01:02 pm - All Saints' Day! The conventional wisdom says the Colts will win today. The sentimental leaning is for the Saints to win today. The Associated Press has dubbed the Saints "America's Team" citing the support of everyone from Barack Obama to Queen Latifah to The Who, not to mention regular Americans all over the country.
This Super Bowl has the best narrative I can recall in a very long time. First and foremost, of course, is the city of New Orleans and its struggle to battle back from the ravages of Hurricane Katrina. The die-hard sentiment of New Orleans football fans, to stand by the Saints for all the decades of terrible play and hard luck seems like it is being rewarded with this team, this quarterback, and this coach. They really seem to want it more for the city than themselves, and that's a feeling you can't help but get caught up in.
Then there is the odd coincidence of the Mannings. No matter how much I might not be fond of him as a player, there is no denying that Peyton Manning is among the best quarterbacks to ever play the game. There is also no denying that he loves New Orleans. I happened to be outside the NBC studios in New York when people were arriving for the telethon for New Orleans. I saw Eli Manning arrive for to lend his voice to the call for assistance for the Mannings' home town, where their father had once led the team Peyton now faces. In other coincidental news, I hadn't paid attention until the run-up to the Super Bowl that Drew Brees played college ball at Purdue, in Indiana.
From a simple football standpoint, these two teams were far and away the best teams in their respective conferences all year long, each going undefeated deep into the season. It hasn't happened that the two best teams in the league have met in the Super Bowl in 15 or so years.
Stories just don't get any better than this match-up in sports.
As a football fan, I know it is incredibly difficult for any team to beat Peyton Manning. However, the Colts do have weaknesses that I believe the Saints are suited to exploit. I expect a very high-scoring game--and a very close one. I expect a lot of turnovers, as we saw in the NFC Championship game; the Saints make ball-stripping an art that elevates their league-trailing pass defense.
My head may tell me that it is slightly more likely that the Colts will win this game, but my heart--and the heart of the nation--is loudly proclaiming WHO DAT SAY DEY GONNA BEAT THEM SAINTS? WHO DAT? WHO DAT!
PS--If you want some help winding up your black and gold frenzy today, check out the Times-Picayune's Saints tribute song playlist, combining two of the things New Orleans does best: make music and cheer on the Saints. I have to say this is a pure party collection of over 75 songs written for and about the Saints. Laissez les bon temps rouler! Current Mood:excited
01:34 pm - Boo! Today will have to suffice as the Halloween post, such as it is, because tomorrow I start waking up at 5 am, if not earlier, to begin a couple weeks of lots and lots of work at the American Film Market. I am really looking forward to it, but the lack of work in general, to say nothing of the lack of 14-hour days in my recent past, has me a bit worried about how extremely exhausted I'll be. The relief of finally earning some money will be the feeling I shall cling to to get me through.
Before all of that starts tomorrow, though, there is today. We are having a little dinner gathering to send off ze_pink_lady, who will be returning to the UK next week. I am desperately sad to see her go, as she has been a delightful roommate this past month or so, and it is great fun to have her around.
That means today is supposed to be devoted to cooking and cleaning, though my epic laziness (it is pre-emptive, you see, in preparation for the 14-hour days!) has prevented any of either so far. I guess I should get on that, hmm?
Obviously, this means I have no Halloween plans, which is fine with me. I really missed the Village Halloween Parade in NYC last year (though I had a delightful and mellow time that night here in LA with good friends and good food), and I am glad I will be so distracted this year that I won't have time to miss it.
The rest of the year is all of a sudden jam-packed with plans, after a relatively quiet summer and early fall. After AFM, I go to Tennessee for a week (YAY! The Holler! Daddy and Cindy! Barbecue! Bourbon! Cooking for days! Woohoo! *g*), getting back on the 1st of December. Then I'm undertaking a massive and uncomfortable reorganization project (I will be sorting, organizing, and rearranging an entire basement/crawlspace sort of thing with a dirt floor from my knees, as the ceiling is only about 4 feet above the floor). After that's over, of course, comes Christmas, and I'll be heading back to DC to see Mom, Li'l G, and whatever other members of my family aren't being douchefaces at the time. The capstone of the year--and the awesome kickoff to 2010--comes when splifford accompanies me back to LA from DC to spend New Year's here. Yay!
And that's my excuse for being lazy, but this apartment won't clean itself, nor will dinner cook itself, so I shall have to get a wiggle on. But not quite yet...
