Mad Men - All about Peggy

I watched two episodes of Mad Men last night and here is what stuck with me - Peggy is where it's at.

She set out to prove Don wrong in the season's second episode. She was not going to be ignored anymore. She was not going to be powerless. She is in control of her destiny. She went to a bar alone, picked up a guy, told him no to sex, and dashed before morning without giving her number. As the night went on she gained more and more confidence. Don was her idol and as far as she had come, he didn't give her or her gender a full share of respect yet. (I think Don actually respects her more than anyone else that works for him...she just has a chip on her shoulder.)

She did the same thing with her co-workers. She smoked pot, drank rum, and realized that there was nothing to fear. She broke on through to the other side. She is in a good place right now and I like it.

As far as Don goes, he gave a nice speech to the MSG guy, the guy in the bar, and his brother-in-law. It doesn't sit well with me that he is mad at Roger. I like these guys as a team, friendly competing and not enemies tolerating each other.

There was also a lot of singing and dancing. Roger in blackface was hilarious and Pete can really cut a rug. Also, Joan with an accordion was a little sad and Paul was a lame Ivy man. It was all so mesmerizing. This show puts me into a trace like state and I like it.

This is meant to be played loud!

The Last Waltz is the best music movie of all-time, hands down. Directed by Martin Scorsese, the film chronicles the last concert ever the The Band. A who's who of 70's rock stars sit in on the concert that took place on Thanksgiving. A truly enjoyable event.

Tonight at 8Pm on VH1 Classic Rock
Tues at 12:30 AM on Palladia HD
Tues at 4:PM on VH1 Classic Rock

An oldie but a goodie...

I was watching testosterone TV on Versus the other day and I realized where I recognized their ad campaign. Check this link out. Part 1 and part 2 are hilarious. All the rest are knock-offs, including the Big Lebowski ad.

Speaking of Big Lebowski, there is a documentary coming out in October on the fans who follow the movie like it is Star Wars or Star Trek. They even have Lebowski fests every year. I wonder if they have a world's laziest man competition and a Caucasian drinking contest. Or a nihilist contest...who cares the least about winning. Great movie.

True Blood - The Queen of Yahtzee

"This town may be filled with crazy red necks and dumbasses, but they are still Americans and that used to mean something." "Still does!"

With lines like that and images like a vampire Yahtzee game, Eric in a dress, and Jason walking into a tree, this was probably the funniest episode of True Blood of the year. This season has been building steam episode after episode and this one perfectly placed the chess pieces where they needed to be for the finale.

Lafayette, Tara, and Eggs have Sookie and a giant egg. Is that where he gets his nickname?

Eric and Bill are competing for Sookie. Eric's plan is unknown (my guess is it involves Lafayette) while Bill's is to offer up Sam and then strike at the right moment.

Jason and Andy are going on a mission to save their town against all odds (as hilariously as possible).

Rarely is a show legitimately scary and funny but this show most definitely pulls it off...case in point - Lafayette sprinkling the pills like chicken feed.

Inglourious Basterds - I want my scalps!

This movie is awesome. I am gonna come right out and say it. I have been a fan of Tarantino since day 1. I was a defender of his movies when he got ripped. I get it. He made his post modern opus with Pulp. It was so original and so well written (to this day I think it is the best screenplay to a movie I ever watched) that his street cred was at an all time level.

If you are at all familiar with the legend of Tarantino, he is an unmatched student of films. His post-Pulp movies have all been pitch perfect tributes to the genre. Whether it is blaxploitation and Jackie Brown or B-movie action double features with Grindhouse (specifically Death Proof) or Hong Kong martial arts movies/spaghetti westerns with Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2. Now comes the Basterds being a tribute to WWII movies, especially German movies.

The movies are made by a guy who loves movies, that much is indisputable. His scenes are made with a reverence that you don't get from almost any other movie. I mean no one is making movies like him. They are not made for you. They are not made to win Oscars. They are made the way a true fan would demand a proper tribute be made.

This particular movie was ten years in the making. Tarantino read Goebbells diary and studied German film making. It was set to be even longer than Kill Bill. Speaking of Kill Bill, KB was written as a diversion from his work on Basterds.

As far as the movie goes, it is about a band of renegade Jewish Americans on a blood thirsty mission of Nazi scalping pitted against the wits of a superb Nazi Jew Hunter. The Jew Hunter is getting mad props for his part, and boy are they well deserved. But, Brad Pitt, as the leader of the Basterds, has gotten mixed reviews. Well I am here to tell you he is exactly what he is supposed to be. Hilarious. I won't give plot points away, but trust me...this must be seen.

Sleep Show

I have a thing where I need to watch TV to fall asleep. Dead silence is tortuous to me. For years, I fell asleep and awoke to ESPN, specifically SportsCenter. It was the soundtrack to my nights. From 3AM to 5AM, they re-ran the game from the night before. I wasn't a fan of falling asleep to an old game, so if I was up at that time I went with a TV show on DVD.

Fast forward to present day and my wife isn't into falling asleep with the TV on. She is willing to compromise and let me watch TV but just not SportsCenter (all she hears is yelling announcers). So, that leaves me ever seeking a new Sleep Show. Here are the two characteristics of a good sleep show...keep it light and keep it familiar. I try to stick to sitcoms I have seen before. I am on Season 6 of Scrubs the second time trough. I have also gone through That 70s Show from Season 1 to 7. Most nights I don't even get through a full episode so it takes a long time to finish a season.

I may go through 70s Show one more time but then I think I am going to head into Gilmore Girls. I've seen it, it is generally light, and my wife owns the entire series on DVD. Any other suggestions?

