"D'ya fancy Billie Piper, sir?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxB1gB6K-2A&feature=related

Catherine Tate and David Tennant (who, until this past May and a three-pack of Left Turn, The Stolen Earth and Journey's End, I only knew as barty Crouch, Jr.). Funny as hell.

I laughed so hard... yes, I'm finally becoming a fan of Doctor Who.

Back in 1995, I remember reading the 'Mondo Hollywood' issue of Details magazine, and there was agreat article about a filmmaker's first eyebrow-scorching experience of making a film - Lazarus, the story of a headless chicken who refuse to die. The line I remember from the article was when the guy said that if he could do something like that on a showstring budget, it could on;ly get easier with money. Doctor Who reverses that principle, because it's obvious that they don't have much money to spend.

Guess what? Hollywood should take a lesson from the BBC - because when you don't have money to waste on eye-candy special effects, you have to make up for it with actual acting skill and excellent writing.

In other words, the BBC has to be good at what they do... and they are.

A couple of months ago, I was awake at 3:50 in the morning - and where I live, the Sci-Fi Channel runs Doctor Who eps at 4 a.m. I learned a very important lesson that morning:


Don't watch the Doctor Who episode 'Blink' at four in the morning.


When you know what you're doing, you can scare the cowboy frak out of something with a few lights blinking, a few statues, and a hell of a script.

Here's a screenshot of the scariest moment (for me) in the episode:


See? THIS is what happens when you don't listen to the uber-cute little blonde who tells you NOT to take your eyes off the hyper-fast aliens who can only move when you aren't looking directly at them! I swear, I almost soiled every single item of clothing I had on when this happened...

It's a good show. I'll keep watching.

007 to stimulate the economy - among other things...

I admit it. I'm a big 007 fan - so you know that today is a fun day for me. Quantum of Solace comes out today in the U.S. - and yes, I will be in the first audience. Daniel Craig kicks mondo ass as the new Bond - I'd go so far to say that not only is he the best Bond since Sean Connery himself, but that if he and Connery were the same age and competing for the role... I'm not sure who would be the winner.

Yes, I do. The fans.

You should hear the media talking about the film -I mean, they're expecting this film to not only make money, but to stimulate the economy because of the various products that are connected to the film's release. The video game, various products featured in the film... it's my understanding that the film has made over 200 million in the overseas markets where it's already been released, and they're predicting a 45-65 million dollar opening weekend.

They forget that this is James Bond. He'll probably blow up the box-office with a 85-90 million dollar open weekend.


Now, lest you few people who read this think that I'm more emotionally damaged and mentally challenged than I actually am (and let's just say that the bar is not too far off between the two) - yes, I know that it's just escapist entertainment. Jeez. Let me have an hour or two of 'DAAAAAAAAAAM! Did you just see that?'

Okay. I don't act or talk like that - but you get the idea.


On another subject - what's with the rail-thin girls infesting the soaps? Damn, you get the idea that a man would bed one of these women and snap the poor thing in half! Mental note, ladies - 'cocaine chic' really isn't, and most men like having a little something more than bones to hold onto.



Android kitten nipples. Why? Because someone had to think of it.

Green tea, Sean Hannity, and Palinanity...

I've recently discovered Green Tea. Lipton Green Tea with citrus, in the 1.5 liter bottle. It soothes and fills Ye Olde Stomach. Good stuff.






Okay - now that the election is over, I can ask some questions, such as - what the hell did Barack Obama do to piss Sean Hannity of Faux News off so badly? I mean, this man all but HATES Obama - and if he doesn't, you seriously wonder if he and Obama had a converstion with Deep Thought about how Obama would get eternal historical acclaim and Hannity would get money and babes... I mean, come on. Look at what Faux News stocks their newsrooms with these days. Hell, I'd go G.O.P. if I thought it would get me a shot at a three-way with Jaime Colby and Ainsley Earnhardt!) You really wonder if Hannity is pissed because Obama (or a brotha just like him) took the girl that he always wanted out from under his nose, and he's never let it go.



(A sidebar on this. I watch both Countdown and The O'Reilly Factor - it's better than Comedy Central for laughs, more often than not. Granted, I don't agree with either all of the time - guess I just don't like the taste of either red or blue Kool-Aid - but I have to say this: When O'Reilly was on The View, Joy Behar was a total bitch towards the man while he went out of his way to be charming and cordial. Elizabeth Hasselbeck, on the other hand... is 'fawning over him' the right phrase to describe the was she acted in his presence? Memo to everybody on TV shows like these - the average person watches you for entertainment and the occasional differing perspective from their own. Bring it back a notch.









Almost forgot. Keith. Bill. Verbal Thunderdome. I'd fork out the pay-per-view bucks for that one without hesitation.)






Oh, and let's not forget the 'folksy charm' of pseudo-hockey mom Sarah Palin. Message to Govenor Palin: Please. Stop it. Just... stop it.







(sigh)










Okay.






