May 2006
This is a list of posts published in May 2006.
A Little Princess
Today is Aria’s FIRST Birthday.
One year ago today, we were introduced to our beautiful daughter Aria Leigh. Joining her big brother Colin and two pups, Abby and Chatham, Aria completed our nuclear family. It’s such a cliché but oh-so true, she’s Daddy’s Little Girl – even if she practically leaps from my arms to be with her Mom the moment the slightest whisper of Andi’s voice crests the air.
From her very first day upon this Earth, Aria immediately proved herself to be quite punctual, arriving to the very day of her designated birth date – and as an added bonus – well before dinner time. None of those burning the midnight oil maternity ward stays for us this time (the less I have to see of Last Call with Carson Daly, the better).
May 31, 2005 began like every other day – well every other day in which a husban... Continue reading »
Lost – Live Together, Die Alone
Season Finales Suck!!!
Now – I’m speaking of the inevitability (“Dammit, the season’s over!“) and not the actual content. In fact, I’ll go out on a limb or join the chorus (whichever camp and cliche you subscribe to) and say that Live Together, Die Alone was one of the best season finales of any scripted drama in a very long time. There was that episode that closed out Season 6 of The X-Files (with Cancer Man taking a torch to Mulder’s office) but that cliffhanger led directly to the movie which connected to Season 7 which marked the beginning of the end, so essentially, what seemed so pregnant with possibility only grew dazed and confused.
With Lost – and in particular Live Together, Die Alone, I don’t harbor those same fears. I trust in Lindelof and Cuse and their crack... Continue reading »
Lost – Three Minutes
With the finale come and gone – and this being the last observation to post before I can delve into the vast treasure trove of riches that ‘Live Together, Die Alone’ offered up, I’ll do a quick flyby on this episode and post my thoughts on the latter episode shortly. Which of course, brings me to a summer spent away from the tube – giving my fingers a much needed rest and allowing my brain to focus on more original Blog fodder (although, if CBS decides to go through with Big Brother IX – Bird Flu House, then I might be tempted for an early return).
1. So this episode essentially acts as the bridge from ‘?‘ to the two-part season finale ‘Live Together, Die Alone’ meaning the bulk of the time is spent setting the table for next week’s episode. This episode echoes the Ta... Continue reading »
Nielsen Schmielsen
Sean has an interesting article over on his site where he discusses the major television network’s recent Upfront press meetings – the annual Spring event where they trot out their new fall lineups and dance upon the fresh carcasses (carcassi???) of the quality shows they killed in favor of five straight nights of American Idol, American Idol Tostitos™ Pre-Game Show, American Idol: The Results Show, American Idol Blunders, Bleeps and Bloopers, and Idols Gone Idle: 2 Hot 4 TV.
Why are the Nielsen ratings still tallied? These days, more people are prone to tape, Tivo and download their favorite show and watch it when they want to on the device they want (I like to watch Deal or No Deal on the can). I know the ratings are a tool the networks use to set ad rates – but why haven’t the companies that pony u... Continue reading »
The Da Vinci Scold
So Opus Dei declares “OPIE DIE!!!”
I’ll never understand why people get whipped into such a lather over a piece of art, some words in a book or a couple of hours sequestered in a stadium-seating screening room. Terrorism. Famine. Plague. The Jimmy Fallon Pepsi Ad. All topics worthy of unquenched ire and thunderous debate. The Da Vinci Code – or The Official Novelization of National Treasure as I believe it’s subtitled – is hardly worth calling forth the Sword of Damocles.
It’s fiction people. It’s entertainment. It’s a couple of hours to pass the time snickering at Hanks’ hair or guys named Teabing. It’s a chance to see which role Ron Howard has shoehorn his baby bro Clint into this time (my money’s on Vitruvian Man.)
The way some people carry on, you’d think they’d mistaken this trivial pursuit f... Continue reading »
Lost – ‘?’
