV or my Tivo to watch, but since television sweeps are over, everything is reruns. First I watched a few of the Tivo’d Gilmore Girls reruns from ABC Family: The episode where Jess first comes to Stars Hollow and the episode where Rory comes out to society, which remains one of my favorite episodes. In fact, I think it is only surpassed by Rory’s graduation, the dance marathon, and the test run of the inn.

After some Gilmore Girls, the good seasons, not the crap that David Rosenthal is doing this season, I decided to give Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip another chance. Let me preface this with the following: I loved Sports Night, it remains one of my all time favorite shows. I can handle that type of show and message and usually like it. I also liked the first two seasons of the West Wing. Then I think it got preachy and lost its appeal (at least to me). I want to like Studio 60, but I just don’t. I like Matt and Harriet and think their storyline is fun. I like some of the behind the scenes stuff at the show. I HATE all the network stuff and the Jordan stuff and I find Danny extremely annoying. I feel like this show is all about Aaron Sorkin’s issues with the network, the FCC, the censors and how the media handled his drug arrest when he was writing the West Wing. I guess I will keep giving it a try because I feel like I should like it, I am an extremely liberal over-educated American…isn’t that who he writes for?

What are your opinions on the show? Am I missing something?