Kidnapped

ARGH NBC. This was truly a quality show and you're now replacing it with more Law and Order repeats.  Sigh.  So much for letting a serial wrap up its storyline in 13 episodes.  Isn't that what all the networks promised in order to get people to watch the serial shows?

http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=7231

Donuts

I watched this MSNBC or Today show piece about Krispy Kreme and Dunkin Donuts, and now I want a donut.  Either a glazed one... or one with chocolate icing and sprinkles....

 

I think the donuts downstairs are 2/$1 after 5 pm.  Uh oh...

Heartbreaking

It's heartbreaking watching Michael J. Fox in those ads and in interviews.  It's horrible knowing that there's something that can possibly be done to move things along and yet we can't do anything about it because of "artificial" restrictions (for lack of a better word).

 

Sigh.

 

http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?g=68453105-3a8c-422a-835e-da7f4a8d9763&f=00&fg=copy

Floral Arrangements

I always intend to post pictures when I'm on my laptop at home, and I like doing it randomly so I pick based on what my screen saver pops up at a given time. Anyone want to guess at where this was taken? I wouldn't mind being there right now...

Time Changes

These daylight savings time changes make me kind of dumb.

For example, last night (well, I suppose, earlier this morning), Alvin mentioned to me that we had missed the benefits of the time change. My response was, "How can that be? It's only 1:15 am!"

Right.

I knew about the time change earlier this week, and had been looking forward to an extra hour of sleep, but when it finally came around, I totally forgot. I blame being totally engrossed in Kidnapped on the DVR. It is such a shame that this show is being wrapped up in 13 and being burned off on a Saturday night, when it is so much better than a lot of things that are still on TV.

And as a side note, it always seemed to me like I watched a lot of TV but I took this research survey yesterday which made me realize just how much prime-time TV I don't watch. Interesting. Although I did catch up on 3 weeks of The Nine yesterday...

Anyway, back to the time change.

I thought it was genuinely 1:15 am, not 2:15-became-1:15 am. I searched for something that would reveal the truth to me - my phone, blackberry, the cable box, my laptop - but they had all switched automatically. Finally, I glanced at the stereo which said 2:15 am. Oops.

This morning I jolted awake at 11 am, and started to make lunch. I had hoped to get up earlier but it hadn't happened. I wanted to make sure I could get up, so I could get to sleep before 3, so that I could actually wake up for work. Such is every Sunday's crisis.

I was part-way through microwaving a Kashi meal for lunch when I saw that the cable box said 10:30 am. 10:30?! But my phone said 11 when I got up! Apparently, my phone didn't change...

This time change thing really makes me feel so dumb.

Geography

So, on 1 v. 100, they asked this question: "If the 'Wedding Crashers' crashed 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding', what traditional Middle Eastern dessert could they expect?"

Choices:
Baklava
Moussaka
Spanakopita

Of course, I picked baklava, but my real answer was, "Greece is in the Middle East?!"

Free Fridays

Wow, I'm exhausted. It's been a busy week. A "good" type of busy, though. Better than sitting there not busy and watching people doing work, wondering why you're not doing anything...

The rain is setting in, and it's supposed to steadily and heavily rain for a good part of this weekend. I've had 5-6 cups of tea and/or chai throughout the day. It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is on TV now. Nice warm and cozy Friday evening in. That's the thing about Fridays... it's "freedom" but I'm always just so tired!

Mmmm

Oh, how I love sticky rice.

New Shows

I haven't really given up on any of the new TV shows yet. I was about to give up on Smith, but then it got cancelled, so it was out of my hands. I do wonder why Men in Trees is still the next to go on the DeathWatch site; it's a lot better than people are giving it credit for. I wish it would (a) move after Grey's Anatomy and (b) post good numbers there...

I'd say if I had a list of favorite new shows, it would probably go like this: Brothers & Sisters, Shark, Justice, Heroes, Men in Trees. I also have Ugly Betty, Jericho, Friday Night Lights, Six Degrees, The Nine, Standoff, Vanished and the Kidnapped burn-off on my DVR, but those are probably my 5. Ugly Betty is only just missing the cut - I'd add it if there were 6 because it's really adorable and refreshing. Friday Night Lights is on my DVR but I still haven't watched it yet. I go back and forth on Jericho; it was just ok in the beginning with some good moments but lately it's been getting more hooks in. As for the last 5 on the DVR list, 4 of them I have found just OK with good moments and NBC's basically done with Kidnapped.

