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Saturday, October 4, 2008

Beck: Phoning it in At the Aragon

So, Greg Kot describes Beck's performance as being businesslike on Thursday October 2nd. I saw him on Friday October 3rd at the Aragon and I thought he was kind of phoning it in. I enjoy his music and so I enjoyed the show. He's great. I'll see him when he comes to town. However, the theatrical Beck was missing in this show. In fact, it seemed like he wasn't getting into it at all. Maybe he gave all he could for Chicago on Thursday night.

I also think his other guitar player was annoying me a little bit. She seemed like a decent guitar player but I could tell her mic was turned down in a couple of places, because she was belting it out from where I was standing up front but the resultant sound didn't match when it came through the speakers. Then they had her shaking maracas and taking a couple of drum hits a little too seriously and it made me wonder why she was even there.

Love Beck... didn't love this show.

Greg Kot's review is here.

Review: Safety of the World on Her Shoulders-At Least the Sex is Good

I read Any Given Doomsday (The Phoenix Chronicles), by Lori Handeland on the bus on my way to and from work this week. The former cop turned bartender/P.I. is a psychic who is "called" to the crime scene where her foster mother has been murdered. Turns out the cops are looking for Elizabeth Phoenix's ex, Jimmy for the crime. Ruth has passed on her seer abilities to Elizabeth, who now needs to be trained up on leading the world of good against the world of evil that has been raging on the planet since the Nephilim (Fallen Angels not killed by the Great Flood which are all evil monsters bent on destroying humankind) fell from Heaven.

Despite that Lori Handeland clearly dislikes the Cubs... probably a Twins or Brewers fan? whatever... I give this one three of five stars, mostly because I think it is good, but not really good or great. It is a fun read. If you like those Laurell Hamilton vamp books or that genre then you'll like this. The steamy parts are good, the characters are good and interesting for the most part. I'm a sucker for the steamy parts and I think the empath and how she gets her powers is a clever way for the sexy parts to have to be included. There are just some things that don't get me from Point A to Point B and some dialogue I don't like too much. Lines like "Guess I'd just have to kill him and anyone else that gets in my way." doesn't really do it for me.

The characters do have me roped in and I'm curious what the next battle is and how this character grows. So, I'll keep reading unless I get more of the same. I'm guessing that some of the problems I have with this book are tied to the author setting up the world that Elizabeth is walking around in.

Heroes, Season 3 Villains, Episode 3

Julia started this week's discussion:

I am liking this season much better than last already…here are my quick thoughts:

Hiro/Ando/Daphne: not sure if like this one yet, although I did like how the Haitian had a run in with them and they are now on Level 5.

Mama Petrelli: she is SO evil…love it! What do you think, is she really Sylar’s mom?

Matt Parkman: yawn…wake me up when it is over.

Tracy (aka Niki/Jessica): not sure yet…although the idea of a genetically engineered group of clones may be interesting…we’ll see.

Peter: glad he’s finally out of the other villian’s body…what’s up with the future Peter? Not sure yet if I like this future storyline, since we’ve seen it twice before already

Claire: what is she going to be doing now? Chasing after the villains on her own? That’s just silly.

HRG: rocks, as usual

Sunday, September 28, 2008

TV Shows (Sept 28-Oct 4, 2008)

True Blood: So Sookie and Bill made it to Fangtasia to see if she can listen in and figure out who killed Dawn so that Jason doesn't keep the blame for it. Jason was saved by Tara both from jail since he hadn't been mirandized and from his squash-sized erection- and her obsession with him was made a little more clear since he saved her as a kid from her abusive mother. Once again, Bill declares that Sookie is his and Sookie confirms in order to preserve herself from Eric, the local ancient who is in charge of the vampires in that neck of the woods. Lastly, we keep going with the Sam as a dog story line when he breaks into Dawn's house and literally "sniffs around."

Entourage: Johnny Drama breaks down on National TV, Eric's clients want more money, that they get and Vince is relegated to 2nd post. All in all a good one, but when did Debi Mazur's character stop being so in charge... she lets Drama get arrested while she's in the car, with nothing more than mild protestations? I thought she was supposed to be a total ball-buster.

Terminator, The Sarah Connors Chronicles: Still haven't caught up.

Fringe- Okay, with respect to Fringe... I am unconvinced that Joshua Jackson's character saw anything out of the ordinary that would convince him that he needed to stay? The Observer takes one look at him and reads his mind and all of a sudden he's convinced? Doesn't make sense. The reading the pictures from dead minds or her brain connecting with her partner in a coma wasn't enough? Odd. And, who is The Observer reporting to? That also doesn't make sense.

My friend, Frank, commented "Whats the deal with the weird camera/lense flares that happen from time to time. When you guys watch the episodes and get caught up, see if you can see the weird light flash/lense flare thing. In one of the episodes I thought it was just when a certain person was on screen - now I've seen it happen in different scenes."

