Wednesday, June 30, 2004

My TiVo has something against C.J. Cregg.

Last night I was watching a West Wing episode I'd somehow missed when it first ran ("The Long Goodbye" - the sole Sorkin-less effort from his four seasons with the show and wow! is it atrocious). Somewhere around the twenty minute mark, in the middle of a scene between C.J. and her dad, the picture froze and the sound cut out. This happened to me once before, so I knew how to fix it pretty easily. After a few seconds effort, I had things back on track and pushed on.

A couple minutes later I realized that the previous time the TiVo had hung on me like that, it was also during a West Wing ep, in a scene featuring C.J. without any of the other regulars.

So now I'm trying to figure out why my TiVo hates C.J. Is the machine jealous of the fictional White House press secretary? Are the two of them former best friends who've had a falling out? Is it in cahoots with Scott McClellan? Or could it simply be that there's a minor problem with my TiVo, and the timing of these two glitches was mere coincidence?

Nah, it can't be that last one. Too logical. I'm betting on the McClellan thing.

Posted @ 1:28 PM

---

---

Tuesday, June 29, 2004

Other friends have already noted this, but it's such a welcome new online presence it bears further exposure...

Three of the creative lights behind Mystery Science Theater 3000, Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett, have rejoined forces to bring a weary world The Film Crew Online, an occasionally updated examination of movies in all their absurd glory. Give it a look, won't you?

Posted @ 1:27 PM

---

---

Wednesday, June 23, 2004

Great news for Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy fans! BBC Radio 4 is doing adaptations of the last three books in the "trilogy" of five. This brings the Hitchhiker's journey full circle, as the first two books began life as radio productions. The first installment bows in September, and we Yanks can listen to it live online via the Beeb's website.

Even better, despite the untimely death of series writer Douglas Adams three years ago, he's still a part of this production. He provided a great deal of material for this project before he left our silly little backwater world, so his intellect and wonder will be a palpable part of this new production.

Grab your towels, you hoopy froods, 'cause h2g2 is on its way back.

Posted @ 7:02 AM

---

---

Thursday, June 17, 2004

Okay folks, I've got four Gmail invitations burning a hole in my pocket. Anybody who wants one should drop me a line. First come, first served.

Posted @ 7:59 AM

---

---

Wednesday, June 16, 2004

Time for another thrilling edition of Clearing Out The Brain Buffer:

---

In an effort to turn my latte factor from a negative to a positive, I'm trying a little experiment. From now on whenever I'm struck by the desire for a venti cafe mocha, instead I'm going to go pour myself a glass of water. Then, I'm going to transfer five bucks from my savings to my checking account.

I figure I'll have at least a C note banked by the time the Democratic Convention is gavelled into session.

---

Having finally acquired a taste for cauliflower last year, I can't wait to try the orange-tinged variety that will soon hit the market.

---

Speaking of eating, I was quite pleased with the new Hot Pockets Pot Pie Express Chicken Pockets that I had for lunch today. It's not going to replace the full-sized Marie Callender variety anytime soon, but when I've only got two minutes to heat the thing up, Hot Pockets will be the way I go.

---

Long-time fans of Chicago's WGN Radio should check out WGN Gold, which is full of great memories from the station's first eighty years.

---

If you haven't already, you need to check out my blogdaddy's site revamp. I've set my preference to the "Pier" skin, by the way.

Posted @ 5:15 PM

---

---

Thursday, June 10, 2004

Does this symbol mean anything to you?


If it does, then you'll be as thrilled as I am to hear this breaking news: The Greatest American Hero, the show that made you believe a man could fly (into a wall), is finally coming to DVD!

I'm almost embarassed to say how excited I am by this news. Not embarassed enough to refrain from mentioning it publicly on a blog, but still.

Posted @ 1:18 PM

---

---

So here's a question that's been bouncing around my brain of late... do women still wear slips? I'm wondering because I can't remember the last time even heard a passing reference to the garment. Did they disappear? Has there been some advance in skirt technology that's rendered the slip obsolete?

These are the kind of things that bug me when the rest of my life is going pretty well.

---

I was going to go to sleep early tonight, I swear I was. But as I was getting ready to turn off the TV, The West Wing came on, and I saw it was one of my favorite eps, "Hartsfield's Landing." Lots of good banter between Josh and Donna, CJ and Charlie locked in a battle of wills over a piece of paper, and Bartlet simultaneously whipping both Sam and Toby at chess. Classic stuff.

I was stuck. I had to watch. I'm not made of stone, people.

Posted @ 12:05 AM

---

---

Wednesday, June 09, 2004

Okay, so where was I this time? Denver, as a matter of fact. I was out there, sans internet access, all of last week. I'm still trying to get back up to speed with my regular life in the trip's aftermath. Hence my lack of posting.

This should be the last such interruption for awhile. I've got a couple of things I want to do here with the site over the summer, so on top of more posts loyal readers can look forward to some new stuff as well. Or at the very least will be able to enjoy watching me flounder about as I attempt to innovate.

---

I got a great quote this morning in my daily e-mail from the Quotations Page that hits very close to home with me:

"America is a country that doesn't know where it is going but is determined to set a speed record getting there." - Laurence J. Peter

Posted @ 7:44 AM

---

---