Monday, December 31, 2012

November Round-Up - 2012

If you read my blog regularly, you know this post is a post of lies. It's not actually December 31st, and this round-up is actually showing up months late. Well, sorry. SORRY! Christmas and all that made life kinda crazy, and I am only now really able to catch up on my blogging duties. So let's just pretend. AGAIN!

Movies Seen: Six, with one in a theater. That one was Skyfall. Here's my review!

Books Read: One! Just one goddamn book, and it was The Twelve, the sequel to The Passage. Now, I loved The Passage. LOVED IT. I read it in just a few days, and it's a monster of a book. But the sequel? It was a damn chore to get through, and I can't really pinpoint why. I will say the biggest problem I had was trying to keep track of all the characters. I never really did, and it wasn't till I was about 50 pages away from the end that I discovered there's a damn character guide in the back of the book. AAARGH!

Fancy Dinners Out: One, and that was during a trip to Disneyland, at the always fun Steakhouse 55. I had steak!

Live Shows Seen: None, though Disneyland is always a show.

Shoes Bought: One pair, these vintage gold pumps, which I had been eying on eBay for a while, and got for half off the asking price after making an offer.

Friday, November 30, 2012

October Round-Up - 2012

It seems like I begin most of these posts with some variation on "OMG I can't believe it's already ____!" This month is no different. The holidays are barrelling towards me so fast, I didn't even really realize the first of the month had passed.

So let's pretend it didn't!

Movies Seen: Five. Only five?! And three of those were theatrical viewings. Click through to read my reviews of Argo and Cloud Atlas.

Books Read: Four! Brief reviews, where linked!

How To Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran

Rabid: A Cultural History of the World's Most Diabolical Virus by Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy

The Girl In the Song by Michael Heatley

The Boy In the Song by Frank Hopkinson and Michael Heatley

Fancy Dinners Out: Two! Plouf, where I had mussels, some of which were not very good, and Locanda, where I had something I can't remember, but do remember was very good.

Live Shows Seen: None!

Shoes Bought: Two pair! This pair of pristine vintage yellow pumps, and this pair of sparkly open-toe pumps that were super cheap at DSW.

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

September Round-Up - 2012

Oy, once again, having to actually WORK for a living is putting a damper on my blogging duties. So let's just pretend it's Halloween again. Woo! Candy! Tricks! Costumes!


Aaaand, September!

(And as an aside, I really really hate the new Blogger set-up. Blame it for why this post looks crappy. I tried and tried to fix it, and it was an exercise in sheer frustration.)

Movies Seen: Six, with three in a theater. Click through to read reviews of two of those.

Trouble With the Curve
Looper

Books Read: Four. Click through to read brief reviews.

Making of the Misfits by James Goode 
 
The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker 
 
The Cranes Dance by Meg Howrey
 
When It Happens To You by Molly Ringwald    
Fancy Dinners Out: Six! 

Deviled eggs and BBQ shrimp at the Elite Cafe

Two dinners at La Traviata  

Mac and cheese and steak frites at Grand Cafe  

More steak at Forbes Island  

Calamari steak at Tadich Grill  

And, this wasn't fancy, but they sure made you wait around like it was something fancy, mac and cheese at Homeroom in Oakland.   

Live Shows Seen: None!    

Shoes Bought: One pair. Black ballet flats at H&M that I had to get because the shoes I wore to work that day tore my feet up.

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 31

We made it! Happy Halloween, everybody!

Thanks to Countdown to Halloween for putting together this little blogathon every year, and thanks to all the people who came a knocking at my virtual door looking for treats. I hope you enjoyed it.

If you haven't already, be sure to check out the list of other blogs that have participated this year, as there's a lot of fun to be had out there.

As for today's picks, of course the first one has to be It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, which is on ABC tonight at 8 P.M. Halloween just isn't Halloween without a visit from that nutcase Linus.


I also have to watch Halloween every year, although it's kind of a bummer that the only place to watch it on TV is AMC today at 4pm, as it's not letterboxed and will be edited for content...

It is available on YouTube in parts, though...



Finally, TCM is, once again, the place to be if you can't be bothered to change the channel, as they've got a full line-up of fun. Check out the full schedule here, but my pick would be Frankenstein at 5pm. Can't do much better than that on a Halloween night!



Have a great time, be safe, and I hope to see you all again next year!

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 30

David Cronenberg's 1986 remake of The Fly is one of the best horror/sci-fi movies ever made. It's equal parts horrifying, funny, and touching (yes, touching; I think the ending is quite sad!). And it's also one of Jeff Goldblum's best performances ever. He was robbed of an Oscar nomination. Robbed I tell ya!

Watch it at 9pm on Sundance.



Monday, October 29, 2012

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 29


There are many reasons to watch Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein, but this scene is probably one of the biggest reasons.

Two words: Gene Hackman.

Watch the whole movie at 7:05pm on Retroplex.



Sunday, October 28, 2012

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 28

When it comes to Phantoms, I prefer the non-singing ones to the singing ones. In fact, if they don't talk at all? So much the better.

Thus 1925's silent classic The Phantom of the Opera, starring Lon Chaney, remains the best of the Phantoms. Watch it at 10pm on TCM, or right here, right now!



Saturday, October 27, 2012

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 27

The late 1960s and early 1970s saw the release of several horror movies starring aging actresses as nutcases. A lot of these had questions as titles, like the most famous, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, but there was also, Who Slew Auntie Roo?; Whatever Happened to Aunt Alice?; and Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte.

There was also tonight's film, What's the Matter With Helen?, starring Debbie Reynolds and Shelley Winters, as two women who...actually, I won't say anything. Just watch the trailer. It's NUTS.



Watch the movie at 9pm on TCM.

Friday, October 26, 2012

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 26

Gimmick king William Castle's first foray into the horror genre was the 1958 suspense tale Macabre, about the kidnapping of a doctor's daughter and a race against time to find the girl before she suffocates. Audience members were issued a $1,000.00 insurance policy against death-by-fright, which in itself sounds like a good starting plot for a horror movie!

Watch it late, late tonight at 1:45am on TCM.