Check out the cover of the new EW

I can't wait for the new Curb to start!

Check it out here.

HBO is...

This past week was the best HBO Sunday of the summer. We are getting down to the nitty gritty and the boys are on point.

True Blood finally brought Sa Sa Sa Sookie and the Vamps back to Bon Temps just in time for the whole town to go hilariously militarily evil. Only downside...the episode was a little lite on eric. But Jason and the drunk sheriff were a classic comedy duo. The scarier and more evil the show gets, the more I enjoy and need the humor.

On Entourage, it was all about Bob Sagat. Is there a better cameo out there? Is he a parody of himself or is this really what he is? I think we are supposed to think it is a parody but the joke is that he is really a sick bastard. All the Sagat scenes in the history of the show are classic. "Any of you dudes play X-Box?" And I want Drama and E to crush their opponents.

Hung gets better and better week after week. The sad bastards are still sad but more and more likeable. The last scene in the tent was the best of the series so far. Pass a can of the Beast.

Californication Season 2...while it still gets wet.

Man this show has balls...and does it make me want to go on a bender. I just got Showtime back and I couldn't watch season 2 fast enough. I am only three eps deep but I have to profess my love for the show.

I watched season 1 last summer and was awesome. It was so unabashedly...everything. Male, sexual, truthful...and still had a heart.

In the first three episodes, we had mouth rape, a "rectum, damn near killed him joke", classic Fletch-esque doctor-patient humor (using the whole fist doc?), coke, pot, booze, a DUI, gay male biker ass, a slam van, three ways of saying ass licker, a hairy taco reference, an office masturbation montage, an off camera (thank god) Cleveland Steamer, and dozens of only After-Dark scenes and references.

I hope Duchovney doesn't get too rehabilitated.

Blackout TV

What did I watch with no cable? Besides the previously discussed GI Joe, I watched -

- the first disc of season 1 of Arrested Development (White Power Bill, Lucille 2, the Marta love triangle, the burning of the banana stand...all classic)

- the first disc of season 3 of Northern Exposure, which is a highly underrated and largely forgotten show. This disc featured Rick as a dog, Adam and Eve, Chris' animal attraction, and Ed's movie)

- Star Wars Episode II and III - had to check out the surround sound. I have so many mixed emotions about these movies. I want so bad to like them. They have really cool FX and some of the scenes and battles are great. But it lacks something, and here is what it is...the human element. Luke and Han were regular guys, at least in the beginning. Who is the regular guy in the prequels? Where are the humans?

The first show I watched when I got back cable...the new True Blood (and then the Yankees game on the deuce)

We have ignition...

I am back online!!! I feel reborn.

GI JOE - The Revenge of COBRA

So what did I watch last night to unwind after a hard day of work and chores? That's right, the 1984 mini-series GI Joe - The Revenge of COBRA. I will tell you what, it wasn't bad. Compared to the dialogue in some movies today, it was actually good.

This was the one that featured Destro's Weather Dominator, which as the name implies, dominates the weather. The Joes counter and the device breaks into 3 pieces - one piece lands on a tropical island, one lands in a pyramid (what are the odds of that?), and one lands on the "roof of the planet". The Joes and Cobra split up into teams to battle for the pieces while Zartan has his own plans...

The laser bullets fired in battle can destroy a building, shoot down a plane or helicopter, or merely shoot the gun out of an enemies hand. There is 100% survival in all situations, no matter what. Jet crash...not even a broken ankle. Ah, all the fun of violence without any of the actual reprecussions...what more could you ask for from a toy/cartoon.

Anyway, this was the introduction of Zartan and the Dreadnaughts (Glam Rock band?) and of Shipwreck, an alcoholic sailor who is a cross between Jack Nicholson and Han Solo. Only in the 80s.

Day 3 with no internet and TV

Hello, world? Are you out there? I have been coming into work early this week in part so I can plug into the web a little. One more day to go.

Actually Comcast has responded to my post and are seeing if they can bump up the installation. I have nothing but praise for the customer service I have gotten from them. The people I have dealt with were all polite, professional, and most importantly, helpful.

Speaking of customer service, we had an odyssey at Home Depot yesterday buying a washer and dryer...all because I stubbornly wanted a gas dryer.

My private sports bar project has begun...

Reclining leather couches...check
56" 1080p TV...check
6 speaker Dolby surround sound system in place...check
PS3 hooked up via HDMI and optical sound...check
Wii hooked up...check
Cable and internet....Not until Wednesday! #$%#$@#$%^!!!

Just so you don't think I take this sort of thing seriously, we weren't planning on moving until next weekend. I had Comcast set up to arrive Friday before I got home from work. It would have been seemless. But, we were to efficient in our move and got in right away. So I called Comcast and they moved me up till Wednesday.

The project of making the finished basement into my little slice of heaven has begun. I want to build a bar. I have never built anything ever. My idea of working with my hands is playing Madden. But I think it could be fun to try to make something. Think dark wood, brass rails, swivel chairs...when I think about it the me in my head has a cigar in his/my hand.

Until Wednesday I will be on radio silence for TV news lest I be spoiled. I will get by on DVDs. I have Firefly to get to but I find myself being pulled into a Star Wars marathon to test the metal of my speakers setup. TK4271, why aren't you at your post?

What did I miss?

Actually don't tell me. I moved into the new house this weekend and have been without cable or internet ever since. I feel so disconnected that I came into work early today to plug back in. I have been cleaning and lifting all weekend. I am craving some normalcy.

