Ack and brief media round-up
My resolution to hibernate through January has proven to be embarrassingly successful so far. Just wake me up when February rolls around, will ya?
However, since even I can't avoid all activity, here are a couple of highlights:
Yeah, so those were the highlights. Next weekend I've got brunch and a trip to the symphony with friends on Saturday and the Chicken Heart performance on Sunday. The unexpected exertion may kill me.
I've been making time out of my busy schedule of laziness to watch TV. Here are some brief and shallow notes for anyone who cares:
Probably the most damning thing I could say about The Christmas Invasion is that it didn't stand up well to a repeat viewing. I found myself fast-forwarding through a chunk in the middle, mostly the part the Doctor spends unconcious and Rose dithering. And the whole one-on-one duel thing seems like a shitty way to decide the fate of the planet. Also, Harriet Jones deserves better, dammit! Anyway, I like Tennant and there were some entertaining bits, but it was far from the best episode of the new series to date.
I missed the first season of Dancing with the Stars, but caught the first ep of the new run and can see that it's going to be my new guilty pleasure.
I was a little surprised that Tia Carrere and Kenny Mayne got the lowest votes. I mean, what was so wrong with Tia's dance? It wasn't the most accomplished, but I thought she acquitted herself better than P Miller, who would have been my choice to be cut. Miller gave off such clear "I don't want to be here vibes" with his speechifying about how he was doing this only to entertain the people of New Orleans and show kids an alternative to the ghetto (how appearing on the show was supposed to do this was unclear). He couldn't even bother to dress appropriately. I get that he was a last-minute stand-in with only a week of rehearsal, but you know, he could have tried. I felt so bad for his partner; she was dancing her heart out, trying to carry the team.
Kenny Mayne was, admittedly, by far the worst dancer, but he had such an air of concentration about him and he clearly tried hard. I think that should have been rewarded by the voters, at least for the first week. If there hadn't been another contestant who obviously didn't want to be there, I would have agreed with the vote, but given the circumstances, I think the wrong person was voted out.
On a minor note, I think Giselle Fernandez and Jonathan Roberts had the voidiest waltz. And Anna Trebunskaya, Jerry Rice's partner, is the funniest thing ever. I love her. Also, why do the women get the slower rhythm and the men the faster? Last week the women had the waltz and the men the cha-cha. Next week the men get the quickstep and the women the rhumba. Are these the dances that are easier for the respective partners? Or is it random draw?
I'm keeping this brief; otherwise I'd write nothing at all. The way Starbuck defused the tensions between Pegasus and Galactica didn't entirely convince me, but wasn't so horrid that I was really bothered. Funny how she later gets credit for Lee's idea to do unapproved reconnaissance. I wish the writing team hadn't made Cain such an out and out villian. It makes too easy Adama's eventual concession that she must be assassinated and undermines the valid points she made previously about how out of control Galactica's crew is. I like the way Roslin and Adama are allying against a common foe, but I'm a little nervous that this is heading into relationship territory. I can't see that as anything but a disaster. The two represent vastly different constituencies of the fleet. I can't see how they could have any kind of relationship without compromising that. And if Roslin and Adama aren't doing their jobs, who's really capable of stepping in?
Nationals this week (figure skating). Whee!
However, since even I can't avoid all activity, here are a couple of highlights:
- I took Niobe to the vets for an ass cleaning and now we can't smell her from half away across the room. And my clothes don't reek after she sits on my lap.
- Attempts at the doctor's office to draw my blood (just routine stuff) were unsuccessful despite a consultation from the best blood-drawing nurse in the office. I had a choice between rescheduling and popping over to the hospital. I opted for the latter after downing several large glasses of water in a mostly futile attempt to puff up my veins. The lab tech there had a similarly hard time with my veins. She put a heat pack on my right arm to get the blood flowing faster then dug around to find the vein. Definitely on my "not fun" list. Eventually she gave up and moved to my left arm, after giving it the heat pack treatment as well. At last, success!
Yeah, so those were the highlights. Next weekend I've got brunch and a trip to the symphony with friends on Saturday and the Chicken Heart performance on Sunday. The unexpected exertion may kill me.
I've been making time out of my busy schedule of laziness to watch TV. Here are some brief and shallow notes for anyone who cares:
Probably the most damning thing I could say about The Christmas Invasion is that it didn't stand up well to a repeat viewing. I found myself fast-forwarding through a chunk in the middle, mostly the part the Doctor spends unconcious and Rose dithering. And the whole one-on-one duel thing seems like a shitty way to decide the fate of the planet. Also, Harriet Jones deserves better, dammit! Anyway, I like Tennant and there were some entertaining bits, but it was far from the best episode of the new series to date.
I missed the first season of Dancing with the Stars, but caught the first ep of the new run and can see that it's going to be my new guilty pleasure.
I was a little surprised that Tia Carrere and Kenny Mayne got the lowest votes. I mean, what was so wrong with Tia's dance? It wasn't the most accomplished, but I thought she acquitted herself better than P Miller, who would have been my choice to be cut. Miller gave off such clear "I don't want to be here vibes" with his speechifying about how he was doing this only to entertain the people of New Orleans and show kids an alternative to the ghetto (how appearing on the show was supposed to do this was unclear). He couldn't even bother to dress appropriately. I get that he was a last-minute stand-in with only a week of rehearsal, but you know, he could have tried. I felt so bad for his partner; she was dancing her heart out, trying to carry the team.
Kenny Mayne was, admittedly, by far the worst dancer, but he had such an air of concentration about him and he clearly tried hard. I think that should have been rewarded by the voters, at least for the first week. If there hadn't been another contestant who obviously didn't want to be there, I would have agreed with the vote, but given the circumstances, I think the wrong person was voted out.
On a minor note, I think Giselle Fernandez and Jonathan Roberts had the voidiest waltz. And Anna Trebunskaya, Jerry Rice's partner, is the funniest thing ever. I love her. Also, why do the women get the slower rhythm and the men the faster? Last week the women had the waltz and the men the cha-cha. Next week the men get the quickstep and the women the rhumba. Are these the dances that are easier for the respective partners? Or is it random draw?
I'm keeping this brief; otherwise I'd write nothing at all. The way Starbuck defused the tensions between Pegasus and Galactica didn't entirely convince me, but wasn't so horrid that I was really bothered. Funny how she later gets credit for Lee's idea to do unapproved reconnaissance. I wish the writing team hadn't made Cain such an out and out villian. It makes too easy Adama's eventual concession that she must be assassinated and undermines the valid points she made previously about how out of control Galactica's crew is. I like the way Roslin and Adama are allying against a common foe, but I'm a little nervous that this is heading into relationship territory. I can't see that as anything but a disaster. The two represent vastly different constituencies of the fleet. I can't see how they could have any kind of relationship without compromising that. And if Roslin and Adama aren't doing their jobs, who's really capable of stepping in?
Nationals this week (figure skating). Whee!