Thursday, October 25, 2012

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 25

I'm kind of over the whole demonic possession genre at this point, but this one stars Donald Sutherland and Sissy Spacek, so I think it at least deserves some consideration. Also, it isn't a mockumentary, which is another horror subgenre I've just about seen enough of.

You can watch An American Haunting at 10:15pm on IFC.



Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 24

Basically, you can just leave it on Turner Classic Movies tonight, as they're running a marathon of Edgar Allan Poe-inspired movies, starting with The Raven (1963) at 5pm, followed by Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932), a 6:45pm; The Black Cat (1934), at 8pm; The Fall of the House of Usher (1949), at 9:30pm; the aforementioned animated short, The Tell-Tale Heart, at 10:45pm; and my personal pick, Spirits of the Dead, at 11:15pm.

Of that last one, which is a 1968 trilogy of short films, directed by Roger Vadim, Louis Malle, and Federico Fellini, it's the Fellini one--titled "Toby Dammit," that is really worth watching. I saw it as a kid, and it scarred me for life, instilling in me a lifelong fear of driving over bridges in convertibles, girls with long blond hair, and bouncing white balls.



Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 23

I usually like to save my inclusion of Night of the Living Dead for Halloween night, or the week of. It's kind of like my Halloween version of It's a Wonderful Life, in that it's one of those "I can only watch this once a year, right before the holiday" movies.

Of course, that's where the similarities end, because I don't usually end up crying my eyes out when I watch Night.

And great, now I'm thinking about an It's a Night of Your Wonderful Dead mash-up/remake, and whether or not that would end with me in tears.

ANYWAY, you can watch the original Night of the Living Dead today at 1pm on IFC.




Monday, October 22, 2012

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 22

Hey, remember this one? I forgot Scarlett Johansson was in it. And I forgot the title is grammatically incorrect, unless the movie is actually about eight freaks with legs, in which case, I forgot about that, too.

Eight Legged Freaks is on AMC at 5:30pm.



Sunday, October 21, 2012

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 21


At 8:51pm, TCM will air the 1953 animated short "The Tell-Tale Heart," a little seen, but really cool version of the Poe story, narrated by James Mason. (Swoon, that voice!)

You can wait till tonight to watch it...Or you can watch it right here, right now!



Saturday, October 20, 2012

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 20


Hitchcock is all the rage.

I don't mean the films of Hitchcock. I mean the man himself. Or at least some less than appealing stories about the man.

One of those stories can be found in The Girl, which premieres tonight on HBO. This movie is based on a book by Donald Spoto (who wrote one really great book about Hitchcock's movies, and then turned around and wrote a couple of hatchet jobs about Hitchcock, the man).



For fun, here's a look at the trailer for Hitchcock, which will be a theatrical release, and stars Anthony Hopkins as Hitchcock. Frankly, it looks to be the better movie...



Friday, October 19, 2012

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 19

Whoops! Seems I lost a post somewhere this week, and I can't remember what my pick for today was.

But a quick perusal of TV Guide reveals a movie called Mulberry Street on IFC tonight at 11:45pm. And the movie sounds A LOT like REC (and therefore, also lot like the movie Quarantine). Like, a lot a lot. But maybe I'm wrong about that?


Thursday, October 18, 2012

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 18

Remember when Japanese horror movies were all the rage? What happened there? Did America just grow tired of creepy little girls, or women whose faces are covered by long hair? Or did all the American remakes of those movies just kill the whole thing dead?

Ju-on was one of the most influential of those Japanese horror movies, and was, indeed remade in 2004 as The Grudge, starring Sarah Michelle Geller. But it's the Japanese version you can watch tonight at midnight on Sundance.



Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 17

Rosemary's Baby is one of my all-time favorite movies, period. That it also happens to be a horror movie is just an added bonus. Seriously, I could watch it every day and never be bored by it.

Apparently, this is a rare first trailer for the movie. I just can't imagine this ever making it to theaters; it's downright psychedelic!




This is the much more conventional trailer:




It's on AMC at 9am, which is actually kind of a shame, since they air a ridiculous number of commercials during movies. But that's what DVRs are for, right?

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 16

Corridors of Blood has a gory title, but is actually not all that horrifying, at least in the monsters and blood-shedding sense.

Boris Karloff stars as a 19th century surgeon experimenting with anesthesia, who finds himself dealing with a drug addiction, a murder, and blackmail. Christopher Lee is one of the bad guys.

Watch it at 4:30am on AMC



Monday, October 15, 2012

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 15


I suppose the premise of the 2009 Norwegian horror movie Dead Snow can be summed up in two words: Nazi zombies. The language of visceral terror is universal!

But maybe it should be summed up in three words: Cold Nazi zombies.



Watch it at 3am and 9am on IFC.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 14

The Descent is one of the better horror movies to come out within the past ten years, even if the viewing of it, was, for me, one of my worst days at the movies ever.

But I don't want to go into that! The Descent! Scary cave monsters! Strong women! A kind-of-disappointing ending! The Descent!

It's on IFC at 5pm and 11:15pm.




Saturday, October 13, 2012

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 13

Evil Dead 2, y'all. I really shouldn't have to say much more than that, right?



You can watch the movie on IFC at 7:15pm and 11:15pm.

As an added bonus, here's an episode of the British series "The Incredibly Strange Film Show", which aired in the U.S. sometime in the 1990s, featuring interviews with Bruce Cambpbell and Sam Raimi. It's pretty funny.




Friday, October 12, 2012

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 12

I just read a book called Rabid: A Cultural History of Rabies, so of course it brought to mind the movie and book Cujo, about a rabid great dane.

I read Cujo the book as a pre-teen, and went to see the movie with my parents in 1983, (I think whilst on summer vacation), and it's kind of weird to even classify it as a horror movie, because it's really more of a thriller, or at least closer to real-life horror than your typical horror movie tends to be.

It's also a hard movie to watch, as it's totally gut-wrenching, and also makes you realize, since the invention of the cell phone, its whole scenario is most likely something that would never happen today. (Unless, of course, the phone battery dies, or you just plain forget to bring it along on the day you have a run in with a rabid dog.)

It's on AMC at 6pm.