Buying a house - closing day

I am exhausted after long day. We closed on our first house and began the grueling process of cleaning the new house and, of course, moving.

I did manage to sneak in the two Top Chefs and a Seinfeld. Bayless was a deserving champ on TC Masters and I really liked the premiere of Vegas. Wolfgang Puck was the guest judge and he was classic. At one point he chucked a doughnut across the room.

Back to work tomorrow. It is going to be a long next couple of weeks.

Cooking - Roasted Summer Veg Couscous

Gotta love the fresh veg from the garden. This dish has a lot of ingredients from the garden, which is phenomenal. Basically all of this food was picked about an hour before I made this, so I went with less-is-more as far as spices.

1 garden grown (GG) green pepper, chopped
1 GG jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1 GG ears worth of corn, cut off the ear
1 GG zucchini, peeled and cubed
big handful of GG heirloom yellow cherry tomatoes, halved
small handful of GG baby potatoes, halved
1 yellow summer squash, cubed
olive oil
salt and pepper
about 1 cup of dry white wine
2 cups couscous
about 1/2 cup orange juice
feta cheese, crumbled
flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 400F. Clean and prep your veg. Place in a roasting pan with some olive oil, salt, and pepper. I poured about a cup of dry white wine over the veg. Roasted for about an hour. Drained the juice and the wine from the pan and put the veg back into the oven. It came to about 1 cup of liquid. Poured that liquid into a medium pot. I then added another cup of liquid, about half and half OJ and wine. I brought this liquid just to a boil, added the couscous, removed from the heat and covered. After about 5 minutes, I fluffed the couscous with a fork. I pulled the veg out of the oven, combined with the couscous, and topped with feta and parsley.

I have eaten it for three meals already. It tastes like summer. Light and bright.

What to Watch tonight - 8/19/09

Tonight is Top Chef night - The premiere of Top Chef Las Vegas and the finale of Top Chef Masters. I am a big fan of all things TC and recommend giving Vegas a shot. 9PM on Bravo

If you are not a cook, then Hard Knocks on HBO at 10pm. This series focuses on the training camp of a NFL team, this year the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bungles are a top 5 worst run franchise and it could lead to some interesting moments.

Update 1:25pm - predictions...I am rooting for the French guy to win TC Masters which means that Key-a-rello will probably win. As far as TC Vegas, I predict this to be the most unlikable cast yet. Just a gut feeling.

The HBO comedies hit their stride

I just got finished watching this weeks Entourage and Hung and I have to say, they didn't suck. They were actually pretty damned good.

On Entourage, Vince continued to be drama free and did what he does best - fall bass ackward into models, movies stars, and co-eds. Drama was perfect this week. He was insecure, a hot head, and fiercely loyal. Best of all, though, was Mr. and Mrs. Ari, who finally had a worthy story line. Ari was stressed to 150% but willing and eager to fight back. The best episode of the season.

On Hung, Tanya and Ray felt a tinge of the good life only to get their hopes crushed by the reality of their lives. Tanya is the star of the show. It is now official. And is anyone else really intrigued by Jemma? I find her relationship with Ray fascinating.

All in all, not a bad way to spend an hour.

Remembering Woodstock

I am far to young to have actual memories of Woodstock. In fact my parents are too young to have gone. But the festival was kept alive in my parent's house through the movie and the CD box set. They even had a Woodstock themed cookout one summer.

My musical education and exposure is tied to my parents first and foremost, but followed shortly thereafter by movies/TV and my friends. I grew up with the Beatles, Neil Young, CSN, Credence...all the classics. I went through a grunge phase, which ended after Cobain died, Pearl Jam made Vitalogy, and everyone else started to sound the same. I had a rap phase, from Public Enemy to Ice T, the meaner the better. The Chronic was the last rap album I bought. I transitioned back into classic rock, add in some college music and some jam bands and you have college and law school. Now I like everything. It has to be fresh and interesting. And the funny thing about Woodstock is that 40 years later, it still is.

It was the coolest happening ever, man! I have attended a number of musical fesitvals in my day (from Lilith Fair to Bonnaroo), in part to chase what it must have felt like to be at such an event. It is after all, why we attend live events like concerts and sporting events, right? We want to be there when history happens...when the stars align and the band plays the perfect version of a song or guitarist X comes out and plays with band Y and they cover song Z. And XYZ event! Making memories.

District 9 - hide your cat food!

Wikus Van De Merwe and Christopher Johnson grew up in two different worlds. One led an upper middle class work-a-day life. He married the boss's daughter, had a nice house in the suburbs, and seemed to a relatively well liked guy. The other grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. He lived in an African shanty and struggled to get by day to day. He was discriminated against and is basically a imprisoned in his ghetto. He was a single parent and he spent his days scamming a way out of his lot in life.

Through a chance encounter and a few bad breaks, the two become unlikely partners trying to clear their names, get back home, and just survive another day. They are ruthlessly hunted by the evil corporate giants, a classic bad guy. Hilarity ensues.

OK, one is an alien. And there are spaceships, tribal overlords, cool alien weapons, and against-all-odds heroism. It features themes of alienation, the soulless nature of the corporate greed, and true love. What's not to love?

This is the definition of irony...

Check out this link...

This Week's Sign Scripted TV is Doomed

Check out this interesting article about the decline in advertising money available for TV.

Combine that with this article discussing how reality TV is winning the ratings war and...

We are getting what we deserve. Enjoy the Mad Men's of the world. They are few and far between.

Mad Men - No fog in London?

