I'm not going to sit here and say that Reba is highly intelligent television. It's never going to be a critically-acclaimed darling like Arrested Development (which, BTW, I really need to start watching already before they cancel it, since it's already past my normal 6-month lagtime on catching onto the trendy shows.) But it's one of the most realistic sitcoms around, and has some of the best quotes ever. And this one takes the cake:
"There are three things that men think of - 'I want a sandwich,' 'I want a woman,' or 'I want a woman to make me a sandwich.'"
Deny it if you want, guys, but you know it's true.
2.18.2005
I miss all the good stuff
Wow, I leave work early today with the flu and take the past 12 hours off from the internet and news, except for the occasional email, and what happens? Gretzky and Lemieux save the NHL! Amazing! Tell you what guys, I'm still sick, so I probably won't be around much for the weekend. Why don't y'all bring peace to the Middle East too? Or sanity to American politics? Or at the very least, get Bugs Bunny back for me?
Note: Blame my liberal use of sarcasm on the hour and the high fever. Obviously, I know this has been in the works behind the scenes since Bettman said his "famous last words". It's just weird to get a phone call from a friend asking me if I knew that the season's been uncanceled. That's just about as surreal as the morning I got on the internet and saw the name Monica Lewinsky for the first time.
Note: Blame my liberal use of sarcasm on the hour and the high fever. Obviously, I know this has been in the works behind the scenes since Bettman said his "famous last words". It's just weird to get a phone call from a friend asking me if I knew that the season's been uncanceled. That's just about as surreal as the morning I got on the internet and saw the name Monica Lewinsky for the first time.
2.17.2005
This 'n That
- A memo to the Tennessee Titans: Please, for the love of God, stop getting arrested. Twice in three days is more than enough. McNair's unfortunate PR flop last off-season was bad enough, really. I really don't want the national press to start comparing you to the Oakland Raiders.
- Kid Rock has provided Music City with a ton of amusement this week. I've seen a lot of great Night Court video in my day, but his beats all. And when you've got Metro cops holding your hat and asking for autographs after your booking, you have to be a pretty charming bloke. However, the Vandy cop who asked for a script instead of a Breathalyzer screwed up big time. And you look pretty damn rough at 8 am, Robert Ritchie.
- I, along with most of the lacksidasical hockey fans in the U.S., am pretty much over the NHL. Mike Wilbon pretty much summed up today how the sheer arrogance of Bettman et. al. is appalling. But despite the last-minute heartbreak of this whole process, I will remain a Predators fan and will be right back at the GEC when they hit the ice next fall (unless, of course, they hire replacements - my union-prez daddy didn't raise no picketline-crosser.) The Preds took out a full-page ad in The Tennessean today apologizing to the fans for the lost season. They are also refunding season tickets plus 3%. That's class. Craig Leipold is one of the best owners in the league, and he's the reason that this mid-market team will still be around after a year off. In the meantime, at least there's Nashville Kats football to watch.
- Here's an interesting article about who's downloading the mostTV t0rrents and which shows are the most frequently downloaded. Really, it's little surprise that the UK leads the way in downloads, considering the lagtime they have in getting hit US shows on their cable. The one thing that might be surprising on some level, to an extent, is how sci-fi heavy the top t0rrents are. 24 and Stargate lag behind Desperate Housewives and Lost not only in the Nielsons, but in the TiVo Top 25, which to me are indicitive of a true fandom. Maybe it's because t0rrents cater to a techie crowd, or maybe Brits have better taste. Who knows? I would be interested in knowing where downloads of international shows fall on the list, because until BBC decides to launch BBCA2, people will be forced to download Spaced and Green Wing. Just sayin'.
- Ah, Steve Jobs, haven't you ever heard of leaking information anonymously? At least you're willing to stab your competitors in the front and not in the back. BTW, where is that URL? I know some people who might have purchased some iTunes music at some point in the past who might be interested. Once again, just sayin'.
- Kid Rock has provided Music City with a ton of amusement this week. I've seen a lot of great Night Court video in my day, but his beats all. And when you've got Metro cops holding your hat and asking for autographs after your booking, you have to be a pretty charming bloke. However, the Vandy cop who asked for a script instead of a Breathalyzer screwed up big time. And you look pretty damn rough at 8 am, Robert Ritchie.
- I, along with most of the lacksidasical hockey fans in the U.S., am pretty much over the NHL. Mike Wilbon pretty much summed up today how the sheer arrogance of Bettman et. al. is appalling. But despite the last-minute heartbreak of this whole process, I will remain a Predators fan and will be right back at the GEC when they hit the ice next fall (unless, of course, they hire replacements - my union-prez daddy didn't raise no picketline-crosser.) The Preds took out a full-page ad in The Tennessean today apologizing to the fans for the lost season. They are also refunding season tickets plus 3%. That's class. Craig Leipold is one of the best owners in the league, and he's the reason that this mid-market team will still be around after a year off. In the meantime, at least there's Nashville Kats football to watch.