Thursday, October 11, 2012

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 11

For years I've wanted to be Baby Jane from Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? for Halloween, and push around a friend in a wheelchair as my sister, Blanche. Alas, it won't be happening this year, but I have high hopes that it will happen one day. (And preferably before I am as old as Bette Davis was when she was in the movie!)

Here's one of those "making of" types of trailers...



And the best line in the movie...



Watch the whole thing at 7:30pm on TCM!

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 10

When you get right down to the brass tacks, you'll realize there really aren't that many great vampire movies out there. For whatever reason, that's one monster that's tough to get right, (and yes, I think Twilight is one of the wrong ones).

Near Dark, which came out in 1987, and basically stars everyone from Aliens--minus Sigourney Weaver, and plus Adrian Pasdar--is one of those rare good vampire movies, and you can watch it at 1pm on IFC.


Tuesday, October 09, 2012

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 9

Today's pick is going up early, because the movie is airing early this morning.

It's 1941's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, starring Spencer Tracy as the Dr. (and the Mr.), and Ingrid Bergman and Lana Turner as the Madonna and Whore in his life. And if you think it's obvious that Lana Turner would play the sexual one, and Ingrid Bergman the virgin, you're way off. And that's why the movie is kind of brilliant.

It's also brilliant because of the following hallucination scene...



Watch it at 6:45am on TCM.

Monday, October 08, 2012

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 8

I think, for some reason, I actually went to see today's pick in a movie theater, though I have no memory of the event, or of the movie for that matter.

The movie is Cursed, and it's about teenage werewolves. Being that it came out in 2005, it was a little ahead of its time, at least in terms of the Twilight craze.

My seeing it in a theater probably had something to do with the fact that it was directed by Wes Craven, and written by Kevin Williamson, and being that they had a big hit with that first Scream movie, perhaps expectations were high.

I believe those expectations were not me, however. Alas.

Watch it at IFC at 5 P.M.




Sunday, October 07, 2012

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 7

Trick 'r Treat is a movie I kind of stumbled upon, getting it from Netflix after putting it in my queue for reasons I can't really remember since it was a direct-to-DVD release, so didn't have much buzz.

It turned out to be surprisingly good, and a lot like Creepshow, in that it's an anthology of sorts, and filled with black humor.

It's showing on Logo, which is just weird, and I can't attest to that network's practices when it comes to editing for content, so I would of course advise a rental of some sorts as a first choice. But if you don't choose that route it's on at 5:30pm.





Saturday, October 06, 2012

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 6

The Exorcist tends to go on most people's lists of top ten scariest horror movies, but I have to admit, I never found the movie that scary. Disturbing, yes. Spooky, yes. But it never really haunted my dreams.

Maybe that's because I didn't have a religious upbringing, so it's not taping into any residual trauma such an upbringing can sometimes result in.

Or maybe I just don't fine pea soup that horrifying.

I WILL say this, though. The hospital scenes made me terrified of getting x-rays, which was not a good thing since I ended up having to get a lot at a young age. So let me reassure anyone with the same fears: X-rays are not scary.

MRIs on the other hand...hoo-boy!

(Just kidding. They aren't scary either. Just intensely annoying.)

Watch it at 5pm on IFC.


Friday, October 05, 2012

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 5

Let's Scare Jessica To Death is one of those weird 1970s horror movies that's more a psychological thriller than something truly horrorific. Unless bad 70's clothing and hairdos send you over the edge, of course.

It's on TCM at 1:15am tonight, which is technically tomorrow, but whatever. You can watch it then, or watch it over on YouTube right now!




Thursday, October 04, 2012

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 4

I saw Videodrome when it was released in 1983, and I don't think thirteen was the best age to see it. Granted, I had seen a lot of weird horror movies by that point, but Videodrome is something else, and its inherent...sleaziness was just off-putting at the time. And because of that early dislike, I think I only ever watched it once more in ensuing years.

I'm gonna try and watch it again tonight at 11:10pm on Indieplex. Perhaps it will come off better when viewed with adult eyes...



Wednesday, October 03, 2012

Musty TV's Manical Movie Countdown - Day 3

Mystery of the Wax Museum isn't the one in 3D featuring Vincent Price and a paddle-ball. Instead, it's the original version that movie was based on. Released in 1933, it was also one of the first Technicolor movies, which at the time was just two colors. Lionel Atwill and Fay Wray star.

You can watch it at 5pm on TCM, or right here right now!



Tuesday, October 02, 2012

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 2

One of my favorite horror movies when I was a pre-teen was Creepshow, (and I will be talking about my experience seeing it for the first time over on my other blog Mulling Movies next month), and I've come back to it a lot over the years.

Of course, it being an anthology movie, I liked some of the stories better than others. I'd say order of preference is probably:

1) "The Crate" ("Just call me Billie, everybody does!")

2) "Father's Day" ("I want my cake!")

3) "Something to Tide You Over" ("You'd better hold your breath!")

4) "They're Creeping Up On You" ("What's the matter, Mr. Pratt? Bugs got your tongue?")

5) "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill" ("Meteor shit!")

Watch it on IFC at 5pm and 9:30pm.



Monday, October 01, 2012

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 1

Welcome! Day one! Halloween! Woo!

I will admit I had never heard of the movie Tooth & Nail until this very moment. And I will also admit I am only listing it here because it stars Michael Madsen, and usually--usually--that's enough for me. Although in this case, I'm not so sure.

It's post-apocalyptic, and includes cannibals, and a mute little girl. In other words, not exactly the most original story ever told...

Watch it at 11pm on IFC.




Sunday, September 30, 2012

The Countdown to Halloween Begins!

For the sixth year in a row, I am participating in the bloggy Countdown to Halloween, which means you should come back here all the damn time!

I will try my best to find something spooky for you to watch on TV every day throughout the month. Most of the time, it will be a movie, but I'll also be throwing in Halloween specials here and there.

Note: I live in San Francisco, so the listed showtimes will be Pacific time, and I may be listing stuff that is only viewable in the Bay Area...

I love, love, love October, and Halloween, and doing this. And I hope you enjoy it all too!

August Round-Up - 2012

August was crazy. I got a job!