Ahh, it feels good to have this show back. It has an energy to it that is so unique. There is a rhythm to the pacing of the show that when combined with the costumes, decor, and settings makes is feel so trippy. Then there is the rampant drinking and smoking, the lack of political correctness, and copious amounts of sexual energy. This show is awesome.

This season opener was sweet. We had Don and Sal on the road, where the outright creative lying came easier to Don and the lies of repressed omission came easier to Sal. We also were reunited with Betty, who still doesn't seem to like her kids all that much, and Peggy, who we learned is a big time work-a-holic. Joan is as spicy and curvy as ever. Roger is the ultimate man's man. Pete is still a dweeb. I like the British guys, too. They make for good bad guys.

Until next week, remember...it is Don Draper's world, we are all just living in it.

What to Watch Tonight - 08/17/09

Tonight we have a couple of food shows, a train wreck in process, and a preseason football game. Man, I can't wait until Showtime kicks in next week.

* Giants - Panthers on ESPN at 8pm - this was the NFC's biggest regular season game last year
* Jon & Kate Plus 8 on TLC at 9pm - does is get sadder?
* Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives on Food Network at 10pm - the best food show thats not about cooking
* No Reservations on Travel at 10pm - Bourdain takes on Thailand

A Cooking Update - Shrimp Scampi

Here is an upadate on what I have been cooking.

Friday was my wife's birthday dinner. Her request was Shrimp Scampi. I had never made it before, but I knew the gist was garlic, lemon, and butter. Here is what I came up with...

1 lb. of the best wild caught shrimp I could find, shelled, deveined, and cleaned
olive oil
1 garden grown red onion, diced fine
4-5 cloves garlic, crushed and diced fine
juice and zest of 1 lemon, plus a couple wedges
4 tbsp unsalted butter
Handful Italian parsley
Italian breadcrumbs
1 cup dry white wine
1 lb. linguine (I used homemade PA dutch egg noodles from Wegmans)
sea salt and fresh cracked pepper

I preheated my oven to 375F. I heated up some olive oil over medium heat, sweated the onion for 5 minutes or so, with some sea salt. While this was going on, I lightly dredged the shrimp with the Italian breadcrumbs. Next I added the garlic and cooked for another minute or two. Then I added the butter and let it get nice and hot, raising the heat to med-high. I browned the shrimp on each side, about 3-4 minutes a side. I wasn't worried about cooking them through, I just wanted some color. While the shrimp were cooking, I finely chopped the lemon zest and the parsley together, like a gremolata without the garlic (we had plenty). Just before the shrimp were done, I liberally sprinkled the zest and parsley. The shrimp come out and go into a buttered baking dish in a single layer.

The pan goes back onto the heat. I added the wine and the juice of 3/4 of the lemon and deglazed the pan, reducing the liquid by 1/3 or so. The liquid gets poured back over the shrimp. I then sprinkled a little more breadcrumbs over the top and baked for 15-20 minutes. During this time I boiled the pasta. Switched to broil on high for 2-3 minutes to brown the shrimp and we are feasting. I reserved a pinch of the gremolata-lite and a lemon wedge for each plate.

I served over the pasta and knocked back a couple glasses of wine. There was enough for 4 people.

Julie and Julia

The movie was an above average date movie. A great one if you are into food. The movie tells two stories - one about Julia Childs, housewife, becoming Julia Childs, culinary legend and the other about a customer service call center girl who starts a blog detailing her attempt to cook every recipe from Julia Childs famous cookbook.

The better part of the movie was Julia Childs part, but the part that has stuck with me more was the blogger part. She started her blog basically because she was jealous of her richer, meaner, and sluttier friend. She felt her life was lacking and was looking for a goal, something she would follow through on.

That got me thinking about what the point of this blog is. I don't have a goal to fulfill. I started this blog because I want to have a place where I can think and write creatively about something other than the law. I did like the idea of the journey that comes along with trying to cook 500+ recipes in a year.

I am working on a journey I can take in this space. I have a couple ideas floating around.

Moving Madness - 13 Days till the move

This is going to be a mess. There are boxes everywhere. I mean everywhere. Every room and every nook and crannie is jammed with boxes. Your life in cardboard. But there is more. My car's trunk is already full of boxes and assorted crap. My in-laws have a room chalk full of our stuff.

This is going to be an adventure.

Please for the love of all that is holy...

Watch Mad Men tonight at 10PM on AMC. It is a top 5 show and a future Hall of Fame inductee.

...And I'm Back! Live blogging the end of the PGA

Watching Tiger battle this unknown kid T.E. Yang. Who is this guy? Huge chip from the kid and a really clutch save from Tiger. Phew. Tiger is so so good.

The Yanks are 8 games up pending their game today with Seattle. Wow!

Update 6:04 - Corey Pavin with a nice tournament. If I was a pro golfer, I would be Corey Pavin. One of the shortest hitters on tour, he always hangs in there with the big boys.

Update 6:11 - Tiger hits a weak second on the par 5 15th. Tiger looks tired. Meanwhile, Yanks down 1 in the 7th.

Update 6:15 - Tiger has to make one somewhere. This is as good a time as any.

Update 6:25 - Tiger misses the very makeable birdie. No birdies on the par 5's for the weekend for Tiger. The putts aren't falling but he can usually still score on the 5's. Yang's tee shot just hung on by a foot. Golf is a game of inches.

Update 7:10 - This has to be considered a choke by Tiger. There is no other way to look at it. Yang stared him down and outplayed him start to finish today.

A Blog about a Blog

I was Julie and Julia tonight. It is odd writing a blog about a movie about a blog. I am too tired to delve into my thoughts tonight.

