Go LOST!

So I am halfway through the season finale (damn you work!!! you take all the fun out of things)...
Love this show.

And on other matters, whats wrong with college students today?
This article (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/23/AR2007052301635.html) was just too much.....

• One glance at the words "Baltimore Zionist District" on Lazarus's "I Stand for Israel" T-shirt, and the cashier at the Maryland Food Collective, a crunchy grocery and sandwich shop in the student union on the University of Maryland's College Park campus, blurted: "Your shirt offends me. I won't ring you up." The cashier told Lazarus she could go to the back of the store to find another clerk. ...
• The cashier who refused to serve Lazarus will not talk about the incident because "she would be misrepresented," one co-op worker told me. The workers who would talk to me -- most would not because "the collective speaks collectively," as one member put it -- said no one should have to have contact with people whose views they find hurtful"They can't see that this is discrimination," she told me. "They're more committed to their righteousness than they are to the rights of other people. The fact is, you have to serve everyone.".

I feel so sorry for the poor manager of the student union there.... dealing with these children.... This article was worth a dozen laughs, it was so wrong ..... such great quotes such as "... come off as haters".... LOL... must. resist. making. fun. of. UMD...... eh, whats the point, they are pretty much a joke anyway.

And I am officially scared, this guy is referencing comics that I read and wandering off on odd topics just like me.... http://www.tvsquad.com/2007/05/25/tv-101-why-i-cant-stand-the-rgx-body-spray-girl-videos/

Catching up

So me and the roommate, M, finished another epidosode of Jericho (and Veronica Mars the night before).... Its kind of sad to watch shows that were pretty good and are ending after being cancelled. I know that even though I have one episode of Jericho left that I will not get my satisfaction for the show. And from what I hear the last episode of Veronica Mars doesn't give that sense of closure either... You have to be frustrated with the way American TV generally doesn't leave their shows in a closure state at the end of the season (like you find on the British shows). Way too many shows have bowed out on cliffhangers..... CBS definately owes us some closure for Jericho, given how many threads were just laying around.

And as further proof of my TV obsession, I finished NCIS (a well put together procedural drama with the requisite dose of comedy) and Brothers & Sisters (LOVE this show.... was definately howling at a few parts of it). Now my big push is to finish Lost, I just finished last weeks and now I need to find the time to watch last nights before the girl I am dating, R, drops too many hints on what happened...

Oh, and poison ivy sucks.... actually camping period sucks...... I sooooo am going to hate my AT this year down in Alabama... probably 10 of the 14 days will be out in the woods doing the lanes training.

Ghosts in the Machine..

I liked this article, The Wired and the Dead. It touches on the way that people mourn and how in reality we really haven't changed at all. The Facebook and Myspace pages are in some ways even more poignant, since they represent the work and thoughts of the individuals just prior to them passing away, as opposed to the more traditional format where other people write the obituary and offer the person through a more filtered perspective (often glossing over the some of the points that the writers don't want to be seen). I think that these feel more real to me as the memorials/shines for these kids who have passed behind the veil than any physical memorial or tombstone. They represent the reality, aka "the good, the bad, the ugly".

Additionally they are more available to the people that they have touched, it brings them closer because it no longer requires a physical visit to a gravesite to remember the person, it can be achieved through the simple click of a mouse.... Interestingly it also marks a form a shift to a more Eastern view of religion, where the departed are remembered in shrines that are often located inside the home as opposed to the more Christian approach of holing them off in a graveyard.

One thing it does make you ponder though is that the impact of your work (actually I should say life, so many of us live so much through electronic means nowadays) here on the electronic frontier and also makes you consider what the people in the future will see of you when this remains one of your most visible marks.

I think another thing that needs to be addressed is some form of allowing family members access to this content (I remember a lawsuit that was brought not too long ago when the family wanted to gain access to a recently dead service members account and that Yahoo wasn't granting it based on the terms of service that we all agree to when signing up). I know that god forbid anything were to happen to any of my family I would want to preserve their content (though I personally have the biggest electronic footprint for the family) in some way shape or form. I am glad that Facebook made the exception for the VT Students and I also really hope that they develop a standard for dealing with this in the future..

The dangers of Tivo....

First though..... must start eating healthier..... burgers, fries and beers for dinner 2 nights in a row cannot be good, given than in a little over 4 weeks I will be publicly weighed (thank you Army!!!). I will try so hard today to be good, luckily I am almost completely out of bad food at home so I pretty much have no choice.... looks like I will definately doing my run this evening....

And so now I explain the title. So I finally saw the series finale of Gilmore Girls... Thats the biggest problem for me, that because I know that I have the episodes sitting on the Tivo there really is no rush to watch them, so I must be all paranoid about spoilers and such.... Like for tonight with Lost, I really need to get caught up before the the girl I am dating, "TV Girl", accidentally drops a spoiler on me.... she already came really close.

And also related, what am I going to do about the last 2 episodes of Jericho.... Its going to be hard to watch them knowing that I will never get resolution on this series.....