I went back to Palm Springs.

I GOT A JOB!

OK, not all that crazy, but a lot compared to some other months this year.

Having a new job has made updating my blogs a little more of a challenge, and I'm going to make it even MORE of a challenge by, once again, taking part in the Countdown to Halloween starting tomorrow. Thirty-one posts in 31 days! Eeek! Talk about scary!

So, in the interest of getting the hell on with it, let's get the hell on with it.

Movies Seen: Ten, with three in a theater. Read my reviews!

Hope Springs

Robot and Frank

Lawless

Books Read: Nine. WHAT!? (Click through for reviews.)

Grow Girl by Heather Donahue

Rancho Mirage by Aram Saroyan

Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed

To Marry an English Lord by Gail MacColl and Carol M.D. Wallace

Drop Dead Healthy by A.J. Jacobs

Mad Men Unbuttoned by Natasha Vargas-Cooper

Sybil Exposed by Debbie Nathan

The Moviegoer by Walker Percy

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Fancy Dinners Out: Six! There was celebrating!

Dinner at Wexler's, which was smoky goodness.

A return to the Bella Vista for some melt-in-your-mouth steak Diane. (Eventually I will upload the video of the preparation to Flambabes.)

Insanely good pasta at Farina.

Plus two dinners in Palm Springs: at TRIO and Spencer's.

Live Shows Seen: One, kind of. An afternoon Giants game that I guess was of some note because it was the day Melky Cabrera was suspended from the game. Since then, they went on to clinch their division to which I can only say: Melky who?

Shoes Bought: Two pair. These vintage gold stilettos, a steal at under six bucks. And these floral heels which look hideous but are actually awesome.

Friday, August 31, 2012

July Round-Up - 2012

July seems like a lifetime ago. Of course, the highlight of July was my annual trip to Palm Springs with the gals, and as always, it was fantastic. But since then, so much has happened! In fact, I went back to Palm Springs for three days just last week! And I start a new, full-time job this week!

Life is changing! For the better! Finally!

But this Round-up is shamefully late, so I'll have to speak of all that at another time...

Movies Seen: Only six, with two in a theater. Click to read my reviews of The Amazing Spider-Man and Total Recall.

Books Read: Seven! Bless vacation! Click through to read my brief reviews.

We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

Columbine by David Cullen

Good Enough To Eat by Stacey Ballis

Postcards From Palm Springs by Robert Julian

Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris

The Walking Dead – Vol. 15 by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore

Palm Springs Holiday by Peter Moruzzi

Fancy Dinners Out: Six, with the majority in Palm Springs.

We ate at Melvyn's again, where we basically had everything flambéed. And really, the food isn't the point there. It's the spectacle and the fun.

We tried a new (to us) place called Spencer's, and I really enjoyed it. They had a great prix fixe deal and one of the choices was softshell crab, which I love, and they also had some really great cocktails. And! A tiny piano.

We decided to try a place called the Tropicale, because they have a Wednesday happy hour that lasts all night, and the decor looked kind of tropical and kitsch. But I won't be going back. The food was fine. The decor was fine. But we definitely weren't made to feel welcome. I've been to plenty of gay bars and restaurants, and have never been shunned, but here, the waiter basically looked at us, and then went and got a female waitress to wait on us instead. Which, really?

Of course, we also went to the Falls again, for steak and smoking cocktails. Can't go wrong with that.

And finally, a return to Citron. I had a delicious cold soup, but am drawing a blank on what I had as an entree. Doh!

Back in San Francisco, another lunch at the Leatherneck Steakhouse, an excellent bargain as far as steakhouses go.

Live Shows Seen: One! A presentation of music from Pixar movies at the San Francisco Symphony. It was a lot of fun, and yes, it made me cry.

Shoes Bought:
Two pairs. Some gold flats from H&M, and a pair of Easy Spirit flats that look kind of like this, but in all black; got them for a bargain at an outlet store outside of Palm Springs...

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

June Round-Up - 2012

This Round-Up is a lie! A LIE!

Well, its date of publication is a lie. Coming back from vacation was a hard reality to face, and as such, I have fallen way behind on my bloggy duties. So, let's just pretend it's actually the end of July, and briefly look back at June, shall we?

Movies Seen: Twelve, with four in a theater. You can read my reviews of a two of those below:

Rock of Ages

Magic Mike

Books Read: Five.


Marilyn: Her Life In Her Own Words by Marilyn Monroe and George Barris

Would It Kill You To Stop Doing That by Henry Alford

Girl Walks Into a Bar... Rachel Dratch

No Cheating, No Dying by Elizabeth Weil


Religion For Atheists by Alain de Botton

Fancy Dinners Out: I took advantage of Dine About Town and had dinner at Forbes Island, (my second time there, and it's definitely worth it...if you're eating at a discount!) and the Burritt Room, (I like their curtained booths; food was OK).

There was also a Father's Day brunch at Town Hall, in which they sold out of the fried chicken--which is what my dad wanted to order--right before we got there. Doh!

Live Shows Seen: One. A live taping of a Kristen Schaal stand-up special for Comedy Central. We were seated in the second row on the right side of the stage, so when it's on, look for me!

Shoes Bought: Two pairs, though only one pair was kind of bought. My mother got a pair of these Chelsea Crew t-strap heels in a light pink, but they didn't fit, so I bought them off of her. And Michele gave me a pair of vintage white, black and gold stilettos, just like these, that didn't fit her....

Saturday, June 30, 2012

May Round-Up - 2012

As June comes to a close, and July, with its accompanying vacation plans, comes into view, I look distractedly back at May...

Movies Seen: Twelve, with four in a theater. Some were also part of the San Francisco International Film Festival. You can read my reviews below. (I guess I liked Trishna the best out of the below.)

Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey

Trishna

Dark Shadows

What To Expect When You're Expecting

Men In Black III

None of the DVDs I watched are worth commenting one, either good or bad.