HALL OF FAME - Seinfeld

It begins and ends right here. Seinfeld is so much more than a show to me, it is a way of life. It is a lifestyle. It is a language of its own. It is the only show that brought a tear to my eye when it ended. It was an era with no DVRs and the shows didn't come out on DVD...it was an event. It really was Must See TV.

I was going to look up how many awards the show won and was nominated for, but it just doesn't matter. Seinfeld is above the Hall of Fame. The episodes are eminently re-watchable. If for some reason you haven't watched this show, I implore you to get the DVDs. Very few things in life deliver on expectations so high. Seinfeld does. (Except for the finale.)


The lines and phrases have become a part of my everyday life. A Close Talker, Man Hands, High Talker, Yada Yada Yada, The Drake, Two Face, Serenity Now, The Big Salad, Master of Your Domain, and on and on...Junior Mints are the only candy I still eat b/c of Seinfeld.

The Big 4 characters are among the best of all time. George Costanza may be the best sitcom character ever. The show opened the door for completely selfish characters. Before Seinfeld, characters always had redeeming qualities. What was George's redeeming quality? Can you think of one instance where he cared about anything but himself? Larry David had a rule for the show that there would be no learning and no hugging. There is no Always Sunny In Philadelphia and no Arrested Development without Seinfeld.

Then there was the smaller roles, from Mr. and Mrs. Costanza, Newman, Puddy, all the way down to the legendary cameos of Jackie Childs, the Bris Moyle, the library cop Bookman to name a few.

Ditto for the multiple converging and diverging story lines. Seinfeld pioneered that formula and took it to a level that few if any shows have been able to duplicate.

I tried to come up with a Top 10 episode list and the best I could do is a Top 50. There are that many memorable and funny episodes. There are 180 episodes total. That is one a day for 6 months. I think that is a doable task. The trouble will be limiting myself to one a day. It has been a few years since I went through the series.

Comcast Strikes Back

Once upon a time, yesterday to be precise, I work out a deal with FiOS for my new house. So my wife calls Comcast to cancel our service. Bing Bang Boom...some talkin turkey...yada yada yada...they make us an offer we can't refuse.

They bump us up to every movie channel and inrease our modem speed...and reduce the price by $50 a month. Booya!!!

Thanks honey! Welcome back Comcast.

You Must Watch This Clip

If you love ballads, the clarinet, and GI Joe...the original GI Joe.

The Ballad of GI Joe.

If I could I would give you a 1000 stars!

Nailed it!

Hubert dominated last night, setting himself up as the favorite for the Top Chef Masters finale. This was not surprising to me. What was surprising was how much of an absolute TOOL Michael KEY-a-rello is. I would never work for that guy.

Tonight's TV

I am going to give Wipeout a shot on ABC at 9pm. I have seen it a couple times and even though it is just a rip off of Most Extreme Elimination Challenge, it is good for a cheap laugh.

Top Chef Masters (Bravo at 10PM) is the star of the evening's TV. I am looking for Hubert to step up tonight and take control. The French chef with no chin is still my pick to win.

For something completely different, check out Michael and Michael Have Issues on Comedy Central at 10:30PM. Michael Ian Black and Micheal Showalter, the guys behind every VH1 remember the decade and the vastly underrated Wet Hot American Summer, walk a dangerous line between awkward funny and awkward bird chirping.

A cable/dish/FiOS decision

If you don't know, my wife and I are buying our first home next week. We, and by we I mean she, have been packing for weeks. Everything is in place. The mortgage is ready to rock, the down payment is ready to be spent, settlement is all set up, the title insurance is done, home owners insurance is in place, the inspection and appraisal are taken care of, and the utilities are switched...everything except the cable set up. A crucial decision that I have agonized over for a couple weeks now.

I have three choices in the new home - Comcast cable, Direct TV, and Verizon FiOS. I am a cable guy. I have had cable for all but a year of my life. It is dependable. I know it inside and out. It feels like home. I did have Direct TV for a year in 2007. It was OK. The problem was the threat of losing signal in a storm, even if it was only for a minute or two. And I had bad experiences with their service.

The wild card is FiOS. It is new technology. It promises better and faster and more. I love new toys and I love technology. A rolling stone gathers no moss. But there are always growing pains with new technologies and I have heard that there are glitches in the FiOS matrix.

My needs, er, wants, are : Internet, HD, DVR, HBO, Showtime, in addition to your regular digital cable...and a major bonus would be the YES channel (in HD). I have three TVs, but only one is HD. I want my DVR to be HDMI compatible.

Price wise they are all too expensive. I have Comcast now and when I called a rep to see about new deals were available. Not only were there no deals available, but the gist was the deals I had are over and the only deals available increase the bill by $15 plus dollars.

This was all the opening FiOS needed. I called FiOS and the deals were similar price wise. There are more HD channels. They have HDNet and YES. But you need a box on every TV and there is no OnDemand. The Internet connection should be much faster and a show saved on the DVR can be played on any TV.

So here we go with FiOS.

True Blood - Hunter's Souffle?!?

The show split into two parts for me this week and one took a turn for the better and one took a turn for the worse.

The better - the vampire and church story line. The more powerful the vampires get, the more they seem like morally ambiguous super-heroes, the better the show gets. Eric and Godric have elevated the vampire mold. The church is absolutely no threat to the awesome power of Godric, who is confident he could kill all of the member of the church mob. He was just hanging out there. The 2000 year old lamented not hanging out with Jesus for crying out loud!!! And the Jason-Bill hug was hilarious.

