wisteria

Only one more episode of Friday Night Lights. Damn. I remember downloading the pilot a couple of months before the premiere, and I fell in love right then. How could you not love those characters and that town, especially with the Jason Street heartbreak in that pilot? Plus, it really resonated with me because I was born and raised in Texas and still have strong ties to the state (though I grew up in the big city instead of a small town). I liked to shake my head and laugh and say, "These are my people." I've never felt a need to read/write fic or pour through meta for this show, but I just love it from somewhere deep inside my heart. :)

It's common to bash the networks for not treating cancelled shows "the right way". Honestly, though, I think NBC deserves a great deal of praise where FNL is concerned. They hung on through two seasons with ratings in the cellar; as frustrating as it can be, broadcast television is a money-making business, and ratings do matter. They found a way to keep it around for three more seasons through that groundbreaking deal with DirecTV. People often complain that "the network should've marketed my beloved show!" But FNL was always going to have a very limited audience. A drama about small-town football isn't going to appeal to many people -- though it's funny how most of my friends who initially resisted because "it's not for me" immediately fell in love once they gave it a chance. :) I'm just so grateful for the five seasons we've had!

And here are a few random thoughts on this week's episode. ( Collapse )

1. Lovely day! A friend invited me to see Red Riding: 1974, the first of the trilogy that was on Channel 4 in the U.K. and in theaters here. ( Collapse )

2. If you've never seen Doctor Who, then tonight's "The Vampires of Venice" would be a great entry point. ( Collapse )

3. While at Trader Joe's this afternoon, I bought a three-pack of their fabulous milk chocolate bars. The only problem is that I have nowhere to stash them to avoid the temptation of eating all three at once. My car would be ideal if not for how they'd melt in ten minutes. Could I stick them in the freezer without damaging the chocolate?

4. Making the rounds: Kristin Chenoweth's marvelous takedown of the recent Newsweek essay about how gay actor supposedly cannot play straight characters.

5. Another thing I forgot to put in the latest linkspam: daybreak777 linked to this fun article on how to give yourself a "mini spa moment" while watching an hourlong TV show.

6. Even though I watched the season via downloads, I still eagerly tuned into last night's season premiere of Friday Night Lights on NBC. And I love Vulture's guide to how each episode will make you feel.

7. And to round out the list of funny links, check out Paul Rudd's obsession with watching himself dance. Sometimes naked.

Crazy day. The local news has been predicting snow, but I assumed it was just the usual hyperbole. Well, it did start snowing a couple of hours ago, and I already have over an inch outside my front door. Cool! We hardly ever get any here, so it's always fun to see. Right now I'm watching CNN, which is freaking out over Atlanta weather as if the rest of the world gives a damn. ;) My school district dismissed an hour early, not that it made much difference to me as I took a sick day. Yup, I am definitely SICK, though I'm feeling a bit better now. This morning was awful, though. I slept for ten hours, and when I woke up I could barely move, thanks to the full-body aches and really bad congestion. I'll be over it soon, but right now I'm not having much fun.

The meteorologist on the local news said that right now all fifty states -- including Hawaii -- have snow on the ground, and that this is the first time that has ever happened, to their knowledge. Huh!

Thursday night TV was fun, if a bit dimmed from the glories of seasons past. Parks and Recreation keeps getting better and better, and I got a kick out of this interview with Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman, if only for the nude photo. I was also cheered up by last night's 30 Rock, just because of the gratuitous Dean Winters appearance. I'm annoyed by NBC screwing with the scheduling so that my TiVo cut off the hysterical tag with Jon Hamm in a Jamaican accent. ( Collapse )

Though I don't have much to say about it, I also really enjoyed ( Collapse )

So I'll spend the evening recuperating while watching the Opening Ceremonies. Quite nice and understated thus far. And I'm probably the only American who doesn't mind the NBC crew talking over the Parade of Nations. Silly and obnoxious? Sure. But I often learn something from their patter. :)

Whew, it's official! Two more seasons of Friday Night Lights. (ETA: Uh, almost official.)