Books Read: Eleven, but to be fair, four of those were more volumes of The Walking Dead comic. The non comic books are below.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling

Guts by Kristen Johnston

Wild by Cheryl Strayed

Mid-Century By the Bay by Heather M. David

A Walk In the Woods by Bill Bryson

Neither Here Nor There by Bill Bryson

The Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson

So, after reading and absolutely loving Cheryl Strayed's Wild, I had a desire to keep going on a virtual hike, so I read Bill Bryson's A Walk In the Woods. That book was so fun, I just had to read more Bill Bryson, and while the two that followed weren't quite as good as Woods, I still thoroughly enjoyed them, and plan to read some more Bryson books in the future. (I love the library!)

Fancy Dinners Out: I forgot one fancy dinner in the last round-up, probably because it was at the end of April. Dinner at Harris'! Prime rib! Good!

This month there were four dinners. Kind of.

One dinner was at the Boxing Room, pre-ballet. It was good, but they don't have a full bar, and that's kind of a bummer for someone who doesn't drink beer, and steers clear of wine when possible. But still, the food was good. Normally I would have had their fried chicken, but I had had some Popeye's the night before, so went "healthy," having fish instead. I think it was trout, grilled. Tasty.

Two other dinners were really just happy hours at Bourbon Steak . They had a deal where you could get three burger sliders and a delicious special bourbon cocktail for 20 bucks. The burgers were huge, for sliders, and soooo syum.

Finally, (literally), there was tea at Crown & Crumpet. They're closing their Ghiradelli location, and hopefully moving somewhere downtown. I certainly prefer downtown to Ghiradelli, just because I find myself down there more, but I must admit they had quite a nice spot down in G Square. Too bad.

Live Shows Seen: One, Don Quixote at the San Francisco Ballet. Sadly, it was the last ballet of the season. I loved going this year, and hope to go again next year, even though none of their programs looks that exciting. Alas.

Shoes Bought: Four pairs! Two of those are vintage stilettos: this pair with orange and pink stripes, and this pair of blue patent leathers. The other two were some cheap H&M flats in blue suede and light pink satin.

Thursday, May 31, 2012

April Round-Up - 2012

Once again, a new month has taken me completely by surprise, so this is going up on "May 31st," not May 31st...
Summer's almost here! Let's look back at spring.

Movies Seen: Nine, with four, (well, technically, three), in a theater.
The best movie of the month was definitely The Cabin In the Woods, something I liked so much, I actually paid money and went to see it again. You can read my review here.

The other two, which I also reviewed, were Lockout, and Darling Companion (which was a capsule review during the Film Festival.)

None of the DVD viewings were that memorable, though I have to say I was kind of astounded by how boring J. Edgar was.

Books Read: Five. Click through to read my brief reviews.

Charlotte au Chocolat by Charlotte Silver

Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler and Maira Kalman

Women Then: Jerry Schatzberg 1954-1969 by Jerry Schatzberg

Drive by James Sallis

Mad Women by Jane Maas

Fancy Dinners Out: One, at Le Central. I ate snails.

Live Shows Seen: Three! One was the San Francisco Ballet's presentation of three short works by Balanchine. (The last piece, "The Four Temperaments," was the best, which is ironic because I tend to prefer story driven ballets.)

I also saw the play Maple & Vine at ACT. It was fun, and worth seeing because of the costumes, but I'm not sure I entirely got what the ultimate message was...

Lastly, I saw John C. Reilly's band, which played at Bimbo's. It was good, and he's got a good voice, but they chose to do a lot of down tempo folks songs and country covers, so it was kind of a snooze. Something I'd like to listen to at home, but not exactly a rousing show...

Shoes Bought: One pair: these patent leather pumps, which are a nice combination of comfort and dressiness, and pretty comfortable to boot, on sale at DSW.

Thursday, May 03, 2012

Now Weight a Minute!


I, like many American women, hate the emphasis our culture places on youth and thinness. Of course I do. And yet, in the past year-and-a-half, I've lost over 50 pounds. So how do I reconcile those two things?

Well, because technically, I'm still overweight. According to BMI measurements, I'd need to lose another 10 pounds to be considered a "normal" weight, and that would be at the very top of that "normal" scale. And that's kind of bullshit.

I chose to lose weight because my blood pressure was high, I was getting frequent migraines, and most importantly to me--and probably most shallowly--I couldn't wear the clothes I wanted to because hardly anyone makes cute clothes for fat chicks.

So, I decided to do something about it. But I chose to do it in a way I felt I could handle: Slowly. My goal wasn't to lose 20 pounds in a month. My goal was to lose one pound a week--at the most--until I got to a point I could live with.

Someone I knew had downloaded and successfully used an iPhone app called Lose It!, and since it was free, it sounded like a good way to go. Basically, it's like Weight Watchers, but without the Points system. You are given a daily calorie budget, and you log your foods and your exercise, and try to stay at or below your given daily budget. Since I'm an anal person who loves lists and keeping track of stuff, I took to it easily. It became like a daily game.

And the great thing is, when you start off at as high a weight as I was at, you're actually able eat a lot of food at the beginning. And that was the key thing to me: I didn't want to do anything where I had to cut out certain kinds of foods completely, because that's just not something I can maintain. Instead, I wanted to eat whatever I wanted to eat, just less of it.

Also, when you go from doing no type of exercise to some kind of exercise every day, the pounds kind of drop off. At least at first. (I lost five pounds in the first week and a half.)

When most people ask me about losing weight, they remark that it must have been really hard, and the thing is, it really wasn't. But it didn't happen quickly; it took almost two years. And I think that's the key: When you allow the process to take some time, it becomes a habit, and becomes something that's easier to maintain.

I chose to stop ten pounds shy of my "healthy" weight because that's where my body wanted to stop. Losing more became way too much of a struggle, and I'm at a weight I can be happy with--even if it isn't what's considered an ideal weight by most. My blood pressure is down, and I don't get nearly as many headaches as I used to. And while I can't fit into every outfit I'd like to--the fashion industry is still bullshit on that front--I'm much happier with the clothing choices that are available to me now.

I basically wrote this as a reference for anyone who asks me how I did it. So, for those interested, here's a summation of what worked for me:

Keep track of calories: Once you become aware of how many calories are actually in the foods you eat every day, it can revolutionize the way you eat. It's all just math. (It helps to get a food scale, to weigh things like meat and cheese and figure out portion sizes.)