And boy am I excited, Entourage seasons are running back to back this summer.... one week off for the Soprano's and then more Entourage fun...

Heroes!!!! Love me some Hiro!

Umm..... Wow!
Loved the Heroes ending..... So looking forward to next season. Didn't really see what happened coming, and normally I am almost freakishly good at predicting things (to the point where my roommate has claimed I have prewatched things).

So I am so ready for the weekend (its a bad sign when its Tuesday and you are saying that, but I have an excuse since unlike most people my weekend was probably more stressful than my normal week). Get a Little BBQ in, go to a DC United Game and get in some chill time... I may even go to my pool for a little bit.

So now its time to head home and continue the herculean task of cleaning off the Tivo's.....

Ah! The weekend is over! - Also Upfronts IV - Fricking CW

Hmmmmmm........ Lonnnngg weekend (lots of Army Stuff, wandering around the forest in the dark (I think I found every hole on the trek we took), sleeping under the stars (way overrated) and of course, a bunch of drama (which out of respect for personal privacy (at least on the Internets..... my coworkers, family and friends get the full story) I wont go into here). Lets just say that my class is a little bit smaller after the events of Sunday.....

Okay, so now onto my personal gripe list....

WTF are you doing to me CW? Last year you canned Everwood, and now you Veronica Mars slip through your fingers........ You are now down to like 3 shows that I will watch.. not good.... not good at all....

And Fox! More SF goodness? Please stop breaking my heart since I know that the way that you have been lately I will see an episode and then you will tragically kill it........

Heroes ending tonight! Love this show.... will be VERY pysched to see it and annoyed that I will have to wait for new content.

I guess I can finally start watching my Netflix disks again now that the prime time TV series are disappearing until fall...

Upfronts III - CW

OK CW!! You are making me VERY nervious...... not addressing Veronica Mars is making me twitchy.....

At least you let some other good shows to continue:

• Supernatural
• Smallville
• and god help me, a rebooted One Tree Hill

And you have at least 2 new shows that I will probably watch

• Gossip Girl - hey its from the OC Creator.... it has a good chance
• Reaper - yah! more supernatural goodness....
• and maybe Aliens in America..... probably not though...

Upfronts II - CBS & ABC

Argh....
Upfronts are killing me....
So now I will never know who set off the bombs in Jericho? I hate getting sucked into a show and it then gets cancelled.... I think that was the reason I stayed away from Friday Night Lights, so now me and the roomie have to catch up on it.

So now the Breakdown:
CBS:

• See above.... ya killing me....
• Other than the above you are doing a good job... though your selection of new shows leave something to be desired.... Moonlight I will watch (since I am a supernatural sucker...) And probably Big Bang... other than that I am out.
• Amazing Race! Renewing How I Met Your Mother (does the finale mean no more Robin? Damn........ LOVED that girl). 2 & 1/2 Men, the CSI's, NCIS, the Unit,Ghost Whisper (really? I know why I watch it.... .... that and as noted I am a supernatural sucker) and Numbers...

ABC:

• woot! More Boston Legal........ show is like crack....
• October Road, Men in Trees, Desperate Housewives, Greys, Brothers and Sisters, (and though I shouldn't admit this, the only one of this list I don't watch) Ugly Betty.... heck, even Notes from the Underbelly... Very much becoming the Estrogen Channel....
• I like this plan for Lost... I like that they have a plan and roadmap... and Damn! Last weeks was exciting.
• So the Greys spinoff could be interesting (I think the way that they did it was a mistake.... interspersing a significantly different show the way they did it was awkward....), Big Shots and Cashmere Mafia may be interesting.
  
• Pushing Daisies is the most interesting of the new batch... And do we need ANOTHER person who sees visions????? (yeah, I am talking to you, Eli Stone)
• Cavemen..... I just can't see how this is going to work...
• Some of the sitcoms look fun, Miss/Guided, Carpoolers, and Sam I Am (love Christina Applegate)

So looking forward to/dreading seeing tomorrows releases..... fingers crossed for Veronica......

Upfronts I - NBC

So this is a precious time for TV addicts such as myself...
Though the formal TV season is coming to a close this is "upfronts" time....

Now let me say it.... based on NBC....

• Woot! Scrubs is coming back.
• Friday Night Lights is coming back... I suppose I should start watching the show.
• This new show, "The IT Crowd" looks like it could be fun
• Heroes of course (the Origins bit could be interesting.... love the idea of new content during the summer)
• 30 Rock... The Office.... My Name is Earl... too easy decisions, though I am glad they are sticking with 30 rock.
• "Lipstick Jungle" looks like it could be fun.....

And in the "there are no more new ideas category"

• "Bionic Woman" - Really?
• "Journeyman" - hmmm..... where have I seen this plot before... a person wandering around in time against his control.....
• "Chuck" - ..... omg.... this is basically Jake 2.o all over again.....