The worse - Maryann's story keeps getting more and more awkward and off-putting. I was once intrigued by it but now I am more grossed out by the devil lady. I guess this is the desired effect. What else could be the desired effect of force feeding a human heart to two people who become enraged and aroused? BTW, where is Lafayette? When Maryann finally gets the smack she deserves, I will be thrilled.

This Week's Sign Scripted TV is Doomed

My local ABC affiliate moved Better Off Ted until after Kimmel...at 1:05AM? WTF is that? And they ran two informercials instead. Brutal.

Quick Hits on a Tuesday Night

- Warehouse 13 - If you can think of the show having a dial where on one side you have dead serious and on the other you have jokey...the dial is just right. But if you have a dial where on one side you have gruesome realism and on the other side you have cheesy, it needs to be turned a little toward realism. It needs to be a little scarier. A little more adult.

- Watched an old Seinfeld tonight...The Big Salad...and George's girlfriend was Maryann from True Blood. She took the compliment that wasn't hers to take. Classic.

- Red Sox OF/3B Kevin Youkilis charged the mound tonight after getting plunked for second time in as many days. Trouble is, he kinda gets worked. He was the bigger man and got a running start but didn't land a punch. He threw his helmet and missed. And he was taken down. Love a good melee. Meanwhile, the Yankees went back-to-back again to come from behind and win again. It is going to be a good fall. I am starting to get that feeling.

Better Off Ted

Tonight is probably the last of Better Off Ted. There are two episodes on tonight, including the season finale. I enjoyed the show, which I previously described as "wishing it was a combination of Mad Men and Arrested Development". I liked this show. I didn't love it, but I like it. Check it out and say goodbye to a decent TV show at 9PM on ABC.

Jon & Kate Plus 8 - Jon's a playa

I can appreciate that raising 8 kids is an immensely difficult task. The task is made somewhat easier by the money from the show, the countless freebies, the "helpers/nannies", the security guy, the bus and bus driver, etc. Their fame isn't all bonuses, ie. the paparazzi, but it is much easier than it was in the beginning of the show when they were in a small house and on their own.

Kate can be a whiny, naggy, bossy, witch and I am generally a Jon defender. And I don't know what went on behind closed doors. After last night's episode, Jon is getting really hard to defend. Kate takes the kids to the beach and Jon stays home to "supervise" the installation of kitchen cabinets. Come on! Dude was getting his ears pierced with diamond studs and admits he is "going out more". It appears that the fame and fortune of the show has given Jon a window to sow some wild oats and escape his lot as a young family man. Part of me wants to sypathize with him, but to see the kids on vacation missing their dad...it actually made me mad at the guy. And it ruins the show.

Yooooo Joe!

They are who we thought they were. GI Joe wasn't everything I wanted it to be but it was everything I thought it was going to be. The movie was hidden from critics pre-opening and then the critics crushed it once they did get a hold of it.

I had no expectations, but I had hopes.

I loved the cartoon. It was awesome. The different characters, the vehicles, and weapons, all of it. I wanted the movie to live up to what the cartoon meant to me and not what it actually was. The cartoon, in reality, was a giant commercial for toys. The dialogue was a joke and the battles were a farce. There would be a giant military engagement and no matter how big the fire power, none of the key players ever died.

The movie delivered on fire power. It had all the characters. But it had as much heart and sole as a $3 plastic toy. You don't go to these kinds of movies looking for great plots or great acting, you go for the attitude, the adrenaline thrill ride, the special effects glitz, and the nostalgia. Star Trek delivered on all four. GI Joe failed only on the attitude. Every joke fell flat. Crickets flat. There was zero sexual tension where there was supposed to be some. Maybe it was the need for the movie to be toy buying kid friendly that killed the attitude. I have to say there was a spark of attitude from the Baroness, Sienna Miller, but it was snuffed out about 3/4 of the way through.

All in all, I am not disappointed, I don't regret going, and I hope they make a sequel. I am a sucker for nostalgia...and explosions and CGI. But I hope the sequel takes the training wheels off.

Against all warning...

I am heading to see G.I. Joe today. I am going in to the movie thinking it will be terrible. Every review out there is that it is terrible. But I can't help myself. A friend described it as "his Twilight".

My favorite of the cartoon series was the five-part Weather Dominator epic. The Weather Dominator breaks into three parts and the Joes and Cobra send teams to gather the pieces. High adventure.

Tiger Woods is three back of the lead at the Bridgestone, starting at 2PM on CBS. Tiger is a 6-time winner of this tournament.

Of course, the Yankees go for the sweep at 8PM on ESPN. The Yankees are surging, having won 30 of their past 40.

There is a Mythbusters marathon today on Discovery starting at Noon.

For a real treat, find the Green channel at 3PM and watch Blue Planet, the absolute best ocean life show ever made. The music is John Williams level and the narration by David Attenborough is legendary. The BBC spent five years and millions of dollars making this 10-part series. The same production company made Planet Earth a couple years ago.

Lastly, there is the HBO Sunday night. I am really on the edge of my seat for True Blood lately.

John Hughes weekend

Celebrate the movies of John Hughes this weekend. They don't make them like that anymore.

Today at 1PM on AMC - Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Tomorrow at 8PM - Sixteen Candles followed by Weird Science at 9:30PM

Check out Pappi's press conference

David Ortiz will hold a press conference at 12:30pm at Yankee Stadium to discuss the report that he is among the 103 players who tested positive for steroids in 2003. All signs are pointing to him taking no responsibility for his alleged actions. Expect denials. This is a Yankee fans dream given that every one of us could feel the millions of judging eyes on us from New England ever since ARod, Clemens, Petitte, and the rest. I believe ESPN will carry the presser live.