Try to do some kind of exercise every day: I bought a cheap home stepper machine, and tried to do that every day. At first, I could barely do 15 minutes on the thing; eventually I got up to 45 minutes at a time. The key? I could do it while watching TV. But I also just tried to walk more. I resolved to not wait for any Muni bus more than 10 minutes. If it was longer than that, I'd just start walking. (You'd be surprised how much faster than the bus your feet can be!)

Weigh Yourself a Lot: This seems to be controversial. A lot of people say not to do it more than once a week, because it can be frustrating. But weighing myself almost every day really helped me learn what did and did not work for me. For instance: On more than one occasion on weighing myself after I had gone way under my calorie allotment the day before, I had actually gained weight. Key takeaway: Starving yourself doesn't work.

Drink lots of water: Actually, this might be total bullshit. I don't know if it helps or not, but everyone seems to think this is a major factor, so might as well include it. If you're exercising more, you're probably going to want to drink more water anyway, so it's not exactly hard to do.

Keep some old fat pants: Not because you're ever going to wear them again, but because putting on a pair of your fat pants after you've lost weight and inches feels really, really great, and will mean more than any number on a scale ever will.

Wednesday, May 02, 2012

Nosy Nellie


So here's the story: I heard some yelling on the street and looked out the window to see a woman arguing with a cab driver. She seemed to be saying that he was lying about not taking Visa, when it states on the cab door that they do. I couldn't really make out what he was saying, but he was obviously denying that. She called him a "fucking liar" and started to walk away, when the cabbie got out of the cab to confront her.

A guy who was walking his dog came over and tried to get them both to calm down. He suggested the cab driver just move along, and the woman go home. At that point, someone drove up and honked for the cab to get out of the way. (He was blocking the entrance to an alley.)

So he drove up a few feet, put on his blinkers and got back out. At that point, the woman had gone inside her apartment, although I couldn't tell where that was (nor could he). He was kind of just standing on the corner looking dumbfounded when the guy with the dog came back over and started to talk to him.

He said he didn't know who the woman was, but he had come over previously because he was hoping to diffuse a situation before it blew up. And at that point in the conversation he offered the cabbie some money…And that's the part I got on the above video…

Personally, I think it was pretty great of the guy to pay the cabbie. I have a feeling the cabbie wasn't being totally honest about the Visa thing (cabbies are notoriously dickish when credit cards are involved, and will often lie about the "machine being broken" to avoid taking them), but that lady could have handled the situation a whole lot better...

Here's to the kindness of strangers.

Monday, April 30, 2012

Round-Up - March 2012

Movies Seen: Twelve, with two in a theater. I reviewed one of those, Silent House, for the Appeal, and the other one, The Hunger Games, I had to go and see after it opened, like an animal! That one I liked, for the most part, but I hated, hated, the way it was filmed. The first hour of the movie is filled with shaky camera work and rapid editing, when there is really no reason for it. I mean, during close-ups? And calm moments of conversation? Really?? It was so bad I almost wanted to leave. Eventually it calms down a bit, but I dread the second movie if it's going to be full of that crap.

Of the DVDs I watched, I really liked Young Adult a lot, and I think I liked Melancholia, though that one is a bit of a stumper...

Books Read: Six. Click through to read my brief reviews, where applicable.

Starter for Ten by David Nichols

Whateverland: Learning To Live Here by Alexis Stewart and Jennifer Koppelman Hutt

Zone One by Colin Whitehead

Left In the Dark by R.A. McBride

Bringing Adam Home by Les Standiford and Det. Sgt. Joe Matthews

The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson

Fancy Dinners Out: One fancy dinner, at Alfred's Steakhouse, which was great. I hadn't been to Alfred's since they moved from their former Broadway location, but the place where they are now looks like it's been theirs forever. It's the perfect old school steakhouse.

And while this dinner wasn't really fancy, it did feature a star: My friend and I basically had dinner with Lauren Hutton at Hunan Home's in Chinatown. Sure, she wasn't actually sitting with us, but she was in the restaurant, right across from us, so I think that counts, yes?

Live Shows Seen: None!

Shoes Bought: I don't think I bought any shoes in March, but I did remember I bought a pair in February that I forgot to list: these pink flats from Target, which I got for 50% off. A friend also gave me a couple of pairs of vintage heels that were too big for her. I've only got a picture of one of them right now, though. Glittery!

Saturday, March 31, 2012

February Round-Up - 2012

Once again, the end of the month sneaked up on me. I can't believe it's already April!

Let's get on with it, before it's May.

Movies Seen: Nine, with one in a theater. That one was Safe House, and you can read my review of it here.

Of the DVDs I watched, the best two were documentaries, and they're both terrific. Being Elmo brought tears to my eyes about five minutes into it, and Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles is just fascinating, but is probably better if you don't really know much about it going in.

Being Elmo is going to be PBS this Thursday at 10 P.M. Watch it!

Books Read: Five. Click through to read my brief reviews.

Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Shock Value by Jason Zinoman

Shockaholic by Carrie Fisher

Coffee at Luke's edited by Jennifer Crusie

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foe

Fancy Dinners Out: Two. I'd never been to Bar Agricole before, and it was very good, although I can't remember what I ate! I know I drank an Old Fashioned that had one gigantic ice cube in it. The restaurant itself has a lot of concrete and wood, which, yeah, I realize most buildings are made out of concrete and wood, but the decor of this one just seemed a little off to me. But they have a large outdoor dining area that could be nice on a warm day. It was the first time I'd been in that area of SoMa in many years, and I was surprised by how dead it seems. It used to be the center of San Francisco night life, and now it feels like a ghost town.

The other dinner was at the new version of Original Joe's, now in North Beach. It's a testament to the quality of the restaurant that even though the chicken parmigiana I ordered was partially raw, I'd still go back in a heartbeat...

Live Shows Seen: None!

Shoes Bought: Four pairs!  I got these Vince Camuto leopard pumps at Macy's for under 30 bucks.

These Lela Rose heels were only 19 bucks at Payless, and I also got a pair of silver flats there for about 10 bucks.

