FIFTEEN

Check this dude out!

FOURTEEN - WATCH THIS

The Hellacopters have a new record out and I am not yet sure how I feel about it. Oh one hand, its more of the same, which isn't a bad thing. On the other, there are some hints of a new direction here and there. I will listen to it more this weekend. For now, check out these classics!

THIRTEEN - check it out

What should I write about? My recent obsession with Battlestar Galactica? The fact that I can't stop listening to The Noisettes? Maybe in the coming days I will, but for now, check out this picture of my little man and I.

TWELVE - LISTEN/WATCH

Ok, so I am reluctantly in Forever21 with Emily and Andrew, just watching her look at stuff, pushing Andrew around in his stroller, trying not to lose my patience while trapped in a store I don't enjoy in the least bit. Typical mall clothing store songs, then all of a sudden I hear something I have never heard before. I can't stop thinking about this song. I get home and fail at googling for "Forever21 playlists" for about 3 hours. Finally I frantically email a friend who works there. Today she found out the makers of this captivating song - The Noisettes.



Go ahead, try to hate it at first.

ELEVEN - Who in the world?

According to my clustrmaps.com map at the bottom of this blog, I have acquired some new readers over the weekend. While I happily welcome new eyes, please remember that I am a firm believer in comment moderation, so spammers need not bother. Here's how my world-wide readership looks at the time of this post.

TEN - Questions

The Office has a spin-off set to premier following the superbowl in 09. This raises a bunch of questions, mainly will it be a faux documentary like The Office? If so, isn’t that a bit strange? The argument stems from some problems I have with the current Office, now in it’s fourth season. Here is my list of grievances;

- How many years does this documentary team plan on shooting the daily life of the office workers? After 4 seasons I would think season one of the doc would be airing by now, which probably isn’t the case since no one has been fired from Dunder-Mifflin as a result of the content. Right?

- Is it just me, or has this show gone from fairly realistic to completely off the wall? Let’s look at a few key characters;

o Michael Scott – at first he was a good Ricky Gervais (as David Brent) type, and it actually seemed like Steve Carell was acting slightly outside of his normal range of characters. As the series progressed, Michael Scott lost touch with the origins of the show and became just another typical Steve Carell character. He has moved from blissfully ignorant to WAYYY over-the-top, which the norm for a Carell character. Here is an example of how overboard the character has become. In Scott’s movie review of “Defending Your Life”, he questions how they actually filmed this movie in Judgment City, which is a holding area before heaven. The early Michael Scott would know how to separate movie magic from real life. Instead, they have turned him into a 5 year old child. Don’t get me started on him “declaring bankruptcy”. Pure silliness. And, that whole GPS thing… no way.

o Dwight Shrute – while one of the most entertaining characters in the show, he also seems to get farther from reality each season. Too many examples to list, as nearly every time he opens his mouth something outrageous comes out.

o Creed – give me a break, this guy takes it way overboard. On the show he is out there, but on "www.creedthoughts.gov.www\creedthoughts”, he crosses the line with nearly every word.

o Kelly – Like Homer Simpson, she seems to get stupider each season. She has now seemingly regressed to a pre-teen brat.

o Jim – Come on, no one is that perfect all the time. The man is flawless. He always does the right thing and is disgustingly charming at all times. He (along with Pam) seems the most realistic on the show, but you will be hard pressed to find anyone close to this in real life.

I defended this show during the first 2, and even some of the third seasons. I said things like “it’s not supposed to be like the UK version”, and “its equally funny, just in different ways”. Gervais always knew when to pull the plug. 2 seasons and that’s it. He then rewarded fans with a special when it was all over, providing the perfect amount of a great show. Leave it to NBC to run this thing into the ground and force the writers to run out of what made it funny, instead adding over the top zaniness. Regardless, yes I will probably watch it until the end, as it still is a funny show, just not funny in the way it set out to be.

Now as far as this spin-off goes, I think it will be more Joey than Frasier.

NINE - Be Dissapointed

It seems the country is getting stupider by the day. I had a huge list of supporting statements, but chose not to print them. You know what I am talking about though. Luckily, the television networks that once promoted education have picked up on what we really need as a country, and happily deliver.

TLC - remember when they were called The Learning Channel? Once "a place for learning minds", now they aim to teach you how to dress yourselves and how to get the most money out of your house by painting walls and updating your kitchen. Fascinating. Last month they changed their slogan (for the 4th time) to "Life Surprises". Surprise, you can watch American Chopper, A Wedding Story, LA Ink, Miami Ink, While You Were Out, and What Not To Wear. Let the learning begin. If only they had a show about a bounty hunter, or a family of bounty hunters. I feel as an American that I could always learn more about this exciting (and growing!) trade.

A&E - Thank you. The channel I found to be too boring as a teen who wanted nothing to do with stuff old people would consider "the arts" made a series of good moves. They moved "Murder, She Wrote" (very artistic!) to The Biography Channel, an obvious choice, as the show is completely biographical show about the fictional Jessica Fletcher solving fictional crimes. They canceled some fancy-smancy show called "Breakfast With The Arts" and brought in a show about an ex-con, father of 12, Mad Max-inspired BOUNTY HUNTER! He was now "on the path to right". He is a man of strong values, (look out - sarcasm alert!) as exemplified by a life lesson he taught his son on why dating outside of his race was wrong and when it's OK to use the N-word. What else? More reality TV, like a show about Gene Simmons, "Growing Up Gotti", and "Criss Angel Mindfreak". Now that's what I consider "The Arts"!

Discovery Channel - Not too much to say about them. They started to stray from their educational roots with shows like Monster Garage and American Chopper (which they generously gave to TLC as well), but they did work to revive their tarnished reputation in 2006. MythBusters does feature the two hardest to watch hosts in the history of TV, but you can't say it's a bad show, nor can you not learn from it fairly often.

National Geographic Channel - now here is a channel I can depend on. They would never cave in and run a show about a bounty hunter.

EIGHT - DRINK THIS

San Pellegrino Aranciata - GET INTO IT.
Google Image searching didn't yield any great shots of the bottle itself, but San Pellegrino's site did have some old pictures from advertising campaigns from decades ago.

I went looking for Orangina and happily stumbled upon San Pellegrino's version. This is the best tasting drink I have ever had. Get some today.

SEVEN - Andrew Photos LEAKED!!!

I found some pics that Emily must have taken while I was at work today. They are probably going to appear on our blog about Andrew. Well, spoiler alert! Andrew was caught sleeping in our bed!

SIX - Clementine

Clem looking cool after a bath.

FIVE - READ...

The Hater

http://www.avclub.com/content/hater

read it daily