Lucille the Loose Seal

Just a reminder that "Arrested Development" returns next Monday at 8.

I also want to remind you that they never caught the seal that bit off Buster's hand, so be careful out there.

I'm Not Sure Who They Are or What They Do

But for some reason this site has decided to list Musty TV as a "Top Ten Source" for television.

Truly, I am honored. And confused.

I Don't Know If This Qualifies as a Trick

But this week's SFist post is now up. And it's frightfully short!

Happy Horrorween!

As you can tell by the photo , my friend Dave is a master when it comes to creative pumpkin carving. Be sure to check out his gallery at Phrenopolis: The Pumpkin House of Horrors.

Consider that your treat for the day. We'll see if I can come up with any tricks later on...

"How is it that this is the third 'I Love the '80s' and we're only now talking about Tweaky?"

Yeah. I got sucked into the latest "I Love the 80s," this time in 3-D! Which, by the way, doesn't work. Ever wonder why there aren't more 3-D shows on TV? That's because 3-D doesn't WORK on TV. But you can continue to stare at the show while wearing stupid glasses and pretend it's cool all you want, because I'm putting MY stupid glasses away.

Anyhoo, on the 1980 episode, they talked about "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" and I realized I have no memory of ever watching the show...When I was a kid I had a very snobby attitude towards anything called "science fiction," because in my mind everything was just a lame rip-off of "Star Wars." So I didn't watch "Buck Rogers" or "Battlestar Galactica" or go to see any sci-movies that weren't "Star Wars" related. But seeing clips of the incredibly cheesy "Buck Rogers" kind of makes me wish I had. Luckily, the Sci-Fi Channel airs re-runs, so I've set the TiVo accordingly.

But something tells me watching an entire hour long episode, not to mention episode after episode, isn't going to be nearly as entertaining as watching a minute of clips on a lame "I Love the 80s" show...

Stoked

I know that most of the directors featured in Showtime's "Masters of Horror" series have long since hit their prime, but I'm excited about it nonetheless. And hopefully the one-hour format will help them keep it lean-and-mean, as it were.

Tonight's episode is by Don Coscarelli, the director of "Phantasm."

And in "No Duh" News...

George Takei is totally gay.

Hello Siegfried!

This article is equal parts sad and hilarious.

OK...mainly it's just sad. But that photo is pretty hilarious!

Lookie!

jolene and henry
Originally uploaded by Jess Hutch.

Look at those guys! Aren't they the cutest? Don't you just want one of your own? Wouldn't you just love to MAKE one of your own?

My friend Jessica has written and published a small book of patterns for knitted toys, and it's the coolest. You can check it out and order one here.

Do it! Do it today!

Or maybe wait a week, because she's got a LOT of orders to fill right now.

Another Reason I Love TiVo

MY parents were complaining just last week about how many commercials seem to run during "Lost," and that sometimes the commercial breaks run longer than a segment of the show. This article explains that, technically, there aren't more commercials, but the spacing of the commercial breaks has changed. Another brilliant idea from a network head.

In related news, NBC continues to run shows one minute over, or start them one minute earlier, something they promised they'd stop doing. Man, I hate that. It is so clearly a big F---- You to DVR users.

The Dreaded Return of...Bleh

I can't even say his name! (OK. I'll say it once, but after that he will only be referred to as Bleh.) After watching tonight's episode of "Gilmore Girls" they showed a preview of things to come, and yes. Jess will be back.

I hate Bleh. My hatred of Bleh has grown so much that I can't help but hate the actor, too. Of course the fact that he seems to play the same character no matter what he's in doesn't help.

So he's going to come back and talk smack to Rory about her living with her grandparents and her dating a rich boy, and yeah, totally, she needs to be called out on those things. But seriously. Bleh? He is SO not the poster boy for smart decisions.

Of course making Rory feel bad about herself was what he did best when they were dating, so that shouldn't come as a surprise. I just hate the idea of him coming to town, talking his crap, beating her down emotionally, and THAT being the thing that makes her wake-the-hell up. There's just something so wrong about that.

Pardon the obsession here, but I think it has something to do with the fact that I just ate half a pint of rum raisin ice cream. I haven't had rum raisin ice cream since I was a kid--which in itself is strange because what kind of kid likes rum raisin ice cream?--and it was sooooo good, and the taste immediately sent me back to my childhood, so it was an emotional bit of binging that has had the unfortunate side effect of...pure mania, apparently.

OK...I need to go and Photoshop a picture of Bleh now.

I'm Not Looking at Porn. This is RESEARCH!

My boy Vince is acting all wacky again, this time during a seminar about sexual harassment.

Methinks he doth protest too much...

I Know the Sign Language Sign for "Creepy."

This week's SFist post is up.

And it's creepy!

It Made Me Cranky, Too

But it made me cranky years ago, dude. This article talks about how in one "Sex and the City" episode, the name of "John F. Kennedy Jr." was removed and replaced with "Leonardo DiCaprio" after Kennedy's tragic death. It made me cranky too, but mainly because replacing the name kind of killed the joke in the context of the show. (Kennedy is seen as a glowing specter of New York society that helps Samantha regain her status after being shunned by the New York elite, which I can kind of buy. Leo? Not so much.)