I meant to post about the return of Friday Night Lights the other night (I have been so excited about having DirecTV ever since I moved here, just for that show), but have neglected to do so. It was awesome, of course, and the interview they showed with Peter Berg before and after was interesting. Laura and I watched with my upstairs neighbor, who'd never seen the show, and then we showed her the pilot and a couple other S1 eps to give her a sense of show. She, of course, instantly decided Tami Taylor was awesomeness personified and lusted after Tim Riggins, as you do. No spoilers, but I'm incredibly excited for this season and it is so good to have the best show on TV back (as much as I love Mad Men, FNL still beats it, simply because I CARE so damn much about all the characters and I get so emotionally involved).
We then wound up showing my neighbor several episodes of Supernatural, wildly out of order (of which I do not approve, generally), but she wanted to see a Misha episode. We started with Lazarus Rising so she could see Castiel's introduction, but, of course, that didn't give her any sense of Sam'n'Dean. She also wanted to see a scary episode, so we went all the way back to Bloody Mary, which raised all sorts of other questions about the girlfriend on the ceiling, so we wound up then watching the pilot. I don't recommend such jumping around, simply because it's so jarring to see Jared magically shrink before one's eyes like that.
Okay, that's it. Procrastinating really is over now! I hope you all have awesome and fun Halloween plans, and extra-special spooky (and sexy!) shoutouts to the Superfriends--as Halloween is our birthday, after all. I love and miss you guys desperately! *mwah* Current Mood:lazy
10:16 pm - Wondrous Day This was a delightful, emotional, thoughtful, wonderful day. It began when ze_pink_lady, rivers_bend and I met up with coolwhipdiva at the yummy Frenchish restaurant down the street for brunch, wherein there were huge crepes and french toast croissants and, eventually, wovenindelibly, and lots of catching up with J, which I have not had the chance to do in way too long. After brunch, J departed, and Jessa, Laura, River and I headed over to the Hollywood United Methodist Church (which is gorgeous and HUGE) for the staged reading of The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later. We were joined there by 13_sammie_07, and settled in (in shockingly comfortable individual pew seats) to watch the play.
The actors were all amazing, especially Barret Foa of NCIS: LA and Avenue Q (he was also the only one of the actors, I think, who hung around to hear Judy Shepard), Lisa Edelstein, and Zachary Quinto. Michael Weatherly really surprised me with how good he was, and it is impossible for me to think of him in such a dismissive way as I always have before. Everyone was excellent, especially since they didn't really have a lot of time to work on their characters, and they were reading from the page, but they were all so real. And, of course, the material was wrenching. I started crying when ChristianClemenson, playing Matthew Shepard's father, talked about his and Matt's competition over broken noses, and the crying only got harder during the scene in the Wyoming legislature, through the conversations with the perpetrators, and, of course, when Helen Shaver played Judy Shepard.
The play was much funnier than I expected it to be, which was a relief, as there was so much heaviness, it needed to be lightened. As it was, I was passing out tissues to everyone in our party, and cursing my decision to wear mascara this morning. When the play was over, it received one of the loudest ovations I've ever heard, and the audience simply stood and applauded for several minutes. Jessa and I clung to each other and just cried some more. Then hugs were shared all around, and we went and had some of the free dessert the church provided while we waited for Judy Shepard to speak.
Judy Shepard was amazing. She's a tiny little woman with a big personality. Though she originally was reticent to speak out about such a painful private tragedy, she has become a gay activist, celebrating the passage of the Matthew Shepard federal hate crimes bill. Several of us bought the book and had her sign them.
Then we came home and I cooked some ridiculously delicious middle eastern chicken and tzatziki while doing what fangirls always do when they gather--hanging out with our computers and chatting. I am exhausted, but it was truly a remarkable day. Current Mood:drained
10:56 pm - SPN 5.06 No blow-by-blow reactiony tonight, as I was far more concerned with mashing avocados while watching Show than tippity-tapping on my computer. But, I do have a few things to say...