The game last night was a classic. The first at the new stadium. ARod hit a walk-off in the 15th inning of a scoreless game. High intensity and high drama. Awesome. Check out the best Yankee blog in the world over at beat writer Peter Abraham's Yankee blog.

What kind of a guy was John Hughes

Check out this blog post from a pen pal of John Hughes. It is pretty impressive stuff.

What to Watch tonight - 8/7/09

8PM - 1:30 AM Curb Your Enthusiasm marathon on HBO Signature

Other than that, watch the Yankees where available...or go out.

R.I.P John Hughes...and a recap of the night.

John Hughes, if you don't know, died today. He was the man. In my mind, they don't make comedies like they did in the 1980s. They just don't. The list of all-time great comedies is chalk full of 80s movies. John Hughes was behind a large majority of these movies. He is probably most known for the Molly Ringwald movies - Sixteen Candles and Breakfast Club. But for me, he is so much more. Here is the list of all-time funny movies John Hughes wrote...

- Mr. Mom (1983)
- Vacation (1983)
- Sixteen Candles (1984)
- The Breakfast Club (1985)
- European Vacation (1985)
- Weird Science (1985)
- Pretty in Pink (1985)
- Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
- Planes Trains & Automobiles (1987)
- The Great Outdoors (1988)
- Uncle Buck (1989)
- Christmas Vacation (1989)
- Home Alone (1990)

WOW!!! That is an unreal 7 year stretch of movies. Millions of kids my age grew up with these movies. Christmas Vacation is still played every year at my family's Thanksgiving. Thanks for the memories.

The Yankees crushed the Sox 13-6 to get the monkey off their back...at least for tonight.

SYTYCD finale - It was actually a great finale. There was mad bling, great past routines, and I predicted the winner. I am very impressive. I called Jeanine very early on as my favorite. You can tell that the judges and dancers really love what they are doing. That in and of itself makes it fun to watch.

Top Chef Masters - Oprah's guy got sent home. First, I predict the French guy will win. I called him from the first night. The challenge was great. I love the idea of taking these guys out of their comfort levels without severly limited their access to high quality ingredients, equipment, or time. I completely agreed with the decision. The Asian fusion girl definitley mailed it in, but she wasn't as bad as Oprah's guy. He tried to pass off Rice Dreams as his dish for judgment. See ya.

The Greensburg Drag

I had to make a 6-hour car trip to Greensburg PA today. To pass on a car trip, I used to listen to music. Then I got bored with music and started listening to sports radio or political talk radio. That is until I got into podcasts about three years ago. But in the past 6 months or so I have reinvigorated my love of music.

In my musical hey-day, I loved music. I was obsessed with it. I have seen more than 200 acts live and for a period of about 5 years, my only summer vacation was to go to a handful of concerts in the summer. Anyway, on this long car trip, I jammed out to some tunes for the entire 3 hour trip home. I thought it would be interesting to review my playlist, which was a straight shuffle all on my ipod.

Here it is:

Tennessee Jed - Grateful Dead (Dick's Pick 10)
One Arm Steve - Widespread Panic (Live in the Classic City)
One More Saturday Night - Grateful Dead (5-8-77..the Cornell Show)
Split Open and Melt - Phish (Live Phish 9)

(Side Note #1: Interesting how the first four songs were all jambands. A real retrospective on my "tours" seeing these types of concerts. I have seen Widespread once, Phish twice, solo Trey twice, Phil and Friends/The Dead five times, and Rat Dog a handful of times. Sadly, I never saw the Grateful Dead. )

Homecoming - Kanye West
Strangers - The Kinks
Devil Town - Tony Lucca (FNL Season 1 classic)
Baby's In Black - The Beatles
Revolution Blues - Neil Young (saw him three times in concert)
Somewhere Only We Know - Keane
Rodeo Clowns - Jack Johnson (saw him once)
American Music - Violent Femmes (saw them once)
Whatever Gets You Through The Night - John Lennon
Good Life - Kanye West
The Weight - The Band (everyone must see The Last Waltz)
On Call - Kings of Leon
Join Together - The Who
Ayo Technology - 50 Cent
Harry Hood - Phish (12/31/02)
Jack-Ass - Beck (saw him once...this is the best song no one knows about)
Sex On Fire - Kings of Leon
Put Your Records On - Corinne Bailey Rae
Three Little Birds - Bob Marley (saw the Wailers a couple times)
Politik - Coldplay
Kielbasa - Tenacious D (saw them at the E Factory in Philly)
Can I Kick It? - Tribe
While You Wait For The Others - Grizzly Bear
Cecilia - Paul Simon
Lovely Rita - The Beatles
Battle Without Honor Or Humanity - the Kill Bill theme
Get On The Good Foot - James Brown
So Says I - The Shins (they play this song on Gilmore Girls when Rori goes to spring break)
You Found Me - The Fray
Lovegame - Lady Gaga
Hide and Seek - Imogen Heap (Marissa shoots Ryan's brother Trey on the O.C.)

...and there you have it. Good tunes = Good times.

Hey! the Yankees - Red Sox

Yankees - Red Sox are on MLB. I was on the road all day today and am late to the party. The Yankees are nursing a 2 1/2 game lead on the Sox even though they are 0-8 against the Red Sox this year.

Here's hoping Jaba keeps his s&^t together.

Update 8:52 pm: Yanks chase John Smotz...maybe forever. Boy, does he look old.

SYTYCD - How bad do the judges want Evan to lose??