The thing is, that happened many years ago when that season was released on DVD. They're re-releasing the entire series as a box set now, and that version of the show is the one in the box set. Yeah? So? Why wasn't he squawking about it back then?

Plus, the omission of this one little reference isn't nearly as egregious as some of these DVD TV show releases that can't manage to get the rights to the music used in the original airings and instead replace the tracks with awful, generic crap. Yeah. I'm looking at YOU "Wiseguy" and "Crime Story"!!!

Which leads me to another thing. A few weeks ago I re-watched the film "Over the Edge." It's finally been released on DVD and I was as pleased as punch. The juvenile delinquent movie came out in 1979 and its soundtrack is an awesome mix of disco, hard rock, and punk. Van Halen is in there, as well as the Ramones. However, I noticed that one moment in the movie was cut out. In it, the teen hero, Carl (such NOT a hero's name!) is pissed off and in his room when he puts on his headphones and cranks up Boston's "More Than a Feeling." It's a really brief moment in the movie, but I remember it well because it was the first time I heard that song. For some reason--I imagine because of song rights--that moment is gone from the movie. And you can call me an anal, nitpicking freakcase, but the movie just wasn't the same without it.

I Stopped Looking

I enjoyed last night's "Lost" a lot more than I did the previous week's. I always seem to like the Jin and Sun-centered storylines. Maybe that's because they're two of the best actors on the show. Or maybe it's just because their love story is so heartbreaking.

I also appreciated the show going back to what it does best: Spooking the hell out of me. Watching the eerily silent and dirty feet of the Others (or were those the Others? Are there other Others?) pass by, capped by the one Other carrying a teddy bear tied to a vine (with what looks like a makeshift bandage on its leg) was all kinds of creepy. Was that Walt carrying that teddy bear? Is there another kid on the island? Or is it just some crazed plushophile?

I can't believe we have to wait THREE WEEKS before we get a new episode. They're killin' me, man.

That Can't Be Right...

My blog is worth $0.00.
How much is your blog worth?

Yeah, that's what it's worth NOW. But just wait until I do whatever they did at the end of "Trading Places" and I make a million bucks on orange juice stocks.

Or perhaps I should say, just wait until I figure out what the hell they did at the end of "Trading Places" and THEN I make my million bucks on whatever it is they made their millions on....Which now that I think of it is just dumb, because who cares how much my blog is worth if I've just made a million bucks like the "Trading Places" dudes did?

Forget I even brought it up.

[link via the far more valuable Freakgirl]

Love, Sydney

I've always said I don't mind when shows I once loved eventually begin to suck, and then get cancelled. I don't think that's a bad thing. By the time it gets cancelled, I'll have lost interest, and its going away won't be much of a loss. And the show's sucking at the end in no way negates its being awesome at the beginning. (See: "The X-Files," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," and "Twin Peaks.")

What really sucks is when a show continues to be great, and the people involved decide to call it quits then, saying they want to go out "on a high note." THAT'S when the loss is sad. THAT'S when I don't want to see a show disappear. (I still mourn the loss of "Sex and the City" at least once a month.)

So, with that said, I can safely say if "Alias" should end after this current season, as this article implies, I won't be all that sad about it...

This Is Awesome

Or, more accurately, this is craptacular.

Disturbing

For some reason, this news about the apparent suicide of actor and comedian Charles Rocket kind of freaks me out.

Also creepy: "Lost" actors are being followed around by mysterious men....

Tiny Bubbles

Bubbles
Originally uploaded by Rain Rain Rain.

My friends Mariah and Sean got married this Saturday, and the wedding was one of the best I have ever attended. The whole evening I just kept thinking, "This wedding is so NICE! I can't believe I actually get to be here!"

This time, I didn't drop my camera in a glass of water, so you can see a few more photos on Flickr.

Tiny Earthquakes

This week's SFist post is up, and it's a nostalgic one...

Cluck You

More "Lost"-related sites are springin up left and right, including the "official" Mr. Clucks site.

Anyone out there good at puzzles and word jumbles?

Just for Skuzz

Mention of "How to Get Ahead in Advertising" on another blog reminded me of an episode of "Invader Zim" with a similar premise, which resulted in me finding the attached image, which I thought was hilarious and then decided to post here.

Just because.

Obey Pustulio!

Dude.

Last night's "Lost" was a bit of a breather compared to the intensity we've been getting for the last couple of weeks. I supposed that was needed, but for some reason, I wasn't that taken with it. I certainly liked it, but it's not up there as a favorite episode. I'm not sure why. I know I didn't like the slow-mo music montage at the end, that's for sure.

However, I was glad to learn that there aren't dozens of other survivors that we're now going to have to ignore with the rest of the 40 other survivors we've come to not know and love. Question is, were they killed off by the "sickness" or the "Others"?

The Bernard reveal was a good touch. I hope that Michael and co. convince these other survivors to get the hell out of Dodge and move to the other side of the island. Obviously, where they are is full of some bad mojo.

