Firefly

My wife and I just finished watching the 14 episode DVD set for Firefly. I know I am a little behind, but why was this show taken off TV?

Joss Whedon is a genius, and probably the public at large wasn't ready for a show this innovative that blended seamlessly the Old West and sci-fi.

Of course, due to the fans outrage at their new favorite show being canceled, Firefly has become huge, and that leads us to the big screen debut of "Serenity". My wife and I are very excited for September 30th to roll around.

We were kinda bummed that it was over when we got to the last episode. It just leaves you wanting more. We had a vested interest in the characters, and River's story was just getting good. Great writing by all involved.

Words, words, words...

Double dip for your vocabulary today. First from Dictionary.com:

bagatelle \bag-uh-TEL\, noun:

1. A trifle; a thing of little or no importance.
2. A short, light musical or literary piece.
3. A game played with a cue and balls on an oblong table having cups or arches at one end.

Don't worry about that, a mere bagatelle, old boy!
--Eric Ellis, "Error Message," Time, February 10, 2000

You know how it often happens; these strifes and disputes frequently originate from a mere bagatelle.
--Alessandro Manzoni, I Promessi Sposi

Excepting the regulars, the troops were raw as were likewise most of their officers; and this march of twenty-seven miles, which a year later would have been considered a bagatelle, was now a mighty undertaking.
--James Ford Rhodes, History of the Civil War

So if you eat at his restaurant every day -- off the menu, of course -- and slosh the grub down with a 1966 Chateau Margaux (£800-£1,000 a bottle in a restaurant), even a Ritz bill will seem a mere bagatelle.
--"Do you take cash?" The Guardian, December 23, 1999

The second morsel to add to your vocabulary comes from The Word Spy:

ghost sign

n. The remnant of a vintage advertisement painted on the side of a building.

Example Citation:

The early billboards could be found on barns and brick walls, in popular alleyways and warehouses across the country from about the 1890s until the television age. . . . As time marched on, old buildings were torn down or the old signs were painted over. Yet a few remain, their lead lettering often serving as the sole reminder of the product or service they sold. Some are visible only after a rain, prompting the nickname "ghost signs."
—Kaitlin Gurney, "Sign, sealed, delivered," The News and Observer (Raleigh, NC), October 1, 1999

Earliest Citation:

According to the [Society for Commercial Archeology], a sign may fall into several categories. It may be a landmark (at least 20 years old and of special significance because of its design, size or configuration). Or it could be historic (theater marquees, neon letters and wood signs whose craftsmanship and construction materials speak of earlier eras). Or it may be a "ghost sign" — a faded, painted sign, at least 50 years old, on an exterior building wall heralding an obsolete product, an outdated trademark or a clue to the history of the building's occupancy. These signs often reappear after a rainstorm or following the demolition of a neighboring building.
—Beth Sherman, "Design Notes," Newsday, June 1, 1989

Now you are equiped. Go. Turn loose your new words on the world!

Fall TV Preview Schedules

I'm almost quivering with excitement at the prospect of another new season of TV, some new, some old, that is going to keep my butt glued to the couch and all calorie burning at bay.

Now, I'll only be covering ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and WB because those are the channels I get.

First off will be the alphabet network. Here is a link to their fall lineup.

Shows here that I am excited about are old favorites from last season. Lost, Alias, Exteme Makeover: Home Edition and Desperate Housewives are on definitely on the VCR recording list. Lost is going to be phenomenal and a must see, while it will be interesting to see how Alias deals with Baby Affleck. I'll check out Invasion, but that might have to wait until next summer and reruns.

CBS is going to be a hot commodity once again this season. The three CSI mega-hits return, along with Numb3rs, Survivor and Two and a Half Men. New shows that I'll watch are Close to Home, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and How I Met Your Mother with Neil Patrick Harris (our beloved "Doogie" Howser).

Fox doesn't hold much allure, but my buddy Peter has turned me on to House and Bones looks promising.

NBC was a no-show for me last season, but they have a couple of shows worth checking out. My Name is Earl could be really funny, and Surface looks like good creepy fun.

I know I'll take some crap because I just can't get into Law and Order, but I've tried, and I just can't watch them. I'm not saying they are not good, but just not my thing. CSI will remain my procedural drama of choice.

Finally we hit the WB. Returning fave Smallville will be a staple, especially with James Marsters ("Spike") of Buffy fame making a run on the show as "Braniac". The only new show that I am really excited about watching is Supernatural. Of all the new spooky shows that are cropping up this year, Supernatural is going to be the clear winner for me. The show evokes memories of the old Phantasm II movie.

There you have it. The Fall preview. There is so much TV here that I might not see the light of day this fall.

Work, TV. Work, TV. Work, TV.

I see an unfortunate pattern developing here.

Yet another cat picture

Leo, our 15 year old cat, has at least found one useful thing about having a vivacious kitten around.

When Tut stops moving he can use him as a pillow.

Oral Hygiene

Tut, even at his young age, realizes the importance of keeping his teeth clean.

And no, I'm not using the toothbrush anymore.

The Word of the Day for August 25

peccadillo \peck-uh-DIL-oh\, noun:
A slight offense; a petty fault.

