Flicks...

Took a trek up to the local Mart of Wal yesterday, and noticed the 'Hollywood Video' we rent movies from is closing. The huge "Everything Must Go" sign is what initially caught my attention. Figuring they might have some good deals, Glenn and I ventured over to take a gander earlier today. They had lots of good stuff. All movies leaning to my tastes. Stuff that I seriously doubt many denizens of Savannah, GA would be into. But we left with only four DVD's in hand. (The used ones were 3 for $20) A 'new' copy (not previously viewed) of a "Special Edition" of 'This is Spinal Tap', previously viewed copies of both Hellboy movies, and a previously viewed "Tartan Asia Extreme" film out of Taiwan called 'The Heirloom'.

'Spinal Tap' is a classic. Don't think many who've seen and appreciate it would argue with me there. My favorite moments are too many to list...hmmm...okay, I'll mention two: 1) "This one goes to eleven." 2) The lowering of Stonehenge.

The Hellboy flicks are thoroughly enjoyable. Can't think of anyone better to wield the red prosthetics than Ron Perlman. He kind of is 'Mr. Prosthetic'. Really brings them to life. Probably my favorite films from Del Toro. I have seen other films of his ("The Devil's Backbone", "Pan's Labyrinth", "The Orphanage", "Blade II") all of which I did enjoy, but I really dig these. I happen to also be a fan of the czech actor Karel Roden (he played Grigori Rasputin), so that's a plus, too. These will definitely be viewed more than once.

The last title was my pick. Asian horror is probably my favorite sector of the horror genre, but no dubbing, please. I'm like that with my anime, too. Dubbed english voices are always so lack luster, and so much gets lost in translation. I love the over the top nature of the original soundtrack/language. They had a number of asian movies that I've already seen, but this one I haven't. Here's what the blurb says on the back cover:

"Twenty years ago, a mass suicide occurred in the millionaire Yang household. To this day, the case remains unsolved. Only one heir secretly survived and years later he inherits the family mansion and returns with his fiance.

Mysterious and deadly events begin to take place, the demented legacy of the Yang family curse is reborn and history is soon poised to repeat itself."

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!! I may have to try and slide this one in tonight. There isn't much worth watching on Saturdays. True, the Olympics are on...I'll have to see whats airing tonight. Earlier they had curling...I do dig curling. I prefer the winter Olympics, but for some reason this year I haven't watched that much of the games. No offence to Canada, but one of the things I've always liked about the Olympics (in addition to the sporting events) is the cultural side pieces they air. I'm just not too terribly fascinated by tukes and back bacon...hey! Now if Bob and Doug were sitting in instead of Bob Costas, well...I'd watch that.

Valentines...

I've never been into this particular holiday. When I was younger, we would do the Valentine exchange deal at school. We'd be instructed to bring a shoe box from home that we would decorate in the appropriate reds and pinks...tissue paper hearts and paper doilies...lots of Elmer's and a heavy sprinkling of glitter. Then we would hack a slot into the top big enough for a Valentine to be shoved through. We'd place our adorned receptacles on the corner of our desks, and then the covert operations would begin. We would 'flip our lids' and check out the valentines we received towards the end of the school day, but up until that point the cards would be deposited in as secretive a manner as possible. I hated the yearly Valentines school ritual. You pretty much had to give everyone in class a card. It was considered rude not to. I've always considered myself to be a person who can get along with anyone, but let's face it...when we were kids there were just some kids in our classes that we didn't like. For whatever reason. Giving them a card seemed to a) send the wrong message, or b) would be seen as being phony. If a fellow student you didn't really care for received a card from you, heaven forbid one of your friends see you slip it through the slot. You see, the person you didn't really care for most likely didn't care for you in return, so when they opened your card it was tolerated and tossed back in the box...your friends none the wiser. Then there is the card for 'the crush'...the person you don't really mind giving a valentine to. The adolescent Valentines Day adrenaline rush from hell. Your friends know all about this one. However, in this case you didn't want the crush to see you drop it in. Then when the big reveal came later on you would have that excited yet paranoid internal babble going on..."Is he opening mine? I can't see if that's...NO! I can't look. Is he looking at me? If I look at him and he's looking at me I'll be so embarrassed. What? He's talking to one of his friends...are they talking about me? I wonder if he likes me, too. Go ask his friend if he likes me. No don't! What if he comes over to talk to me? What do I say?" And so on, and so forth. Ah, the insanity of youth. I will say that the valentines we bought back then were a lot better than the ones today. The cards of the 60's and 70's were cut into shapes, had cute pictures and sayings on them...they were just a whole lot cooler than the crap-o boxed ones you can buy for a buck these days. Well, that being said...I still hated having to give them out.



Now to the present. Valentines Day still isn't a holiday I'm much into, although it does have a bit more meaning this time. I think for most people, February 14th signifies love they have for their significant other. That definitely applies for me, too, but I find myself looking at the word 'Love' in a broader sense, as well. The different types/aspects of love. Love for my boyfriend. Love for my family. Love for my friends. Love for myself. I am so thankful for all of the people in my life. So...Valentines Day 2010...my own personal love fest. To all of the people in my life, I love you all. Differently. And some more than others. ;)

Savannah Blizzard of 2010...