02:55 pm - I am officially a wimp I used to mock my friend C. when he'd come to visit me in New York in the winter after he'd moved to Los Angeles because he complained so bitterly about the cold, when it was usually fairly mild for a NYC winter. It has only taken a few months of being back here, and I am now officially as wimpy as he became--and my descent was probably faster. I realized my wimpdom as the whole compound sat outside around the firepit in the back yard last night, tending a roaring and toasty fire because we were all so freaking cold. After all, the outside temperature was probably about 65. Brrrr! It makes me laugh at myself like crazy, but I also don't care. This is, what my Daddy would call, a rich person's problem. :D
Anyway, I was having such a delightful time hanging with the neighbors that I didn't watch Show until the wee hours of the morning (ze_pink_lady was out being glamorous and then joined us around the fire when she got home, or we likely would have watched it at air time). I see the general consensus is that it was fabulous. ( spoilers for SPN 5.05Collapse )
There's all kinds of fun stuff just over the horizon, that I hope to be able to share more about later. I have a short-term gig working for the American Film Market that starts soon, and that will be a lot of work and a lot of fun. I was just invited to a beach bonfire party tomorrow night, and I'm ridiculously excited about it, as it seems such a California thing to do (though, of course, it will be "freezing," according to my new definition of same *g*).
My favorite ethnic grocery store is having a sale on fresh (uncured) hams, and I think we're going to undertake this recipe for it (Grilled Molasses and Rum-Glazed Fresh Ham) on Sunday. However, that means we have to go shopping today to brine the damn thing for at least a day. But I am all about the big projects of late (my fridge is currently sitting on my porch, since I let the defrosting get away from me, and had to do the whole hillbilly, appliances-on-the-porch thing to dislodge the permafrost). I also welcome the distraction of tending a long grilling project to distract me from my Skins making a no-doubt thrilling game out of what should be a cakewalk against another winless team. *sigh*
I forgot to mention that I have dusted off my beautiful pumpkin girl icon as my October default. She delights me so, and, along with the chill (heh) in the air, the autumnal menu, and football, I am not missing the turning of the leaves too much. Fall is still fall, I guess, even here in sunny California.
It's so quiet around here without all the WinCon folk about. I am trying not to think of the amazing time they're having without me, but I do hope it is truly amazing.
In other news, Obama? Peace Prize? Bzuh? I don't necessarily have a problem with it, but, um, since when did they start handing out Nobel Peace Prizes as encouragement? It's just so freaking bizarre!
I also hope you all have fab weekends planned! Current Mood:cheerful
04:01 am - Sleep will, presumably, happen at some point... The migraine caused me to load up on so many painkillers and caffeine that I cannot sleep. So, of course, I watched the ep again, and read many reaction posts, and I have this to say...
02:57 pm - Drug of a nation Because I have been mostly un- and underemployed this summer, I have had a lot of free time. What I have done with much of that free time is watch television shows I'd been told about, but hadn't seen for some combination of reasons, usually involving not having cable. I watched two series in their entirety, and am in the middle of watching another. Unfortunately, two of these series are over, but one is only in its infancy--and returns tonight!
The one returning tonight is Sons of Anarchy on FX. I have learned that my love of television shows goes only as far as my love for/fascination with the characters, and Sons offers so very much with which to be fascinated. My friend embitca wrote a little primer on the series at her hubpage to get folks to watch, and you can read that here. All of the characters on this show are multifaceted and compelling, and it makes their situations and struggles seem so very real. Not that I think the Emmys reward anything really, but it is a travesty that Katey Sagal was not nominated. Even with all the amazing female characters on Mad Men, Sagal's Gemma is my favorite female character on TV right now. She is a force of fucking nature, and everyone should check this show out if only for her.
The other shows I caught up with this summer are things everyone and their mother has raved about for ages, but I never had HBO, so didn't ever see them before. Deadwood and The Wire. I would have been perfectly happy, if forced to only watch one television show for the rest of my life, for that show to be Deadwood, if only they would have kept making new episodes in perpetuity.
Holy shit, what AMAZING work that was. Obviously, character and language sucked me in right from the get-go, and everything else just pulled me deeper. This show was flat-out brilliant, and I am so disappointed that David Milch got distracted by the interesting, but ultimately weak, John from Cincinnati, and allowed HBO to pull the plug on this masterpiece too early. The rumored two movies to wrap up the story seem deader than Wild Bill Hickok at this point, which is a damn shame. I almost don't want to urge anyone who has never seen the show to watch it, because it is so very painful to get to the end of Season 3 knowing that there is no resolution or continuation of the stories and the characters. But anyone who loves spectacular writing, bravura acting, impressive filmmaking, and intricate storytelling owes it to herself to watch this show.