Isn't it nice to see GOOD news about a show you love? While I'm iffy about whether the show can sustain two more years, I'm quite happy overall. This season's finale set up some very interesting things for the show's premise. I'll be curious to see which new characters are introduced, and if they can continue the excellence. Mostly, I'm just glad to have more of Coach and Mrs. Coach. And I'm glad for this new DirecTV partnership model of production, even if it means another two years of non-subscribers bitching on blogs that "those jackasses at NBC are denying me the chance to watch the show!" Some idiots can't do the math, huh? ;)

Just started watching the last two (ever?) episodes of Friday Night Lights. I've been with this show since the Pilot, and I guess I was waiting because I'm not quite ready to let go. Without giving anything away, the ending of episode 12 is exactly what I wanted.

And since I've had BSG on the brain, I started thinking of a weird crossover/AU in which Admiral Coach Taylor (because "Eric" sounds weird) is in charge of the Fleet, with Tami Taylor as President of the Colonies. Riggins, Smash, and Saracen are the kickass fighter pilots, and Street would rule the CIC. On the flipside, Coach Bill Adama tries to inspire the Dillon Panthers both on and off the field, while his wife Laura serves as HS principal and raises their headstrong son Lee, who is carrying on an affair with the Panthers' running back, the recalcitrant-but-awesome Kara Thrace (in this AU, girls can totally play varsity football.)

C'mon, it could work! Who wants to write it? (Because I'm busy trying like hell to figure out what to do with a post-"Notion" plot bunny.)

I'm watching Friday Night Lights. Street and Riggins kill me. ( Collapse )

And here are some links that have been piling up....

-- Unfortunately, Pushing Daisies has been cancelled. I've always thought it was a bit too self-consciously cute, but I did like it and will miss having a show like that around.
-- Tim Kring of Heroes thinks non-DVR-owning fans are "dipshits". Way to go, idiot. He might have a vague point about ratings, but that's NOT the real issue here.
-- I am very ambivalent about Twilight, but I laughed aloud at a slideshow about why the movie is better than the book.
-- Salon lists all of their sexiest men living. I'm also ambivalent about them, but I must check out the guy who writes songs about the serial comma.
-- Slate wants to know why are there so many powerful Michelles in Washington? They also ask a question dear to my heart: Is getting takeout that much worse for the planet than cooking at home? (I'm not a very good environmentalist on that front.)
-- Another subject dear to me: the NYC battle over plastic bags.
-- Broadsheet interviews a game designer about feminist video games.
-- Fresh Loaf celebrates the wonderful Southern author, Bailey White. And I got a kick out of every Tyler Perry movie summed up in four panels.
-- Mo Ryan reveals the current status of The Middleman. Even better, she has a marvelous second look at the BSG miniseries. Well worth a read.
-- Here's a fascinating picspam of HDR imaging. MF also lists 10 Thanksgiving traditions.

ETA: callmeonetrack has found a new BSG preview that is making me quite happy!

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This afternoon, I met a friend for lunch, and then we went to Trader Joe's. I was quite cash-poor last month, so Monday's paycheck was a huge relief. It feels SO good to be able to walk around TJ's and get whatever I want without having to do mental math and put stuff back on the shelf. Yeah, I'll be back on my budget soon, but a splurge does wonders for my mood! Tonight's dinner was one of their prepared meals: Moroccan chicken with spiced carrots and tabbouleh. Ah, I remember grad school, when I thought that tabbouleh with tofu made me so hip. (It's still delicious, just not quite as exotic!)

Luxury grocery shopping aside, I'm really starting to see the impact of inflation. My income and bills have only gone up a small amount, but lately I've noticed that I have far less once they're paid. Plus, my daily commute has tripled, which means paying more for gas. I didn't think groceries and such were more expensive now, but apparently so. While I know I'm quite fortunate compared to so many other people, it's still frustrating.