Don't get me wrong, he is the worst dancer of the four. But the judges are making him out to be such an underdog he is bordering on martyrdom.

What to Watch tonight - 8/5/09

Tonight is the last competition on So You Think You Can Dance I admit it. I am sucked in. I am even looking forward to it a little. Jeanine is still my pick but it will probably be Brandon who ends up winning.

The other great show of the night is Top Chef Masters. I kinda dig the camaraderie and past the Chefs share. It is very summery. And the food looks great. I do, however, miss Tom and Padma.

TV HALL OF FAME

Being that it really is the dog days of summer for TV viewers, I am going to start a TV Hall of Fame for my elite of the elite shows. As far as criteria, here is what I have come up with:

1. I have to have seen every episode
2. Had to have actors in it - NO reality
3. The series has to be complete or at least on the verge of being complete (Lost as opposed to 30 Rock or Mad Men)

...beyond that they will be the best shows ever in my humble yet expert opinion.

Fast Food Nation - Hmmm...

In the spirit of Food Inc. I watched Fast Food Nation last night. It was fairly bad. I was more gross than engrossing. The story line was sad and slow with a touch of random.

WOW!!! Paula NOT returning to American Idol!

According to her twitter page, Paula Abdul is leaving American Idol. It won't be the same without her. This is the beginning of the end of the show in my mind. Where will I get my laughs? And you know Simon can't wait to bail.

Lost - Mysteries of the Universe

Check out this fake show, Mysteries of the Universe, that ABC has up on its site reviewing the history of the Dharma Initiative. Some probably meaningless filler to waste time during the show's hiatus.

Love Mad Men and sports...and have some time to waste?

Then check out the Sports Guy, Bill Simmons, new podcast featuring an in depth interview with Jon Hamm, Mr. Don Draper himself. Is there a manlier character on TV? Men want to be him and women want to be with him. Click here to waste some time.

The Return of Jon and Kate Plus 8 and Shark Week

The phenomenon is back. My wife was a fan of the show before the stars became embroiled in a tabloid divorce...when the stars were the kids. (My favorite is the one with glasses.) My wife loves the show in part because they are from Reading PA as is my wife. There are two episodes on tonight. Here is hoping that it isn't too awkward.

Meanwhile, I am into an Andrew Jackson documentary on History-I and a shark show on Discovery. It is shark week after all.

True Blood - Maryann is a what!?!

This episode was great. The story moved forward. It had great cliff hangers. The only down side was the really lame flashback scenes to Bill and his maker in the 1930s. The show is broken down to 4 converging stories in my mind. They are:

1. Sookie trapped in the basement ending in the near rape and rescue
2. Bill trapped in the hotel room ending in nothing interesting
3. Jason's ordeal with the preacher's wife ending in the gut shot
4. Maryann, Sam, and Daphne's crazy zombie devil drama ending Daphne dead(?)

Each of the stories progressed and all but Bill's left me wanting more.

So, what is Maryann? It happened kinda quick, but we were told that she is a Maenad. According to wikipedia, a Meanad is a worshiper of Dionysus. She is a wild creature that has the power to bring out all sorts of wild or even evil behavior in others. Oh and she turns into a minotaur.

Sucked into the Next Food Network Star

There has been a marathon on the Food Network today of the reality contest show, The Next Food Network Star. The winner gets his/her own cooking show. I have never really gotten into this show, mostly because it doesn't feature chefs on par with Top Chef or Iron Chef America, but on a random Sunday I can get sucked into a marathon of anything. It is funny to me that the top chefs, who are the judges on the show, are truly stars to me in the same vein as my favorite athletes.

After the finale is over, I am going to dig into the standard Sunday night HBO-a-thon.

The Hurt Locker

The idea of a great movie about the Iraq war seems to be a contradiction of terms...until I saw the Hurt Locker last night. It was tense, action-packed, drama filled, and just fantastic movie. The film featured a crew of three bomb techs. The idea is that the crew get called out to deal with IEDs, or improvised explosive devises...the homemade pipe bombs that seem to go off almost daily in Iraq. The tension comes from the fact that the bombs may go off at any time and there very well may be an insurgent waiting with a remote trigger or a sniper rifle. What makes this more difficult is that you can't tell who is the good guy and who is the bad guy...and they speak a different language.

It is a perfect movie...see the scene where the James goes off campus. But it is completely engrossing and delivers everything you want in a war movie. Jeremy Lee Renner stands out as James, the lead bomb tech. Cut out of the same cloth as Lt. Spears from Band of Brothers, James is a veteran who has disarmed over 800 bombs. I highly recommend this movie.

Best of Today's TV

Best of Michael Jackson videos - 1230 - 2 on MTV (some of these are pretty good)

X Games - 12 - 3 on ESPN (crazy bastards)

Phillies at Giants 1-4 on CSN or MLB package (Lincecum is the best in the game)

Goonies 1-3 on G4 (All-timer)

Back to the Future 1:10 - 3:10 on Encore (All-timer)

Bourne Ultimatum 130 - 330 on HBO (Great flick)

Rocky I, Rocky II, Rocky III, Rocky IV, Rocky V 130 - 130 on Spike (A-yo-Adrien)

Gordon Ramsey's F Word 2-3 on BBC (Funny $*%&#er)

Flight of the Navigator 3-5 on Hallmark (Great flick)

Buick Open 3 -6 on CBS (Tiger in the hunt)

Yanks at Whit Sox 4-7 on Fox (Yanks need a win)

Living w Ed - 7 -8 on Green (Ed Bagley Jr. is crazy for the environment)