Honestly, as much as I love Bobby Singer, if I ever got to meet Jim Beaver, I would spend all my time talking to him about Deadwood. He, along with everyone else in the cast, but most especially Ian McShane and Brad Dourif, is exceptional. There just aren't enough superlatives to recommend this show highly enough. Also, I avoided watching this show for a long time, because I'm not the biggest fan of Westerns in the world, but you don't have to like Westerns to like Deadwood, seriously. Watch it.
I am not as in love with The Wire as I am with those other two shows, but I do like it a lot. I am halfway through Season 3 at the moment, and I'm not really sure what this season's point is yet. The first two seasons focused pretty specifically on one major storyline, while this season seems a bit all over the place. That isn't necessarily a problem, as it is following a lot of character development, which I generally like. My main issue with it is that I don't really like the main character, Jimmy McNulty (played by Dominic West). I don't think West is a very good actor, and his American accent sucks. (I didn't even know who he was, I just could tell he wasn't American, and his accent bugs me--contrasted with Idris Elba whose American accent is so perfect, I didn't even realize he was British, and that I'd seen him in other work with his English accent, though, how I could fail to recognize someone so damn fine is beyond me.)
Despite my lack of love for the main character, I adore most of the other characters, and I really like the format of taking a whole season to build a case. Omar is a brilliant character, and I crack a huge smile every time he shows up because I love him so much.
I am hyper-sensitive to any and all TV shows set in Baltimore. David Simon's shows (Homicide: Life on the Street) are leagues better than most, because he insists on filming in Baltimore and incorporating the city into the fabric of the show, but it's more how the outsiders deal with it that rankles me. I am of the opinion that almost no one can do a Baltimore accent, and those who can't shouldn't even try. There are enough small roles filled by local actors that the sound of Bawlmer is present in the show. There's no need for ridiculous parodies of it.
Personal nitpicks aside, The Wire is compelling and richly drawn, giving all of its characters full, multidimensional lives. I think Simon excels in showcasing the faults in his heroes and the humanity in his villains, and this show may be the fullest expression of his talents in that regard so far.
Those are my discoveries of the summer, and, of course, I am delighting in the shows I already love that have returned in the last few weeks/months, from the sublime (Mad Men) to the ridiculous (America's Best Dance Crew) and wondering when I became such a TV junkie, considering I barely watched the thing a few years ago.
I lay all the blame for making me a tube addict again at the feet of that little show that, in clear celebration of my birthday, is returning this Thursday night. *g* Current Mood:calm
08:38 pm - Supernatural - The Finale I am trying to make this the first as-it-happens! post made to DW and LJ simultaneously. I hope everything goes okay.
Now I'm just twiddling my thumbs, waiting for the strains of "Wayward Son."
05:43 pm - Fandom Steel Cage Match Boy, they aren't kidding about the "fandom madness" aspect of the Steel Cage Match at typicrobots's journal. I didn't think I could possibly care that much about TV characters--especially not for shows I wasn't terribly devoted to or never watched, some of which are long off the air.
The second round is up now, and you should go vote! It doesn't matter if you haven't voted in the preliminaries or in previous rounds. It's fun, seriously!
I am most shocked that Spike (from Buffy) is currently beating the stuffing out of Pacey Witter (from Dawson's Creek). I guess Buffy was more of a fandom show, but I thought everyone under the age of 35 thought Pacey was the most perfect boyfriend in the universe.
I am also surprised to see Blair Waldorf (Gossip Girl) and Seth Cohen (The OC) locked in the closest battle in the whole game. I had thought Seth had it locked up, but I love Blair, so I'm glad to see so many people voting for her.
I am very sad that Alec (Dark Angel) is losing so badly to the Tenth Doctor Who, though I'm not surprised. I had just hoped that Alec's awesomeness would give him a better showing than the total whipping he is currently receiving.
Dean Winchester is beating Angel, but it's closer than one might expect Dean's matches to be normally, given the huge numbers of Dean fangirls on the site, but, then, it's Angel, and the Buffy/Angel fans are mighty. I wonder if Angel's inevitable destruction at Dean's hands is giving Spike more of a boost against Pacey?
It is sad to see Dwight Schrute (The Office) losing so big, but he's going up against Barney Stinson (How I Met Your Mother), and I think it's a foregone conclusion that Barney will be taking this whole thing.