I'm wondering if it is related somehow to the light pin pricks surrounding the Frog (with a Greek letter Psi)/leaf/6-fingered handprint/slice of apple/butterfly with human in the middle that they show when they are going to commercial?

Project Runway, Season 5- Kenley is as annoying as ever. We'll see how one-trick pony she is when she shows them her collection. I'm sure she and Tim will have words when he comes to her place to check on her progress. Also, I didn't mind Korto's dress as much as the judges did. I thought it was pretty (with the exception of the lace, that is).

Lastly, Project Runway is not allowed to move to Lifetime? That kind of sucks. You know that they tried to lowball the PR producers or they wouldn't have jumped ship so willingly.

ANTM, Cycle 11: Clark, who I think was the weakest link on the show, was eliminated and we move one step closer to the final. Marjorie may have that self-loathing thing going on, but she's obviously competitive. She wants them to say "No, but you're so pretty!"? I lost a little respect for her this week. Paulina is great though.

90210: Hmmmm. The least believeable thing here was that the Mom's boss had SUCH a big freak-out over the fight with his biggest client, but mild-manneredly accepted that the son knocked out the guy? I would have liked to have had another scene where she tells him what happened and he comes in and demands that she be fired but he stands up for her and calls him a sleaze. The mom can't be the only one uncorrupted by the Hollywood scene? Also, I'm a little confused by the timeline... did Arriana send a text to Ty before or after she accused the Principal's daughter of being a narc?

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Go Cubs GO

I've had this GO CUBS GO song in my head... hopefully we keep playing well. So dance it up to a little Manic Sewing Circle? Come on!

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I was there on Sunday (after they clinched Saturday) when the Iowa Cubs (seriously, they were playing all our 2nd and 3rd string players with the exception of the pitcher and Fukudome) beat the Cards. Sweet victory!

HEROES, Season 3 Villains- Episodes 1 & 2

I started this week's discussion

I saw some good things and some not so good things. The future Peter storyline and THE FORMULA storyline could get disastrous as could current Peter in the new body. I just hope they don’t leave things hanging- including the undisclosed guys who want the Formula in Germany. I would have liked to have seen Micah/family in New Orleans or Molly if not just to see where they are in all this. Here’s my take on the peeps:

The Good

So Nicki/Jessica were triplets? Huh. I like that this one is good...but where Nicki manifested Jessica (or was it the other way around?) Presumably because of their close connection, it will be interesting to see if this new one will manifest both of them now that she has used her power (I get the impression that she was using "form of an icicle" for the first time last nite. Hopefully this isn’t a memory loss kind of thing. Will we get to see a showdown between her and Claire’s Mom? Micah is going to be interesting in this scenario too.

Current Claire can't feel pain anymore? She can just be discovered more easily then? I’m guessing she is “the light”?

Parkman- he has been a constant good throughout the show, always trying to do the right thing (much how Peter starts out) Butterfly Effect? Landing him in the middle of Africa should have an interesting effect. His new friend in Africa is interesting too… that he paints and sees the future the same way as our first comic book artist… maybe he doesn’t really see the future or maybe he absorbs powers too?

Current Hiro- still trying to fulfill his destiny to save the world. Where is his sister? Why isn’t she helping him run the company?

Current Ando-poor guy can't catch a break. All he wants to do is help Hiro

Maya- she laid down pretty fast for Mohinder is all I’m saying. You would think that after Sylar she’d have a little more discretion. Do she and Mohinder have a kid and that kid is “the light”?

Horn-rimmed Glasses: Hunting down the bad guys/protecting his family… good guy.

The Undecided

Future Claire/Future Ando/Future Hiro- our opinions of these guys now shape how we see them in the future, so maybe they were not as good or bad as they seemed to turn out in the future. I like that Ando has Elle's power now.

Current Peter- what is his deal? He always tries to do the right thing? A different body is going to stop him now? We don’t even know if/how his powers will work in the new body? Does he still have his old ones or his old ones plus the new guys? What is the new guys’ power?

Future Peter-we already know he shot his brother, why couldn't he have gone back a little farther and just explained to his brother what the future looks like if Nathan revealed everything? I'm not convinced that his always trying to go back and save the world based on different histories doesn't mean there are not 10 future versions of himself running around in the present.

The Speedster/Catwoman- Hiro has placed her as a catwoman/ bad guy in ouir minds but she might juist be a fast Oliver Twist with a heart of gold? But Hiro has placed her in our minds as the “sexy” nemesis he’s always attracted to already.

Mrs. Petrelli/Linderman- I’m not convinced that these two (if Linderman isn’t a figment of Nathan’s imagination) are bad. Is the company such a bad thing? Also, is Hiro’s dad really dead if Linderman isn’t dead? Maybe Linderman got that invisibility power from the former partner of horn-rimmed glasses? Certainly suspect that she hasn’t revealed who her son is (she did the same thing to Claire!)

Nathan Petrelli- I don’t trust anyone who is overly zealous. Plus he’s in politics-that automatically makes him suspect. And, we know he has a dark side already. Which way will he go?