And finally, I scored the last pair of these super cheap green faux suede flats at H&M.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Bully For You



The above is a clip from the movie Bully, which opens this weekend, and which you might have heard about because of issues with the MPAA, and how they want to rate the movie R, because of swearing, thus making it harder for the kids who could benefit from the movie to actually see it. (For example: Most schools won't be able to show an R or unrated movie to an entire school without getting permission from each and every parent, and they'll likely see that as more bother than it's worth.)

The clip is actually edited down from how it appears in the movie, (I haven't seen the movie, but saw the extended clip on the "Anderson" show this week), and it's even more maddening in its entirety. That a teacher, (and actually, I think she's an assistant principal), would chastise a bullied kid for being rude to his bully is just...I don't even know what else to call it but totally fucked. (Rate THAT R!)

I don't know if I'll go see the movie, because the clips I saw on TV immediately made me cry. I tear up just thinking about them now. And it makes me glad I don't have kids, because having to deal with the heartbreak of having a bullied kid OR a kid who's a bully would just be too much to bear. And this is coming from someone who was both growing up.

The clip up there strikes a certain note with me because in grammar school, I was bullied by kids and a teacher. And in a way, the stuff with the teacher was worse.

The kid stuff started around the second grade. I don't know why I was singled out. Maybe it was my name; maybe it was because I was bigger than the other kids, who knows. (And while I was big, I would have been considered svelte next to kids the same age these days.) During that grade, a girl decided to get a bunch of her friends together and sing me a song about how none of them wanted to be my friend anymore. I believe it was to be sung to the tune of "Hello, Dolly," but the title was "Goodbye Rain," (clever!). Such an elaborate bit of bullying theater, and if it wasn't such a sick thing, I'd almost commend her for having such creativity at such a young age.

Fortunately, our teacher found out about it, (perhaps someone snitched), and she prevented it from happening. But she didn't prevent the girl from putting the lyrics to the song, all very nicely written out and decorated, in my backpack so I could discover it when I got home.

In another grade I had a "best" friend who would, purely based on her whims, decide day to day whether or not she was going to be nice to me, or, along with her friends, torture me. I never knew if a day was going to be a "Be Nice to Rain Day," or "We Hate Rain Day." On the Hate days, I would be hit, threatened with ass-kickings after school, taunted, or just given the complete silent treatment. Welcome to the birth of my neuroses!

Finally, I eventually got to a grade, fifth, where I didn't seem to have any active bullies, and in fact had a bunch of friends. Unfortunately, my teacher hated me. Now, I will admit I was a bit of a wise-ass and a know-it-all, and was probably annoying as hell. But she was an adult, and a teacher, and really should have been above bullying tactics. Tactics like the time there were class elections, and I was voted class president, but she decided to basically veto that vote, give that position to someone she liked, and demote me to "hall monitor," or some such bullshit.

Or the time the class put on a play, The Wizard of Oz, and we all auditioned, and I wanted to be the Cowardly Lion, and could imitate the crying Bert Lahr does in the movie to a T, but she gave the role to someone else, didn't give me a part at all, and made me a line prompter. Or some such bullshit.

Or the time she told the parents of one of my best friends that she shouldn't be allowed to hang out with me anymore because I was a "bad influence." I was NINE. The only thing I was influencing her on was to not like the teacher, which, can you blame me?

Or the time we were on a field trip, and we were all waiting for the bus, many of us students just kind of milling around the teacher, vying for her attention and approval, as young students are wont to do. And some kids were asking her if she thought they were smart enough to get into such and such a school, and she said to each of them, "Yes, oh yes, of course!" And when I asked her she said, "You? No way. Never."

Who do you go to when your teacher is bullying you? Back then, there was nothing I could do. I told my parents, and they had a teacher conference with her--as all parents did, at least once a year--but really, what were they going to say? I know my mom said she came out of the meeting wanting to stick an electrical plug into the teacher's nose, but, alas, she wasn't able to follow through on that.

When I finally got out of her hell class, and moved on to junior high, where it felt like a fresh start, and I could be whoever I wanted to be, well, I did what a lot of bullied kids do: I became a bully.

I was horrible. Just awful. I never hit anyone, or threatened them with violence, but I was a bitch, and cruel, and mean. I'm completely ashamed of it. That I eventually became good friends with most of the girls I bullied is testament to their being superior lifeforms, hands down.

A lot of people who come out of bullying say it made them better people, and who they are today; they came out of it stronger, and that most of the biggest successes in life are the people who were considered weirdos when they were kids.

But that can be minor consolation to a kid who's being bullied in the here and now. I wrote all this stuff down, and am sharing it, because I think it is always helpful to have stories about surviving bullying out there for anyone who might need it. And not to get all, "it gets better," but, it did. By the end of junior high, I was free from bullying--both of and by me. And by the time I got to high school, I didn't give a shit about anything anyone had to say about me, and as a result, no one really said anything about me. In retrospect, high school was a piece of cake, socially, though sometimes I wish my bullying years had been later in life, because I don't think it would have affected my core being as much as it did happening to me so young.

The presence of the Internet and social networking has added a whole new level to bullying, to the point where the only previous respite from school bullying--being able to go home and get the hell away from it, at least for the night--no longer exists.

But the Internet has its counter benefits. Kids can reach out to people who are feeling or felt just like they are, who can tell them that they are great people, and the bullies are complete and total assholes who are going to lose at life. At least kids can get some support outside of their family, because sometimes validation from complete strangers can mean a lot.

Who knows what would have happened if I had been able to post the lyrics to that stupid song on a Tumblr back in the day? And what kind of counteractive song readers might have been able to help me write? And what kind of courage that could have given me for the rest of my school days?

So if, for some completely bizarre reason, there's some bullied kid out there reading this, let me know.

And maybe we can write a song about it...


Wednesday, February 29, 2012

January Round-Up - 2012

Welcome to the first official round-up of 2012, happening on Leap Day no less. Does that make it more exciting?

Probably not.

But it does remind me, I never understood why the year with an extra day is called a "leap" year, when it seems to make more sense for common years to be called leap years because you are, essentially, leaping into March on years where there isn't a February 29th.

Right?