As for this minute, I'm just watching L&O CI repeats on Bravo. There's always L&O on. But if there are any readers who get counted, please watch Justice tomorrow night. Needs to be saved!

Virus

That email virus going around today is driving me crazy.  (Mercifully, it seems to have stopped for the moment).  Imagine sitting at a lunch with an interviewee and seeing 22 new messages on a date a deal is supposed to close.  And then to open it and realize that 21 of those messages are junk virus emails.

 

By the time lunch was over, I had 92 junk virus emails in my inbox.  92!!  I wonder what this experience was like for those people whose blackberries buzz with new messages.  Scary.  I think it's finally under control but the way the emails were flooding in before.... really annoying.

Autumn

Autumn's really here.

PR

Somehow last night's Project Runway episode made me like Jeffrey.  That has never happened throughout the entire show for me.  Darn editing!

Pouring Rain

Remember how yesterday it was a balmy 70 degrees and gorgeous? Today, not so much. Clouds. Pouring rain as I walked home. And not pouring with little misty drops. It was that driving rain, where, once it hits the pavement, it bounces back at you and hits you in the middle of your leg, so that it feels like you're getting hit by rain from all directions. You could squeeze the water out of my shoes and my hair was fairly wet considering I had an umbrella.

Then again, as I was walking home, I thought about how, considering everything that happened in New York today, it could be so much worse. Getting soaked really isn't so bad in the big picture.

Rock Center

Some photos to go with the last entry:







It was so gorgeous out today. Unfortunately, it's going to be so cold this weekend!

Photo Walk

Since it's a gorgeous 70 degree day outside, I decided to go for a walk around Rockefeller Center.  A few comments:

 

1.  Apparently it is Fire Safety Awareness Day or Week or something.  There were a ton of fire trucks and American flags up, and one table was giving away red plastic fire hats so there were a bunch of people walking around the area with them.  I didn't take one.

 

2.  I treated my lunch break as a photo-walk.  I used to do that all the time in Chicago.  I forgot how good it feels to play "tourist" in my own town.

 

3.  The ice rink is up.  Zamboni going across the ice and everything.  But understandably, it was not very safe for skaters at 71 degrees.

 

4.  I went to go see Anish Kapoor's Sky Mirror.  Finally.  I have been meaning to go ever since they first announced it.  I was a frequent visitor of the Cloud Gate sculpture at Millennium Park in Chicago (aka the "Bean" or the "Jellybean"), so of course, I liked this one.  Unlike the Bean which mostly reflected buildings (and it was gorgeous, there are pictures on this blog somewhere), the Sky Mirror shows the entire street scene and it's pretty fun.

 

5.  I was taking pictures of flags and flag reflections since the entire plaza was covered in American flags.  One shot happened to be of a window with reflections.  I have no idea if it even came out how I envisioned it, but the only way to get better is to practice, right?  The only reason I mention this is because right after I took the shot, I heard one girl walking by say to her friend, in a very "whatever" tone, "What was she taking a picture of?"  Like, there couldn't possibly be anything there to take a picture of.  People create photographs that are art out of everything.  Would she have said the same about Andrae on Project Runway 2 taking a photo of the gutter water, which turned out beautifully and inspired a wonderful dress?  Seriously.  I don't care if you ask the question in your own mind, but to say it loud enough and within earshot of the person taking the picture, is a little rude.

 

On a topic unrelated from my walk, there are trailers from filming in front of both my apartment and the office today.  One is for Criminal Intent and the other is for some other production whose name I don't yet recognize but can alert you about if it comes up. :)

 

I suppose I should get back to work now.

Toys

I can't believe this Today Show segment.  They're talking about how the holiday shopping rush for toys has already begun even though it's only Columbus Day.  The holidays are so far away!  But judging by how fast the past year has gone, it'll be here in no time.

Giants

Yay, the Giants won!

Why couldn't the Yankees win? Sigh. Or at least make it go 5 games?