And, nice to see that Sawyer has found another woman who enjoys punching him in the face. I wonder if she had anything to do with this?

Also, as noted on some message boards, Hugo's boss at the chicken shack is the same guy that was Locke's boss at the box company. Same actor. Same character name. Love all these tiny connections!

And in "Woo Hoo!" News

"Arrested Development" WILL be returning after the baseball break, with a one-hour episode.

Take THAT Mr. Know-It-All-Expert Tim Goodman.

If that IS your real name.

I Remember I Once Thought My Watchman Was Awesome

Now? Not so much. I imagine the new video iPod--on which you will be able to download TV shows (right now, just ABC and other Disney channels) the day after they air, via iTunes--will get a lot of oohs and aahs, but frankly I'm not that excited about the notion of watching "Lost" on a screen 2.5 inches wide.

The article isn't too clear about whether you will be able download a TV show via iTunes, but watch it on your computer, the same way you can listen to music you download on your iPod or your computer. THAT would be a little more appealing. I'd pay two bucks to watch an episode on my computer of something my TiVo might have missed by mistake. But having to download it to my computer, then upload to my iPod, and then sync up to my TV via a special cable? I'll wait for a re-run, thanks.

All I Can Say Is...

Uh-oh.

Sicky Sick Sick

I've got a cold, or the flu, or maybe the avian flu. (I heard my neighbors killing a chicken yesterday, so it's not out of the realm of possibility. And no, I am totally not kidding.) But at least I was still well enough on Saturday to enjoy the air show.

Seeing that huge blue plane doing flyovers was a hell of a lot more unsettling than the Blue Angels, that's for sure.

Does Joey Pants Have This Problem?

Look at these pants. They look pretty good, don't they? Just a nice, standard pair of slacks. I tend to like Old Navy's clothing. They have some nice, neutral, sometimes even retro styles, and also offer sizes for the more...ample gal.

But their pants, man. They KILL me. Yesterday, I went and tried on EIGHT pairs of work-suitable pants. I wanted something classic. Something a woman in the 1940s might have worn. The whole Katherine Hepburn in pants thing.

But Katherine Hepburn never wore pants that for some inexplicable reason, were tapered at the KNEE and then slightly flared the rest of the way down. This isn't a good look, people. It automatically makes you look like you're knock-kneed. Pinstripe pants shouldn't be cut like flared jeans. They should be straight legged, which is to say, the leg should be the same width from thigh to ankle.

EVERY pair I tried on yesterday had the tapered knee thing going on. And every pair looked like crap. And half of them were the ridiculous low-waist cut, as well. I understand the desire to not have the waist of your pants hitting right below your boobs, but that doesn't mean your ass crack has to show, either. It's a WAISTLINE. Why not have the waist of ones pants actually sit there?

So I left without a pair of pants. But I did get a nice skirt. So far, they haven't screwed up the basic concept of a "skirt."

Though I'm sure they're trying.

Drunks 'R' Us

I have another brief post on SFist.

I won't say what it's about, but it rhymes with "Peal Berld."

I Hear 'Em!

I just had to write a "Rave" about Fleet Week for SFist. Read it now!

And let the flaming begin!

The Hanso Foundation

"Lost"? You have officially blown my mind.

I just love where this show is going. I love that Season One was just this slow burn of mystery, and weird-goings-on, and baffling questions, and Season Two seems to be all about, "OK. You want answers? Here ya go. Chew on THIS!!"

Desmond and Calvin and the weird-ass institutes and the presence of the Cigarette Smoking Man (MAYBE!) and the button. Oh, the button. What if they really are just pressing a button that doesn't do anything, and they're all a part of an experiment to see if people will do what they're told just because they're told that if they don't, they'll end the world? That's pretty crazy, right?

But what if pushing the button is exactly what IS keeping them on the island, and if someone would just have the guts to NOT push it, then the magnetic dome--or whatever the hell you think it is--around the island would open up, and they'd all be...free?

But forget all that. The thing that freaked me out the most was hearing Jin speak English in the previews for next week.

The World's First Analrapist

Arrested Development is going to be off the air for about a month or so because of baseball. (Stupid baseball!!) So, I thought I'd post an image from what I thought was the funniest moment in Monday's episode.

Also funny: "Bob Loblaw."

And: Tobias discovers another excuse to dress as a woman.

And also: Everything else. Man, I love this show.

Grandma Will Be Happy

For some reason, one of my grandmothers just LOVES Rachael Ray. So she'll certainly be happy to hear that "the girl with the mouth" (as grandma calls her) is getting ANOTHER damned TV show.

Hitched

The Cake....MMMMM...Cake
Originally uploaded by Rain Rain Rain.

My friend Monique got married this weekend, and I was in the wedding. It was a lovely day.

Unfortunately, I didn't take many photos because, one, I was in the wedding party and couldn't be snapping pictures during the event, and two, I dropped my camera in a glass of water during the reception.

No, I wasn't drinking. Why do you ask?

The best of the few photos I took are on Flickr.

Ponderosa

This week's SFist post is now up!

TV TV TV TV!