I was shocked and amazed that Lorelai Gilmore (Gilmore Girls) thrashed Tim Riggins so soundly in the last round, but now that she did, I am not at all surprised that she's whooping Zack Morris (Saved by the Bell)--I was pretty suprised that Zack beat Dylan McKay (Original 90210) by so much in the last round.
I wish Joan Holloway were doing better (in fact, I was surprised and delighted to see her defeat Christian Trowy (Nip Tuck) in the last round), but I guess not a lot of people watch Mad Men, especially not compared to Bones (and, again, Booth might be gaining votes since Angel is surely a goner).
Anyway, it's ridiculous fun! Go Vote! Current Mood:amused
I saw Friday the 13th on Friday with many fun people, thank goodness, for the movie was truly bad--and not fun bad, like MBV, which at least made me jump a few times and had some truly creative kills that made me laugh, and some semblance of characterization and story, no matter how absurd it wound up being by the end. F13 had none of these things. However, it was by no means a waste, because Jared was gorgeous, and his tits were at least as spectacular as those of the one chick who wasn't entirely constructed of silicone.
Saturday, there was karaoke marathon with even more fun people, and it was quite the marathon. I fear that I bared all my most embarrassing secrets to the assemblage by demonstrating that I don't need the video and its lyrics to sing every word of Air Supply's "All Out of Love" (I didn't even pick it! It just started playing, and there I was with a microphone in my hand!) Oh, 12-year-old me, why must your musical taste continue to humiliate me?
On my way to karaoke, I stopped to get a coffee, then, as I was walking up Broadway, right in front of Macy's on a Saturday afternoon, I tripped over absolutely nothing and faceplanted on the sidewalk. I cleverly broke my fall with my knees and my right wrist. Why only my right wrist, you might wonder? Well, I was carrying coffee in my left hand! Three lovely gentlemen came to my aid, and when one offered his hand to help me up, I told him I didn't think my wrist could handle that, so these fine gentleman lifted me to my feet (quite effortlessly, I must say, I even felt dainty! Though, were I, in fact, dainty, it wouldn't have taken three grown men, I would imagine). Now that I think of it, it's clear this blow to my pride rendered me incapable of recognizing the humiliation inherent in the subsequent Air Supply Incident. (I didn't spill but a couple of drops of the coffee, by the way. A girl has to have her priorities in life, I always say.)
I took some advil when I got to karaoke and barely noticed my wrist trauma until I was attempting to eat dinner later and had pretty much lost basic use of my right hand, and noticed that the wrist had started to swell. Oh, there was also the pain. That wasn't fun. Fortunately, when I got back to the place I'm staying (proscription and jalfred have no handy shorthand name for their apartment), I iced it, took more advil, and, most importantly, put a brace on it, which is what is allowing me to type at all now. I think it's not even a sprain. Several years ago, I had a similar fall on a NYC street (one explained by ridiculous shoes and uneven sidewalk, at least) and went to the doctor about it. Their official diagnosis at the time was that I'd "whacked it real good." I'm operating under the assumption that this is the same deal. It's more of a nuisance than a serious injury.
All of this activity, combined with strange sleeping patterns led me to fall asleep this afternoon and sleep right through until about midnight, though, missing plans I had for this evening, which is bummerific and also leaves me wide awake right now. I'm working Tuesday and Wednesday, though, so I hope I can get back into a better schedule. That's the problem with only working a few days a week and being a nightowl by nature.
There's my eventful weekend doings! I wouldn't have even really noticed it was Valentine's Day if it weren't for the tv commercials telling me so, and the lovely v-gifts withdiamonds and synchrogirl gave me, as well as the love some anonymously wonderful person left for me in the Valentine's Day game, all of which fill me with love and gratitude (well, not the tv commercials, so much, but the other things!). Also, my BFF is wondrous and generous and I adore her. I do love you all. ♥ I hope you all have enjoyed your weekends so far, and that you continue to enjoy it tomorrow if you have it off.
And now the wrist doesn't want to type anymore... Current Mood:awake
05:58 pm - I love my show *sniff* An LJer, canadiangoddess, who has a friend who works on the set, made this post, regarding Kim and how people on the set are dealing with it, and how THEY are unimaginably thinking of US at this time.
I am going to memorialize it here, but please go thank her for sharing.
"Jim is in mourning for one of the best friends and best directors he's ever known--Kim Manners, who died last night from lung cancer"
I don't believe that our show would be what it is had it not been for him. My heart goes out to his family, friends, and the cast and crew. Current Mood:morose