Lost is a bona fide hit – but in speaking with some friends and acquaintances – I’ve found there is a large population that has never given the show a viewing. These same people are all in a lather over The Da Vinci Code – eagerly anticipating the cinematic version of a puzzle they long since solved. Lost scratches that same itch and I think those same Da Vinci addicts or Soduko slaves would really enjoy parsing through the labyrinthine network of cryptic clues that this season has dropped on the faithful viewers.
In fact – there is a great viral puzzle campaign going on right now – that weaves in a number of websites, a novel (Gary Troup’s Bad Twin), and actual television commercials apparently sponsored by The Hanso Foundation. While I haven’t dabbled in the fun, I find this out-of-the-box strategy to expand the ... Continue reading »
24 – Day 5 4:00 – 5:00 a.m.
Three hours to go. The impending summer hiatus couldn’t come a moment sooner as my digits are feeling the crunch from all this feverish keyboard jockeying. What am I gonna’ write about this summer? Don’t worry – I’m sure some sinister cabal of snakehead fish, mutant monkey pox gophers and frickin’ sharks with frickin’ laser beams attached to their frickin’ heads will come surfing in under cover of the next homicidal hurricane. But enough with real world concerns. Let’s return to fantasy land.
On to Hour 22.
1. Jack grabs a fist full of Miles’ ‘adam’s apple’ in the first 3 minutes of the episode. That right there is Exhibit A why this season is the best yet. In years past, Miles would have milked his deception for weeks before Jack finally caught up with him. Not this year. THERE’S NO TIME!!! Last week,... Continue reading »
The Office – The Best Show You’re Not Watching
“Downsizing? I have no problem with that. I have been recommending downsizing since I first got here. I even brought it up in my interview. I say, bring it on.”
- Dwight Schrute
You need to watch The Office.
First a disclaimer. Despite the fact that I post regular observations on 24 and Lost, I’m not a couch potato. I have a handful of shows that I’ve dubbed ‘Must See’ (the aforementioned shows as well as Alias, My Name is Earl and Scrubs) – yet I don’t care to learn the Eight Simple Rules for Dating Your (My) Daughter or hear about How You (I) Met Your Mother. Including The Office, that totals six shows that I watch on a constant basis or 4.5 hours of television a week. If they’re not on, I’m not watching. I don’t channel surf or wander the dial. Maybe it’s all those years of bo... Continue reading »
Let’s Go To Plan B
Birthday month in the Humphries household rolls on. Last week, we celebrated Colin’s 3rd Birthday. Coming soon is Aria’s 1st. A week later I turn 34. And of course, in April or AlmostMay as I like to call it, Abby turned 5.
But this week belong to my beloved Chatham pup – or Chats. Today, our little girl turns 4.
Chatham gets a bad rap by a select few (read: Sean). She’s a damn good pup and we couldn’t imagine our lives without her. I think Abby curries more favor as she was the first labby on the scene. Coupled with some of Chatham’s interesting little quirks, she sometimes gets short shrift. But dogs are like kids – they are all different and you love celebrating that which makes them each unique.
That said, I’ll grant Sean this. If you were to work a little Shelley... Continue reading »
24 – Day 5 3:00 – 4:00 a.m.
May Sweeps. We’re hitting the final stretch. With just 4 eps left including this one, there appears to be too little time to take down each bad guy that has cropped up over the season. I’ll spend some time on each of the loose-ends and perhaps throw a prediction out as to how I see them being tied up.
On to Hour 21.
1. Before I cover each tentacle in Logan’s Legion of Doom, I’d be remiss if I didn’t spend a few words talking about Jack’s impromptu landing of a passenger plane on a stretch of L.A. freeway followed by his great escape from the Marines sent to retrieve him and the recording. With marshal law clearing the streets of the typical LA congestion – and a little assist from the CGI rendering moxie of a PowerMac – Jack brought the bird to rest on the road and fled the scene before Logan’s heroes could snatch... Continue reading »
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