Grassy Hills and Skis

Last night I had a dream that I was on an interview with an athletic wear/sneaker company, I think Nike. It wasn't present time; it was like summer associate interviewing and I was choosing between working there and working at a law firm. It was a huge building and complex, right in the middle of Manhattan. I think the address I remembered was 25th & 9th.

I was excited about the interview. I got there an hour early, but when I walked inside, there was a line of hundreds of people waiting to get in. Apparently they tape TV shows there, so everyone was lined up to go through security and check in for that. But I was there for an interview! It all seemed to be one line, and the wait was long. They had these plastic signs with the approximate wait time from certain points on the line, which they would hang around people's heads like the people who stand on the streetcorners holding ads. But the line, despite the projected wait, was actually moving at a decent place. Eventually I was allowed to just go to a different clerk since I wasn't there to be in the TV show audience.

The next thing I remember, I was out behind the building on a big grassy hill and my parents and I are doing yoga. And after we were doing one of the tabletop like poses, all of a sudden, the big grassy hill is covered in snow and there are people skiing. But they weren't using skis. One of them was on a big ivory colored pillow and another was skiing holding a balance ball. It was odd.

That's all I remember. Anyone know what that means?

Out Again

What a frustrating baseball game to watch.

It's over. Again. Argh.

Impressionism

I do like impressionism...

You Are Impressionism

You think the world is quite beautiful, especially if you look at it in new and interesting ways. You tend to focus on color and movement in art. For you, seeing the big picture is much more important than recording every little detail. You can find inspiration anywhere... especially from nature.

What Art Movement Are You?

Some Cancellations

Here come the cancellations (and re-shuffling).

 

Kidnapped, shipped off to Saturdays to burn off the rest of the 13 episode run and then it's gone.  I think that's a shame because it's a really well done show, the characters are really interesting, the storyline could be taken in so many different directions... but no one is watching.  It's sad that the quality of this show is so much better than Vanished, but the latter has lasted longer and is only getting shipped off to Fridays.  (Which, really, aren't that much of a TV wasteland anymore).

 

Smith, pulled from the CBS schedule effective immediately.  Was it doing that badly?  I thought the ratings were decent, not great, but decent... I guess repeats of CSI and Criminal Minds do better?  I admit, I am not as torn up about this one, since I wasn't attached to it.  It wasn't nearly as realistic but I was so much more attached to last year's Heist.  I just didn't find Smith as interesting as Heist.  I watched the pilot, skipped the next week because of the Contender finale, and then watched this past week's episode while playing computer games and was kind of bored.  I was debating whether or not to tape it on Tuesday and was going to give it another chance, but I guess not anymore.

 

Next network...

 

Fox is moving Justice to Monday and I am so glad that they are at least trying to save the show.  It is the best of the 3 new ones I think (the others being Standoff and Vanished).  They're all getting shuffled around but I hope Justice succeeds.  If you're a household that gets counted, please watch Justice when it comes back after baseball!  Victor Garber is wonderful.

 

And as for ABC, I'm expecting them to move or cancel Six Degrees any day now.  It's coming off the heels of the most watched Grey's Anatomy, totally squandering that advantage and bleeding millions of viewers at the half hour mark.  (But what to move there?  I can only think of Boston Legal and What About Brian, because an action show might not be the most compatible...)  I think it's interesting, but my first thought after watching the Heroes pilot was that Heroes did "six degrees" better than Six Degrees... which isn't quite right.

 

To not leave out the CW... I have finally gotten around to watching Veronica Mars and you should too :)

Songs

I totally agree about the songs - remember my previous post?

 

"Music is a great entry point into peoples emotions and to make them aware of a show, said Michael Benson, senior vice president, Marketing, ABC Entertainment."

 

From an ABC press release: http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=20061003abc01

 

They should have added in cross-references, e.g., See: Grey's Anatomy, How to Save a Life, The Fray, Goo Goo Dolls, Better Days, Six Degrees.

 

While I'm on a song kick, why is KT Tunstall's "Suddenly I See" song (which I loved back when I first heard it on SYTYCD) on every single new fall show?!  See previous post re: limited music choices... I like it, but it's making me mix up all my shows that I've heard it on!