Yep...think that about covers it...

Tuning in to Reality...

In terms of shows I watch pretty regularly, there are several that fall into the realm of "Reality Television". True, there are some shows on TV that do fit my definition of reality based programming (mostly shows on PBS, Discovery, the National Geographic Channel...'real' stuff), but there is a whole other side of what is labeled "reality based programming". I speak of such ilk as 'The Bachelor', 'The Real World', 'Flavor of Love', etc. So much of THAT type of reality TV is scripted in its own way. Producers coaching and instigating much of what goes on, all in an effort to create 'good TV'. Well, in my opinion there's nothing 'good' about it. Before I move on to the stuff I currently watch, I will admit that there have been a few shows that fall into this section of the category that I (frighteningly enough) got sucked into. Luckily, I usually came to my senses and ran for the hills. There are several reality shows I watch. Some of the ghost hunting variety, and some of the creative variety.



Paranormal State: This is fairly entertaining as far as ghost hunting shows go. One of the main problems I have with most of these paranormally based shows is all of the background fill they add (eerie music usually), and the fact that the investigators won't shut up. An investigator will say, "Did you hear that?! Oh my God!" No, I didn't hear it because of the music your producers added during post production. Also, you didn't stop blabbing, so your voice is drowning everything out, too. 'Paranormal State' keeps that stuff to a minimum. I've actually seen a few things on there that make one think. Do I believe in the paranormal? For the most part, yes. I've personally had some experiences I can't explain. My general rule is not to believe or disbelieve something until absolute facts are produced one way or the other. I prefer to keep my mind open.

The Haunted: On Animal Planet...most of the paranormally based stories involve family pets, that sort of thing. This show goes the re-enactment route. Dramatizations, interviews with players from said event(s). Pretty entertaining.

(I no longer really watch 'Ghost Hunters'. At the base, I do like that the owners of TAPS approach things initially from a scientific perspective...then if they can't find a logical explanation for something, they concede that it falls under the paranormal. The main reason I stopped watching were the idiots they have working for them. I'm sure they are perfectly nice people, but I found them to be irritating. The other paranormal show I stopped watching is 'Most Haunted', a british show on the Travel Channel. They had some really interesting investigations with findings that did raise one's eyebrows, BUT the woman who hosts the show wouldn't shut her gob and would scream at the smallest thing. If I could've reached through the screen and popped her in the head I would have. Moving right along...)

On the creative side, there are several shows I watch. 'Project Runway', 'Launch My Line', 'Shear Genius'...to name a few. I don't normally watch every single episode, but enough to know what's going on. Don't know if it's necessarily creative, but I tend to watch 'How Clean is Your House?' if it's on. It is horrifying to see how some of those people live. Disgusting! I have gotten some good cleaning tips from that show (like cleaning a cloth lamp shade with a toothbrush and baking soda...works really well).

Cooking shows are an addiction. I love to watch food network (Good Eats, Iron Chef, the competitions-usually themed cakes). 'Top Chef' is a good one. I do catch the odd episode of 'Hell's Kitchen' and Ramsey's 'Kitchen Nightmares'. I usually watch the Gordon Ramsey shows if they just happens to be on while I'm doing something else. For the most part, I don't sit down and "watch" a lot of television...it's usually on as background to other stuff I'm doing.

So...there ya go...

Rain...

We're about to have some more rain today (Friday). Fine by me. Can't really get enough of it. If it were to rain 365 days a year, I'd be totally fine with that. It helps my...well, my overall state of mind. My state of being. For some time I've needed that kind of emotional and mental assistance. Lots of stuff on my mind. Living on tenterhooks. Much of what I'm going through I can't really do anything about. Living in limbo...I hate that. It'll all be good soon, but things at the moment are rather tense (have been for far longer than I would like). Mentally and physically (my mental always has serious effect on my physical) I can definitely use whatever outside sources of stress relief that present themselves. If the rain wants to fall, well...I'm all over that.



The way the weather has been lately, we'll have a day or two of rain and a day or two of sun. The chill has returned to the air. It had started to warm up a bit for a couple weeks, but "Storm-agedon" (or whatever they're calling it) has brought the temps back down. My sister-in-law posted a few snappies of the snow up in Maryland (my bro and his family live in Dayton) and they've definitely gotten their share of the white stuff. From what I can tell in one of the photos where my brother is pictured clearing the driveway, the drift to one side looks a few feet high. Amazing. I know to a lot of people who've grown up with snowy winters it's not that big a deal, but to someone who grew up in Atlanta...well, it's something I've never personally experienced. Ice is about all we got. Three flakes of ice/snow would fall and they'd close the schools. (Well, that aspect of the storms didn't suck...hehehe.) The ice would weigh the electrical cables down which would then knock the power out. Remember tacking up blankets over doorways and getting out the fondue pot so we could cook things over Sterno (an electric stove isn't of much use in a power outage). Leaving a trickle of water dribbling from all of the faucets praying that the pipes didn't freeze. Frozen pipes really suck. Yes, you can't get any water for washing and cooking, but when there's more than one of you stranded at home and you can't flush...don't think I need to say more.) I don't really envy him the inconveniences that can happen during a snow and ice storm, but I do envy my brother getting the snow itself. There were a few times when I was young that I visited my grandparents in Nashville during the winter. It did snow a bit there, and it was just beautiful. Don't know if this makes any sense, but when the flakes would hit the ground they gave off a 'silent sound'. I know that's a completely contradictory description, but those are the words I've always used when describing falling snow. (I have also gotten odd reactions from people when I've said that it 'smells like rain.') Anyway, snow (minus the obvious drawbacks that can occur) is really a beautiful thing to see in person. That being said, I will take rain over snow any day.