And of course there is the "So Long, Farewell" category

• Studio 60.... so smart.... so doomed.
• Crossing Jordan - first to be deleted for space.... though the main character still looks cute they sadly did not qualify for the last category.

And the saddest category: "That show is still on?"

• Medium, Las Vegas, ER

Celebrity Sightings and NYC

Stupid finals..... They take the fun out of life.
But now that I am free (and assuming the grade works out well I will be receiving my diploma from VCU in the next month or so) it feels good. Of course now I have my periodic depression that comes right before heading off to drill.

So I went up to NYC this weekend, me and my brothers (3 out of my 4 brothers, thats a big chunk of my family). Lots of walking, lots of eating (I swear, even now I still feel stuffed), lots of drinking. We had our requisite celebrity sighting (Colm Meaney). Yep, out of all the people in NYC I of course run into Chief O'Brian of Star Trek:TNG fame (and also Stargate..... ). We were so looking him up on my blackberry while we were in the job and of course I actually went and talked to him for a minute after having a few beers (my brothers gave me a hard time on it but they also were probably expecting it).

Lots of fun. We also got back home in time for us to go out to dinner with Mom.

The it was on to IT ninja stuff. Adding a eSATA drive to my Series 3 Tivo (typically they turn it on now that the TV season is just about over), setting my brother and my mom's Tivo's at home to control the Verizon FIOS boxes that were just installed, and moving my other brothers Tivo over to his place (finally).

Go TV!

Yatta!
Didn't mention last week but I am so happy that Heroes is back.
Drive got killed, which surprised me.
The BQ's survived another round in the AR.
Lost continues to hold my interest.
I am now up to 2 episodes of 24 that I am behind... yet again, real bad news for that show...

All told, some highs, some lows. Definately need the summer to come soon to allow me to catch up. Too bad Uncle Sam is going to steal 2 weeks of my off season so that I can sweat my ass off down in Alabama (assuming I get a good enough score to even be sent down there).

24 ill-portents...

So here is a bad sign for 24.... I watched it back while using my computer... that hasn't happened before. They need to do something if they are losing people like me.
Oh and Drive is fun(they seem to be doing a good job at expanding the mythology), the boys from Entourage are entertaining me, and now I am late on working on a project for class. Between military obligations and class sometimes I wonder what the heck I was thinking when I signed up for both... It seriously cuts into fun time.
Thank god the TV season is almost over... poor Tivo is almost to the bursting point...

Really hate Talking Heads.....

Okay, so I am building a list...

• The Pro-Gun people (as much as I support the second admendment)
• The Anti-Gun people
• The "why didn't anyone man up and take this sucker out" crowd
• And the "Sinners had it coming list" ..... yeah, the same "the soldiers had it coming" and the "911 people had it coming" group that are already on my other list.

The media is coming close. They need to decamp from VT and let every Hokie start the healing process.

All of this from some loser.... News flash humanity, if any one of you get to the point where you think its a good idea to shoot unarmed people in cold blood do your duty in improving the gene pool by placing that muzzle loaded with hollow-points, place it in your mouth at a 45 degree up angle and pull the damn trigger....

Frack! Not My School!!!!!!

Frack............ WTF............ Words cannot describe my reaction to todays events...
32 dead as I write? (though I would refuse to count the scum who performed this evil deed, so in my mind its only 31... you lose the right to be counted among the human dead after you commit something like this...).
This is not supposed to happen to my school (from which I graduated 9 years ago. But I could tell you where every picture that was taken of this tragedy was taken..).

Happy Easter. So now that I have been suitably stuffed, tired out from playing with the Nephew. I also am now all caught up with Supernatural and my 8300 sits suitably empty waiting for me to bring it back to the Cable Company tomorrow.. Between working out, returning this device, and heading off for my date tomorrow evening looks to be a busy day.

So its time for Scientific Atlanta to go.... One glance at my cable bill, the fact that I haven't used the 8300 in weeks (and neither has the roommate), Video on demand isn't enough of a lure. Looks like my Tivo Series 3 wins (like it was a real suprise)..

Time to burn of the Supernaturals and then that will be it, off the wrecking yards on Monday.

Now its time to head the gym, do some laundry, and then get ready for my date tonight.

Hrmph... Some media addict I am today. One episode of Stargate (RIP you fine show... but as I said to my brothers today, 10 years is a heck of a run for a Science Fiction TV series... I am not sure how it has survived for as long as it did considering I liked it (and in the media world that seems to be the kiss of death from me)) from way earlier in this year (why did it take me so long to watch a series that I like? I blame Tivo and my roommate for drawing me off to equally good shows like Veronica Mars and Medium. That and one "eh" movie (Silent Hill).

And with me off doing the Army thing this weekend as well as watching DC womp the NY Red Bulls (hehe.... I still get a laugh every time I mention that name) tomorrow night as well as a date on Thursday its going to be a slow week for me. I will probably get "V is for Vendetta" in with the roommate in there somewhere as well as my other 2 discs from Netflix.