So now I'm watching the season premiere of Friday Night Lights. Yay! ( Collapse )

P.S. Don't forget that Tina Fey will again be playing Sarah Palin tonight on SNL, and apparently Queen Latifah will play Gwen Ifill. Ooooh. That's just about the only thing that could make me tivo SNL anymore. ;)

Last night my tivo picked up the pilot of Friday Night Lights, which UHD is rerunning again. I just started rewatching it for the Nth time, and oh my god I forgot how much I fucking LOVE the first season, especially the Pilot and finale. Gorgeous bookends. Back when Matt Saracen was just a second-string dork and Smash was a jackass (who became one of my favorites by the end of S2) and poor Golden Boy Jason walking strong and that sad-but-lovely small town and eek! Buddy Garrity! And how utterly fabulous Coach and Mrs. Coach are. And how they play "Remember Me As a Time of Day" five times during the episode, which always makes me giggle even though it really is so utterly perfect for the episode. I adore how exquisitely real every single moment of this series feels, and it brings back so many strange memories of growing up in suburban TX.

Also, UHD has been running some fun promos for their BSG season four reruns. I'll try to pull one off the tivo and post it.

Though I've had it on my bookshelf for a couple of years, I've finally started reading The Time Traveler's Wife, which is apparently beloved by half the people I know. No real spoilers here, but I'll cut-tag anyway. ( Collapse )

The other day, indigo419 came up with a fabulous idea to write ficlets in exchange for donations to Obama's campaign, and queenofthorns followed her lead. Excellent! The midnight deadline for matching funds has passed, but perhaps you can still go participate. And then Indi wrote a gorgeous Kara/Lee ficlet set during "Revelations". Go read and tell her how lovely it is!

Two links for now: The Times has a great write-up about The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and in response to Esquire's list, Jezebel is compiling 75 books every woman should read.

Hmm... what else is going on? Not much, really. Various real life issues have left me feeling pretty depressed all week, but I'm sure I'll get over it soon like I always do! I'm close to finishing the Maelstrom socks, and I hope to post photos tomorrow. I really, really want to buy some gorgeous sock yarn in autumnal shades right now, but I'm in a bad money crunch right now. Heck, that's why I'm spending most of the weekend stuck at home, lest I go out and spend more cash that I don't have. ;) Quite boring, but such is life!

Had my annual ophthalmology checkup, and my eyes are still sore and dilated. ( Collapse )

So now I'm rewatching Friday Night Lights S1 reruns on UHD. Matt's a woobie, but I adore Jason. And I love all the off-kilter touches in this show, like the closeup of Lyla's shaking hands as she discusses college prospects with Tami (who is the coolest woman on television.) I had no interest in Early Edition when it was on, but I might check out the new DVDs because Kyle Chandler is just darling.

And another TV thing bringing me delight last night: Jessica Walter guest-starred on L&O:CI. Lucille Bluth makes everything better. I seldom rewatch old fandoms, but I could quite happily watch a cable channel of Arrested Development reruns 24/7.

A few links:
-- In honor of The Weather Channel's buyout, check out this shocking expose! by Colbert on TDS.
-- Via Creative Loafing: A GATech student asks Craigslist for a girl to teach him how to kiss.
-- Valley24 discovers that Applebee's is hell on Earth. Aw, it's not that bad. (Not that great either.)
-- rose_griffes brings us the Cylon version of What Not to Wear. ;)
-- In honor of Liz Lemon: Is Activia yogurt really that good for you?
-- Time has an essay on the meaning of summer camp.
-- TV Week has released the Summer 2008 critics' poll.
-- Nicole Kidman has named her new daughter Sunday Rose. I don't want to like it... but I kinda do.

And two reminders:
-- Please check out The Middleman on ABC Family tonight at 10pm! As I said last week, it's like X-Files and Pushing Daisies got together and wrote a comic book. SO darling.
-- Please submit more porn battle prompts! These things work better with huge lists of fandoms and pairings. :)