No peccadillo is too trivial: we learn that the mogul once blew his top because his laundry came back starched ("'Fluff and fold!' he screamed").
--Eric P. Nash, "High Concept," New York Times, May 10, 1998

And besides, "what do they say? 'Don't judge lest you be judged.' Everybody has their peccadilloes."
-- "Tyson has a friend in his corner," Irish Times, October 21,1999

Child of a dominant mother, victim of a guilt-ridden conscience, [St. Augustine] wrote bewilderingly haunted 'Confessions,' in which infantile peccadilloes like stealing apples and adolescent fumblings with instinctive sexuality are bewailed with all the anguish of a frustrated perfectionist.
--Geoffrey Parker, "True Believers," New York Times, June 29, 1997

Word of the Day for Friday, August 19

Today's Word of the Day from dictionary.com:

ephemeral \ih-FEM-er-ul\, adjective:
1. Beginning and ending in a day; existing only, or no longer than, a day; as, an ephemeral flower.
2. Short-lived; existing or continuing for a short time only.

In the 1980s, Lt. Col. Oliver North unwittingly proved that e-mail, so apparently ephemeral, is harder to expunge than paper documents comfortingly run through a shredder.
--Amy Harmon, "E-Mail Is Treacherous. So Why Do We Keep Trusting It?" New York Times, March 26, 2000

In "Mississippi Mermaid," the planter character played by Belmondo, a fellow who has sought a safe, permanent love, is liberated when he chooses to follow the ephemeral.
--Vincent Canby, "Truffaut's Clear-Eyed Quest." New York Times, September 14, 1975

Rather, we must separate what is ephemeral... from the things that are of lasting importance.
--Patrick Smith, Japan: A Reinterpretation

Top 10 Fall Movies

Seeing that there weren't many Summer movies that I was excited about, Entertainment Weekly has listed the top 10 for Fall they're excited about.

Not neccesarily my list, but there are a few highlights. Here is the list:

10. Flightplan
9. Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit
8. Walk the Line
7. Jarhead
6. Tim Burton's Corpse Bride
5. Elizabethtown
4. Get Rich or Die Tryin'
3. Rent
2. V for Vendetta
1. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Only three from the list are going to be opening nighters for me. The rest are rentals if that.

Walk the Line is going to be awesome. I was dumbstruck to see Joaquin Phoenix playing a very believable Johnny Cash in the trailer. Did I mention I love Johnny Cash? Can't wait for this one.

V for Vendetta should be a hit. Come on! It's based on a graphic novel by Alan Moore (Watchmen, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen), plus its got Hugo Weaving (Agent Smith of Matrix fame). It has to be better than Sin City...

Of course, Harry Potter is going to be the biggest movie of the Fall. Purist might not like this one because they are cutting out some of the side stories, such as Hermione and house elves' rights. Personally I always found the whole S.P.E.W. thing a bit tedious to read anyway.

There we have it.

Now we just have to wait till Winter for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. It will be here before we know it.

iPod Kitty

I know there has been a lot of pictures of the new cat, so here is another one.




Tut chillin' with the pod. I think he's listening to Big & Rich.

I'm probably going to hate mail from P.E.T.A saying I'm abusing my cat...

Bertuzzi Reinstated

Todd Bertuzzi of the Vancouver Canucks has been reinstated and Gary Bettman once again proves how much of a bonehead he really is:

``I anticipate that there will be those who will say that Mr. Bertuzzi's 17-month suspension is inadequate,'' Bettman said in a statement. ``I disagree.''

Bertuzzi should have been banned from the NHL, if not every other hockey league in the world, and thrown in jail. If you and I had done the same heinous act as Bertuzzi we'd be getting three square meals a day and an hour of exercise out in the yard.

So why isn't he?

Terry Frei points out the real lesson here and it is hopefully one that is learned and enforced in the "new" NHL:

So the issue becomes: Will the NHL learn anything from this? The most underplayed aspect in all of this was the league fining the Canucks, serving notice that it is the organization's -- from the GM on down -- responsibility to head off this kind of stupidity. You don't encourage it with either implied support or overt directives. If you do, you'll pay.

We shall see.

The Record Companies Just Don't Get It

This article was mind-boggling to me, especially in this, the day of digital music. CD companies, such as Sony BMG, are selling CDs that don't let you import them into iTunes or your iPod.

So why buy them?

I am part of the iPod community, and honestly, I'm not going to buy a CD I can't import into my pod. I actually bought a Chris Tomlin CD while I was at a concert, but the first thing I did when I got home was to import it into iTunes, then to my iPod. I wouldn't have bought it if that wasn't an option.

Actually, I don't even really buy CDs anymore. I just get stuff from the iTunes music store. In this digital world, why do I want a bunch of discs cluttering up my house? Lyrics are available everywhere online, and when you download the album cover comes with the album. When I download from the Apple store, I'm getting what I really want, which is the music, devoid of all the extraneous packaging.

The record companies need to wake up and stop alienating its customers. Stop all these ridiculous attempts to stem "piracy". Get the deal done with Apple and just offer everything through iTunes.

From now on I won't buy another CD. If I can't get it from Apple, I guess I don't need to listen to it.