Whatever, let's look at January!


Movies Seen: Eight, with three in a theater. Getting off to a slow start this year...

The three theater movies started with a sing-along screening of West Side Story at the Castro, which was fun, but frankly, West Side Story isn't a very easy musical to sing along with!

The other two were The Iron Lady, which I didn't bother reviewing because not much could be said beyond, "Bad movie, but Streep was amazing," and Contraband, which I reviewed here.

Most of the DVDs I watched were lame, but I did enjoy Someone's Watching Me!, John Carpenter's 1978 made-for-TV movie starring Lauren Hutton. It's worth seeing because of her--she's just kind of a kooky character in it--and because, as far as TV movies go, it's above average.

Books Read:
Four. Click through to read my (limited) thoughts on all.

Then Again by Diane Keaton.

The Hunger Games
Catching Fire
and
Mockingjay, all by Suzanne Collin.

Regarding that trilogy, man. It started out so good! And ended so bad! But I'm still totally excited to see the movie!

Fancy Dinners Out: Four, although two were technically lunch. The first of the lunches was at the Rotunda at Neiman Marcus, which I had never been to before, and would certainly go to again, if only for those popovers and strawberry butter.

I went to Disneyland for my birthday, and had what has now become a traditional steak dinner at Steakhouse 55 in the Disneyland hotel. Got the prix fixe. Delish.

On my actual birthday, I had dinner at La Traviata, per usual. Had pasta. Wish I had some right now.

And I ended the birthday month with another steak, this time lunch at the Leatherneck Steakhouse, which is in the Marines' Memorial building. It is pretty reasonably priced for what you get--which includes TRUFFLED TATER TOTS--and has a totally amazing view. I highly recommend it.

Live Shows Seen: None, but as I mentioned, I did go to Disneyland, which is basically a non-stop show.

Shoes Bought: Two pair, both metallic! The first are some goldish Old Navy flats that are kind of textured to look like lizard. Can't find a picture of them anywhere right now, though. The second are these silver American Rag pumps, which I snagged for under 30 bucks at Macy's.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

SHOOP!

I'll admit, I was shocked to hear about the death of Whitney Houston. I can't say I was ever a big fan of her music, (just way too adult contemporary for my tastes), but there was no disputing she had an amazing voice that just puts other so-called divas to shame.

I was more a fan of Whitney Houston herself, in all her crazy glory. Of course, it was pretty obvious a lot of her kookiness came from her drug use, so it's probably in poor taste to find any of that funny now.

Except, I still do, and there's really no way I can curb that. So, I choose to remember her in the many ways she, and her influence, made me laugh.

Like this moment, where she's with Bobby B., and decides to try on some sunglasses.



Or here, where she's telling him, or maybe the cameraman, or maybe just the world, to kiss her ass.



I've also found myself mourning the (probable) loss of Maya Rudolph's Whitney impersonation, which never failed to crack me up. In a weird coincidence, Rudolph is set to host "Saturday Night Live" next week, and I am hoping they find a way to keep her impersonation alive.

Here are a few of the best of Rudolph's Whitney moments, collected so I can have a localized place to watch them over and over and over again, which I plan to do. A lot.


maya rudolph aka Whitney Houston by jenniesslave







Finally, I knew Rich Juzwiak would have something great to say about her, and I wasn't wrong. Check it out.

Saturday, February 04, 2012

Today's TV Tirade

I've been thinking about some shows recently, and how they've been annoying me. Here's a blog post about that!

A few years back I wrote about the TV show "Jack and Bobby," and how no abortion on a TV show can go unpunished. In summation: Most of the time, to avoid any kind controversy, if a character doesn't want a baby, and is pregnant, the writers will introduce a very convenient miscarriage. As I mentioned in that post, this happens in movies too--and is one reason I didn't think the movie Citizen Ruth was that great; it didn't have the courage of its convictions--but I tend to notice it more on TV.

A few months ago, on "Grey's Anatomy," the character of Cristina Yang got pregnant. She's married, and in a good position to have a kid, but she has never wanted kids, and didn't want this one. Her husband, Owen, knowing that his wife doesn't want to be a mother--and a kid should not grow up with a mother that never wanted him--agreed that terminating the pregnancy was best, and even went with her to the procedure.

That, as the saying goes, seemed to be that. There were several episodes after in which things were back to normal, they were doing fine, and it seemed to be non-issue.

Of course, this couldn't last forever. Two episodes ago, during a fight, her husband admits that he is not fine with the abortion, and bellows at her that she "killed" their baby.

And in the previews for this coming week's episode, it looks like Yang might get hit by a car, or someone might get hurt while trying to save her from getting hit by a car, or maybe she'll get hit by a car, and magically find out she's pregnant again, and this time keep the baby.



No abortion can go unpunished.

It's sad that I was more surprised by the show's few episodes where it all seemed to be a non-issue than I am by this latest development, because it's just so pathetically typical. I hope this wasn't the way creator Shonda Rhimes wanted it to go, and she was somehow influenced to add this new drama, but she's a TV writer. She probably knows how stories like that "have" to be handled on television...

In a completely different, but still very annoying vein, what the hell is up with "Alcatraz"? Every week we see one of the prisoners who disappeared back in 1963 reappearing in 2012 San Francisco, and we have yet to witness any of these prisoners having any kind of problem navigating modern life, or, indeed, acting very surprised by anything they witness.

I really hope I've just missed an important plot element, (which could very well be the case; my attention tends to drift when watching the show), and they've explained that, perhaps, all these guys have actually been wandering around for years, and thus we just haven't been privy to their moments of acclimation, or some other plausible explanation for their nonchalance.

But if that's not the case, and they haven't explained this at all, and don't intend to, well, I don't think I can keep watching. I don't know why, but this aspect of the show just really, really irks me. I think you have to earn that kind of preposterousness. You can't just throw it at an audience right out the gate!

As a final note, here's a link to blog post I wrote in 2004, about "Lost," that mentions a certain island in the San Francisco Bay.

In case you didn't know, "Alcatraz" comes from some of the creators of "Lost"...

So, yes, basically I am saying I am responsible for the existence of "Alcatraz." OBVS.