Today's rain is supposed to commence around noon or so. The weather dude on whatever local news broadcast Glenn was watching said that there is a definite chance of some snow tonight. Of course, it won't stick. My guess is it'll disappear as soon as it hits the ground. From what I gathered, it's supposed to happen overnight when most people are snoozing. I'm sure I'll be awake for it (still not sleeping at night...argh), but since it'll be dark out I don't expect I'll be able to see anything. So much for a rare photo op. I'm just looking forward to more rain and the calming influence. I need to forge ahead with some online research for the book I'm writing.

Well, it's approaching 3:00 am. These days, for me, that translates into 'noon'. Believe I'll make a hot cup of something and get my stuff situated for research time. I find it difficult to concentrate on creative endeavors when my surroundings are in a disarray. It's distracting. Now...tea or coffee...decisions, decisions...

Tuning in...

I've had more than one friend post (Facebook, blogs, etc.) what they're currently watching on the tube, so I am following suit. It'd be nice to find out if anyone else is watching any of these.

Supernatural: I've watched pretty much every episode of this one from the get-go. It falls within my favorite genre these days...the 'supernatural' (hehe). From the first episode, it had a definite creepy factor that I dug. Far more creepier than many of it's predecessors. This season they are delving deeper into the war between angels and fallen angels, and the destruction of Satan before he can gain power over the earth. Sam and Dean Winchester (main characters) are potential vessels...Sam for Satan, and Dean for Michael...who would then duke it out (world domination, survival of the human race, that sort of deal). Neither Sam or Dean are having it, so this past week Michael basically told Dean to get used to the idea because it's all part of a plan and he can't avoid the inevitable. We'll see where they go from here. From previews for next week, it looks like they're taking a nod at Valentine's Day 'Supernatural' style...A crazed Cupid is on a rampage. Something that adds to my enjoyment of the last couple of seasons is the rather fetching Castiel (pictured above), played by Misha Collins. Kind of Sam and Dean's angelic sidekick, who in some respects adds a bit of comic relief. The current storyline could have been really cheeseball, but the writers have made it work and made it entertaining. Hopefully, it'll continue to hold up.

The Ghost Whisperer: I have watched this one off and on since it hit, but have avidly watched the last couple seasons. Tried to get into it when it first aired, but it had the vibe of 'Touched By An Angel' with ghosts and didn't grab me. A few seasons back it took a 'dark' turn, and has a bit more of an edge. It still leans towards outcomes of the touching variety more often than not, but it doesn't always end with puppies and kittens. They haven't made many changes that mark doom for the show (no shark jumping at this point), but I was worried when they introduced Melinda and Jim's son into the mix. In the storyline, one episode Melinda has her baby and next episode it's five years into the future. I suppose I can understand why they did it in terms of writing (would imagine it's more interesting to write a five year old character than a baby). He has inherited 'talents', but it's not quite clear what they are as of yet. So far so good. The jury is still out.

Big Bang Theory: Really the only new sitcom that I make a point of watching. I've been asked, "But are there really people THAT geeky in the world?" My answer? Yes, yes there are. The characters have been crafted well. Sheldon Cooper has to be my favorite. Very intelligent and lacking any sort of social skills. I can safely say that there are elements of all of the characters that remind me of people I have known over the years. Some I used to play D&D with. I think it would be quite entertaining to sit in on one of their campaigns...although, if Sheldon were DM I could see that getting a little challenging. lol

Lost: Lost 'lost' me at one point. It just got too carried away with itself. I got back into it about a season and a half ago, and have committed to watching this final season. (Glenn is even onboard, and he never really had any desire to watch the show.) In keeping with the flow of it, the season opener left more questions than answers. Frankly, it has me worried. I don't want to feel ripped off when the curtain falls. The creators have said they've always known where the story was going and how it would end...that it has an end...that it was always planned that way. Well, they've got a pretty convoluted mass of storylines going, and I just hope they are able to bring everything to a satisfactory conclusion. I REALLY hope they don't leave questions unanswered on purpose. I hate that. True, I've only invested in about 80% of the entire run, but that's still a hefty time investment. If they're planning to leave things unanswered for 'dramatic effect'...I have a can of whoop ass with they're names on it. That just translates to cheating for me. An easy way out. But, I'll try not to put the cart before the horse. I'll kick any pre-judgement to the curb.

There are a few others I watch that fall into the 'Reality' category. I'll get to those later. TTFN...