- Here's an interesting article about who's downloading the mostTV t0rrents and which shows are the most frequently downloaded. Really, it's little surprise that the UK leads the way in downloads, considering the lagtime they have in getting hit US shows on their cable. The one thing that might be surprising on some level, to an extent, is how sci-fi heavy the top t0rrents are. 24 and Stargate lag behind Desperate Housewives and Lost not only in the Nielsons, but in the TiVo Top 25, which to me are indicitive of a true fandom. Maybe it's because t0rrents cater to a techie crowd, or maybe Brits have better taste. Who knows? I would be interested in knowing where downloads of international shows fall on the list, because until BBC decides to launch BBCA2, people will be forced to download Spaced and Green Wing. Just sayin'.
- Ah, Steve Jobs, haven't you ever heard of leaking information anonymously? At least you're willing to stab your competitors in the front and not in the back. BTW, where is that URL? I know some people who might have purchased some iTunes music at some point in the past who might be interested. Once again, just sayin'.
2.16.2005
Of memories and boxes
On Valentine's night I watched Amelie. Thought that was a fitting movie for the evening, and romantic without being overly gooey or making me want to throw things. And as usual, it made me think. This time it was about the little metal box that Amelie found in the floorboards and later returned to Breteaudeau with his childhood treasures. And it made me think - does everyone have a box like that? And what would end up in it?
I did have a box like that, and possibly still do somewhere in my parents basement. It's a carved wooden box with some sort of painting on top, and when I was younger I pretended that it was some sort of puzzle box that you had to have a secret code to get into. Most of what it held was old hair ribbons from the first time that I had long hair (up until I was in the fifth grade.) Later I think it held my vain attempts at song lyrics, letters from my pen pal in Canada, and my stupid unsent love letters to the unrequited love of my high school years. Nothing nearly as cool as what was in Breteaudeau's box.
If I could go back in time, I would probably put my very first copy of The Little House of the Prairie that I got in the second grade - the one that I read so often that within six months it no longer had a cover. I'd probably put my first copy of Little Women in there too. I would also have some scraps from the fabric store where my mom would take me in the afternoons after we got off from school. Fabric stores are extremely boring for kids, so I would go to the remnant box and wrap myself in assorted scraps and make up plays in my head and pretend. I would also have a picture of me and my first dog Jessica, a very beautiful and very proper Doberman pincher, who in the shot was wearing an old cheerleader's skirt. She was one of my two only playmates until I went to Kindergarten. And in honor of the other, I would have to have a picture of my cousin Shelia, and an old 45 of "Love Will Keep Us Together", because I loved that song and she used to goad me into calling the local radio DJ to request it over and over. And finally, I would have to have some of the pictures that I used to draw of my future wedding dress during class. They all had hoop skirts that would put Scarlett O'Hara to shame.
But that's the funny thing about boxes of memories, at least in the movies. When Breteaudeau opened his up, he was reminded of his childhood, and it inspired him to make things right in his own life. What if there is no box to be opened, and nothing that can ever be made right again? Even if you could get your heart's desire, or if anyone even knew what that was, there's no such thing as an Amelie to grant it.
In any case, feel free to tell me what would be in your childhood box.
I did have a box like that, and possibly still do somewhere in my parents basement. It's a carved wooden box with some sort of painting on top, and when I was younger I pretended that it was some sort of puzzle box that you had to have a secret code to get into. Most of what it held was old hair ribbons from the first time that I had long hair (up until I was in the fifth grade.) Later I think it held my vain attempts at song lyrics, letters from my pen pal in Canada, and my stupid unsent love letters to the unrequited love of my high school years. Nothing nearly as cool as what was in Breteaudeau's box.
If I could go back in time, I would probably put my very first copy of The Little House of the Prairie that I got in the second grade - the one that I read so often that within six months it no longer had a cover. I'd probably put my first copy of Little Women in there too. I would also have some scraps from the fabric store where my mom would take me in the afternoons after we got off from school. Fabric stores are extremely boring for kids, so I would go to the remnant box and wrap myself in assorted scraps and make up plays in my head and pretend. I would also have a picture of me and my first dog Jessica, a very beautiful and very proper Doberman pincher, who in the shot was wearing an old cheerleader's skirt. She was one of my two only playmates until I went to Kindergarten. And in honor of the other, I would have to have a picture of my cousin Shelia, and an old 45 of "Love Will Keep Us Together", because I loved that song and she used to goad me into calling the local radio DJ to request it over and over. And finally, I would have to have some of the pictures that I used to draw of my future wedding dress during class. They all had hoop skirts that would put Scarlett O'Hara to shame.
But that's the funny thing about boxes of memories, at least in the movies. When Breteaudeau opened his up, he was reminded of his childhood, and it inspired him to make things right in his own life. What if there is no box to be opened, and nothing that can ever be made right again? Even if you could get your heart's desire, or if anyone even knew what that was, there's no such thing as an Amelie to grant it.