Mohinder- dude, what’s with the being good then all of a sudden turning into Dr. Moreau/Spiderman?

Elle- She could go nuttier or she could end up being a good guy, too soon to tell.

The Villains

Sylar- Okay, how long is that table going to hold him. I think not much longer. But, I’d like the world to play out without him in it for a while. He’s Nathan and Peter’s brother? That changes things. Right? When does Peter spend enough time around him that he can see how people “work” Will his connection to the Petrellis make him a “good guy” option?

Escapees- Okay so they’ve been locked up, have been torturing people already, but we don’t know them individually, maybe their motivations are different from what we think?

Okay- Thoughts?

Monday, September 22, 2008

(Sept 21-27) TV Shows

True Blood: Sookie apparently "belongs" to Bill, or at least he told his buds that she belonged to him to keep them off of her. So, Sam Trammell isn't a shape shifter, but I still think there's a connection between that dog and him and how he watches Sookie... or he wouldn't be barking in his sleep. WHY would Sookie's best friend sleep with him. Seems kind of cold, knowing that they might end up together someday. But, having lived in a small town, it kind of changes the rules a little bit. What the hell is wrong with that Jason kid. My friend Cory likes boys that are big and dumb, Jason would be perfect for him.

Entourage: Johnny Drama puking on a cake. Seriously, that kid is ridiculous. Eric knows how to pick 'em. Will he be able to make it work? We shall see. The boys are always amusing.

Terminator, The Sarah Connors Chronicles: I still haven't seen this yet... will update when I can.

Fringe-this week some poor schmuck was left with metal in his bloodstream which turned him into a human walkie talkie a la Wolverine meeting that old Brady Bunch episode with radio reception through their braces. Two reasons that guy will be back: 1) the stuff just moved around some in his head/they didn't get rid of it and 2).the picture he drew hasn't come true yet. This is the nice religious/destiny side of the show coming into play I think- the picture has a very Jesus on the cross connotation, the "bad guys" are communicating in Latin (the language of the Catholic church for today's viewers) and 3) what is it Walter says? how the body works might make sense logically but that doesn't make it less of a miracle. Lastly, the check-in/guys following Joshua Jackson makes it a question as to who he works for? Good guys? Bad guys? Belly's company? Bringing up the company, where IS Belly? He isn't dead, right? That lady is holding him hostage somewhere or she is him w a sex change operation? THAT would be funny. TBD

Project Runway, Season 5- AND we are down to 4. Too bad about Suede. Despite his reference to himself in the third person, he does have an endearing personality. Personally I feel like that decision was a "TV" decision to keep the drama and was not a mark of who lost that challenge. It might seem like I have it in for Kenley, who I admit is more and more annoying, even mistakenly getting cheeky with Tim Gunn...breaking a cardinal rule of the show, and of good of taste, by the way. (Tim Gunn, however, remained the impeccable-mannered Gentleman, neither putting up with her crap nor seeming to be insulting to her in any way-ending the concersation as he would with anyone- "Thank You Kenley.") So, you might think I have it in for her, but just looking at her outfit on its own merits? I thought it was HIDEOUS! It was nice to see her put in her place a bit, embarrassed as Jerrell's version of "Kenley Spears"...but LL Cool J didn't seem to mind! I'm sticking with my original top three. Kenley doesn't have the chops to think outside of her little 50s box she has primped for herself.

ANTM, Cycle 11: This week, Elina who is in my top three got one of hte worst pictures. Huh. I guess it is a good one to be the worst on since Tyra just made it up and it wasn't really inspired by any real photo shoot. Apparently, Tyra decided to do it when she was half in the bag on margaritas in Mexico. It would have made much more sense if it was a summer Cover Girl make up line or something. Isis, the first transgender girl to appear on the show, was eliminated. She was okay, but compared to the other girls, she definitely wasn't bringing it. Until Tyra mentioned that tired eye thing she had going (which my roommate in college- Barb- had when she was drunk) I didn't notice it. But, when they were showing her final pictures, she had that going in every single one. Good luck to her, huh? I'm standing by the Lauren and Elina picks but Marjorie may be out if she can't get her walk going (as well as her self-confidence, if the previews for next week's show count at all). Of all the girls that are left, I would say that only McKey and Analeigh are still in it. I would have said Samantha too (my friend Karyn pointed out her very strong makeover) but that girl CANNOT walk. She's athletic enough, she should be working on that.

90210: Really, look up "after school special?" Come on. Apparently Silver's blog is big in Bolivia? Come on. Sex for the first time storyline? Come on. The only thing I'm really liking in this show right now is Dixon and Silver together- and that's all that is keeping me watching at this point too. They need to step up their game. Though I will say that Adrianna as the bad girl was a nice surprise. That kicks into gear? I'm going to be happy. I know that Ty is supposed to be the opposite of the big dumb Kansas boy, but Ty seems pretty dim to me.