First - you are not an average person. George Bush got away with that crapoganza twice; thank God that you didn't manage it this year. Here's the thing; despite everything else in your background, you are the Governor of Alaska. This means that you are in a very select group; U.S. Governors and U. S. Senators - one of a hundred and fifty individuals with a direct and clear path to the Presidency of the Unites States of America. The means of how you got there is irrlevent; the fact is that you ARE in that position, and no average person could attain that position. Stop pandering to the masses by maintaining that 'I'm one of you' act - especially when you're a Republican, a party that has built a reputation for, shall we say, lack of inclusion of the masses if they don't fit specific criteria in skin tone, religious preference and financial status.



Also, please stop it with the 'Real American' stuff. As a former comics buff, this is what comes to mind:








Just stop it, already. Stop acting as if intelligence and a drive to better oneself through education was a crime against the People of the United States of America...


Here's my big problem with people who, like McCain and Palin, make persons of higher education seem as they're a different species than 'decent, honest, hard-working, God-fearing, red-blooded patriotic Americans':


It's a slap in the face and the disavoval of what is supposed to be one of the oldest and the greatest of our communal beliefs as Americans - that we're supposed to work hard to better ourselves, and make it possible for our children to better themselves so that they will have better lives than we did. My father did twenty-six years in the U.S. Army and another fifteen for the Illinois Department of Labor, and my mother was a seamstress for the majority of my life so that some of my brothers and I could better ourselves in college. I was doing okay at that - I was producing TV shows for a local non-profit until a spider put me on the sidelines.


The point is - what kind of parent wishes less upon their child - acts to keep him or her from reaching their potential, intellectually or otherwise - and what parent then rejects their child for becoming exactly our society has told us to make our children into... more intelligent people than we are, with the same basic values, but with the God-given and school-infused abilities to consider other opportunities and points of view in order to make up their own minds and make their own decisions? What does that say about us if we say that our brothers, sisters and children are no longer part of us because they have learned and grown, and possibly do not share our complete values system or our beliefs? Does that mean that they are no longer our family?

Is that what you're saying, Governor?



End of rant



(By the way, if anyone knows of a good Legal Malpractice attorney that can operate in the State of Illinois and doesn't mind a fight or slapping attorneys who dearly deserve it around a bit - send me their contact info. I could use that.)

"What day is it? What YEAR!"

Just getting the gratuious babeage out there right away, folks. No need to thank me.

Yep - it's been a while since I've posted. Laziness, I'd like to say, and for the most part - that would be correct. Lots of things - good, annoying, bad, sucky - most of them sterling examples of why most members of humanity could do with the occasional bracing slap in the mouth. If I ever find a person who's remotely responsible for some of teh crap that infects computers... oh, and by the way, I used to have respect for CounterSpy. HA! if anyone knows a good antivirus/antimalware/antispyware package, let me know.

Obama won. Well. Color me surprised. With Caribou Barbie and Darth McCain on the prowl, I really thought the public would swallow a lot more of their lies. Guess people really DO vote their wallets. Onething, people - DO NOT think that racism, sexism, ageism, discrimination, bigotry, homophobia, prejudice or any of a thousand other ills of our time and of all time will go away or are rendered null and void because 'President Obama' will be a reality. If you doubt me, look at this:

Hey, everybody - it's Mensa, and they're styling the big bikes!

Weed laws passed. Give me half an ounce, a couple of beers (anybody got the name of a good beer?) and let's party - besides, with the way my legs hurt sometimes, I could possibly argue 'medicinal use', anyway.

A shout-out to all of the Daria fans out there who are keeping a great animated series alive, and a special shout-out to Glenn Eichler, the co-creator of Daria, who just won an Emmy as part of the writing team of The Colbert Report!

Here's the image created by uber-talented grahic artist S.C. for a congratulatory message sent by Daria fans across the world to The Glenn (that work spearheaded by Australian fan Deref (yes, Handsome Doctor Deref, for you that remember the series) and PPMB Supreme System Lord Kara Wild. (Apparently, she hasn't reached the point in law school where they remove your soul and stick a demon inside. I wonder if that's what happens during your bar examination? Okay, I kid a touch too much.)

Congrats from the Cathedral to The Glenn!

Along those lines - PPMB denizen TAG has come up with an interesting shared-worlds setting for Daria fics called 'Daylight', dealing with ( it's TAG, what else?) some serious end-of-the-worldage as the Sun decides to bring the pain, and in the process wipes out nearly all life on Earth. Nasty stuff - complete with the knowledge that it could actually happen.

If you dare... the starting point is here:

http://dariaverse.com/daylight.html

Also, there have been some interesting Daria fics based in this setting. Your go-point to read on is at:

http://www.dariawiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Daylight

Enjoy!

And now - it's time for some gratituous cuteness!

Well, I'll try to keep this more up-to-date. I'll also try not to fall off the stool I sit off when I'm writing when I fall asleep when typing. 'Sick and sad' doesn't even begin to cover it - but then again, neither does getting socked in the flesh silo by your four-and five-year-old nephews when you're not paying attention. OW. Going to have to sign those two up for some good old-fashioned child abuse...

By the way - semi-automatics or revolvers, and in which caliber? The debate goes on.

Off we go, then.