In any case, feel free to tell me what would be in your childhood box.
2.13.2005
Grammy Thoughts
I agree with Bono that tonight's Grammys were possibly the best ever. Great performances, pretty decent distribution of awards, and lots and lots of U2 (see a trend here?)
The Best:
- Very glad that Loretta Lynn won, and what Jack White had to say about her lack of country airplay was pretty funny (and dead-on.) If Tim McGraw had won, I would've puked. And Loretta was wearing the best dress of the night, period. And I'm not just saying that because I'm country and I love purple.
- Melissa Etheridge now beats Sinead O'Connor for best bald head ever. She also had one of the best performances of the night, competing with...
- U2, who played what's become one of my all-time favs of theirs. Maybe it's not as memorable as "Vertigo" or the stadium-killer of "City of Blinding Lights", but "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" just has unbelievable emotional resonance. Just in case I haven't said it in the last few days, I have to see this tour. I'm just reminding myself of this so the ticket price will go down easier when the time comes.
- Very nice Ray Charles tributes. And the tsunami relief ensemble was just cool enough to justify an iTunes buy at some point.
- Kanye West showed a ton of class in his acceptance and in how gracefully he lost to Maroon 5. And somewhere a PR flack got her wings.
The Worst:
- Okay, a disclaimer here - I'm not a big fan of Lynard Skynard. Sue me. I come from a part of Tennessee where you don't play "Sweet Home Alabama" unless you're wearing a Roll Tide shirt and/or you don't value your life much. And I'm sick to death of "Freebird". I think if they were going to do a "tribute to Southern Rock", they needed to include more legends. And with the exception of Gretchen Wilson (who had a cool tribute T for Merle Kilgore, by the way) the selection of "new artists" to sing with them sucked. Tim McGraw does not rock. And not only does Keith Urban not rock, but he's not even Southern (okay, you can now label me jingoistic, but it makes a difference.) And where the hell was the live performance by Big & Rich that CBS promoed? I understand that they were showcasing the nominees, but this wasn't a great way, IMHO.
- Something's weird in the universe when the lead singer for Green Day is wearing more eye makeup than Britney Spears did in her latest video. But I've always kinda thought that the only men who could really pull that look off are David Bowie and the Cure.
- Is it just me, or aren't Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony starting to look more and more like the modern version of Taylor and Burton?
- Did the makers of "Sahara" buy slots for their cast to present awards? That just seemed strange.
- And what was that crap at the beginning with all of the "Record of the Year" nominees singing their songs all at once? I thought that the point of good radio was to try to prevent trainwrecks.
The Best:
- Very glad that Loretta Lynn won, and what Jack White had to say about her lack of country airplay was pretty funny (and dead-on.) If Tim McGraw had won, I would've puked. And Loretta was wearing the best dress of the night, period. And I'm not just saying that because I'm country and I love purple.
- Melissa Etheridge now beats Sinead O'Connor for best bald head ever. She also had one of the best performances of the night, competing with...
- U2, who played what's become one of my all-time favs of theirs. Maybe it's not as memorable as "Vertigo" or the stadium-killer of "City of Blinding Lights", but "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" just has unbelievable emotional resonance. Just in case I haven't said it in the last few days, I have to see this tour. I'm just reminding myself of this so the ticket price will go down easier when the time comes.
- Very nice Ray Charles tributes. And the tsunami relief ensemble was just cool enough to justify an iTunes buy at some point.
- Kanye West showed a ton of class in his acceptance and in how gracefully he lost to Maroon 5. And somewhere a PR flack got her wings.
The Worst:
- Okay, a disclaimer here - I'm not a big fan of Lynard Skynard. Sue me. I come from a part of Tennessee where you don't play "Sweet Home Alabama" unless you're wearing a Roll Tide shirt and/or you don't value your life much. And I'm sick to death of "Freebird". I think if they were going to do a "tribute to Southern Rock", they needed to include more legends. And with the exception of Gretchen Wilson (who had a cool tribute T for Merle Kilgore, by the way) the selection of "new artists" to sing with them sucked. Tim McGraw does not rock. And not only does Keith Urban not rock, but he's not even Southern (okay, you can now label me jingoistic, but it makes a difference.) And where the hell was the live performance by Big & Rich that CBS promoed? I understand that they were showcasing the nominees, but this wasn't a great way, IMHO.
- Something's weird in the universe when the lead singer for Green Day is wearing more eye makeup than Britney Spears did in her latest video. But I've always kinda thought that the only men who could really pull that look off are David Bowie and the Cure.
- Is it just me, or aren't Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony starting to look more and more like the modern version of Taylor and Burton?
- Did the makers of "Sahara" buy slots for their cast to present awards? That just seemed strange.
- And what was that crap at the beginning with all of the "Record of the Year" nominees singing their songs all at once? I thought that the point of good radio was to try to prevent trainwrecks.
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