12.01.2005

TV Moves

Great Idea: Finally release the new Doctor Who on DVD on Valentine's Day, only shortly after its UK release. It's about time, and it's nice to see the BBC acknowledge that they're losing potential ratings and sales across the pond to file downloads. Duh.

Greater Idea: NBC moving "My Name Is Earl" to Thursdays (along with "The Office", but I refuse to watch that.) I'll now get to actually see my current second-favorite show on the night it airs instead of waiting for a Saturday marathon, thanks to the previously-bitched-about conflict with "House".

Very Bad Idea: NBC not moving "Scrubs" to Thursdays at the same time. NBC-Universal produces "House", dammit. Shouldn't they not try to leech viewers from one of its highest-rated properties by putting another snarky show that's had trouble keeping an audience up against it? Not to mention that it's going to be hard to pull a lot of us "House"-addicts out of our obsessions mid-season to watch a show that hasn't been on in forever. Luckily for us, that's why the DVD was invented.

11.28.2005

The Blogger's Christmas List

Since it's Cyber Monday and everyone's supposed to be shopping online anyway, it's only fair to support bloggers in the process. I know there's a lot of them out there who are trying to make some extra money while sharing the craft that they love. But as all things are in the blogosphere, they're kinda scattered out. So here's my effort to get a bunch of stuff that people might like to purchase for Christmas in one place.

Starting with the ones I know personally:
Althaea Soaps and Herbals: This is a woman from Johnson City who just went into making her homemade herbal soaps full-time, and does a damn good job doing it. Her soaps are wonderful- the scents actually smell like the real thing instead of chemicals, and she has the best vanilla bean soap that I've ever used, bar none (pun not intended.) She also makes a sugar scrub that really does make your skin amazingly soft, and she offers that (along with oils) in all the scents that her soaps come in, so you can avoid smelling like five different scents at once. And her prices generally blow the retail stores out of the water. If you're a hubby who's looking for the gift that keeps on giving, check out her Soap of the Month Club - I know I personally would love that. I can't recommend her stuff highly enough.

The Dreaming Place: Jeanette makes the most gorgeous filigree jewelry. It actually looks like real antique stuff, but without the overinflated prices. She's also made those bangle bracelets that are so stylish right now, but appears to be out of stock. Plus she's giving out a free gift with purchase for every Christmas order.

Dreaming Crow Studios: Liss lives in the Pacific Northwest, and specializes in nature photography. Check out some of her gorgeous looks at plant and animal life.

Vivid Perspectives: Rayna lives in Montreal, but she travels extensively and has a wide swath of available photos. Her site is brand-new and the store just opened, so contact her if you're interested in purchasing prints of her work.

That's it for a moment. Frankly, I'm leaving out all the authors I know who blog because I could never remember exactly who is published and who isn't, and books usually get lots of pub on their own (although I will give a blatent shout-out to my friend Elizabeth's vampire novels.) But really, anything's game. So comment and leave a link to your stuff or your friend's stuff, and I'll keep this post updated as a blogger's Christmas list.