First, one of my favorite webpages, "Clicked" on MSNBC suddenly stopped updating on June 29. I just learned that now they're shutting down "Test Pattern", which was my all-time favorite entertainment webpage. Sheesh.
Luckily, Gael Fashingbauer Cooper (who was the original author of "Test Pattern") still writes a wonderful witty blog called "Pop Culture Junk Mail", which I've loved since the day I found it. I highly recommend it.
R.I.P., "Clicked" and "Test Pattern"....it surely was fun while it lasted!
I'm on vacation this week, but not planning to stray far. Sunday I went with Mom and Dad to visit some good friends of ours. We had a really good time, and stopped at a nice family-style restaurant for dinner on the way home. Yesterday I had an unfortunate sinus headache and my leg pain was really awful. So I lost most of yesterday to the recliner. The good part of that is that I got all my laundry done. *LOL*
Today will be busy. I have to have blood test run (fasting, so my system is currently screaming "COFFEE. I NEED COFFEE.") first thing this morning, then I have a dexa (bone density) scan scheduled for 9:45. I'll have to run get a bite of breakfast between tests, but thankfully should have plenty of time.
Daddy came early Sunday morning with his small trailer and hauled my wicker furniture down to their house so he could pressure-wash it for me. It was in terrible shape; an old boyfriend had spray painted it for me several years ago with the wrong type of paint. The paint would flake off on you every time you sat on it. I love going out on my little deck, and the crummy furniture was really taking the fun out of it.
Daddy washed it and succeeded in getting most of the old stuff off it, removing all the flaky bits. He said that now the surface is "fuzzy" in several places, though. I did some research on the wonderful world of the internet and found that tung oil or linseed oil is in order. I'll run by Lowe's after my dexa scan and pick up a bottle and see what we can do. I told him that if it turns into a BIG project to just put it in the trash. I've had the furniture long enough that it has certainly been worth the money paid for it. I would like to save it if we can, though.
Okay, gotta get in the shower so I can go get poked and prodded by still more health professionals. Such is my life lately. *LOL*
Showing posts with label entertainment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label entertainment. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Jack Bauer's Back....Sorta
Bleep...Bloop...Bleep...Bloop
"24" returned this evening as a 2-hour "event", "24: Redemption". I was happy to see Robert Carlyle, who I adored in "The Full Monty" and "Angela's Ashes". Unfortunately, he didn't survive the episode. Dang it.
So, how was the return of "24"? I don't know. I don't feel like it's returned yet. Sure, Jack Bauer was in it....there was gunfire and violence and even a brief bout of torture. But too much time was spent in Washington with the transfer of power from Powers Booth to a new president, Allison Taylor. That's right, boys and girls, a WOMAN president. She has an extreme case of helmet hair and speaks in cliches, but may prove interesting in the long run. I hope so.
Jon Voight is apparently going to be Evil Guy this season. *yawn* Powers Booth appears to be in cahoots with him. *double yawn* The new Madame President's son is mixed up in a mess thanks to a junkie friend who got caught with some information by the Bad Guys. *triple yawn* Worst of all, Jack just doesn't seem to be his usual self....he's softer, somehow. Not the Jack of the "Superman wears Jack Bauer pajamas" fame.
Hopefully, January will bring improvements. If not, I'm giving it up. After the last season was so dreadful, I swore I wouldn't waste my time on another full season if things didn't look up right away. Tonight didn't give me a lot of hope. The only really interesting character in the 2-hour episode got blown up. Dang it.
"24" returned this evening as a 2-hour "event", "24: Redemption". I was happy to see Robert Carlyle, who I adored in "The Full Monty" and "Angela's Ashes". Unfortunately, he didn't survive the episode. Dang it.
So, how was the return of "24"? I don't know. I don't feel like it's returned yet. Sure, Jack Bauer was in it....there was gunfire and violence and even a brief bout of torture. But too much time was spent in Washington with the transfer of power from Powers Booth to a new president, Allison Taylor. That's right, boys and girls, a WOMAN president. She has an extreme case of helmet hair and speaks in cliches, but may prove interesting in the long run. I hope so.
Jon Voight is apparently going to be Evil Guy this season. *yawn* Powers Booth appears to be in cahoots with him. *double yawn* The new Madame President's son is mixed up in a mess thanks to a junkie friend who got caught with some information by the Bad Guys. *triple yawn* Worst of all, Jack just doesn't seem to be his usual self....he's softer, somehow. Not the Jack of the "Superman wears Jack Bauer pajamas" fame.
Hopefully, January will bring improvements. If not, I'm giving it up. After the last season was so dreadful, I swore I wouldn't waste my time on another full season if things didn't look up right away. Tonight didn't give me a lot of hope. The only really interesting character in the 2-hour episode got blown up. Dang it.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Good Journey, Tim Russert
I can't believe Tim Russert is gone. How will I be able to get through the rest of this election year without Tim pulling all the political hoopla down into clear, concise plainspeak?
Tim was not only a great journalist, but just plain fun to watch. No one enjoyed the drama of politics more than Tim. He made it fun for the rest of us.
Not only did he teach us about the political scene, he taught us more about family. His deep love for his family was well-known.
Even in death, Tim was teaching us. Though he had asymptomatic coronary artery disease, he was controlling the condition with medication and exercise. As recently as late April, he performed well on a cardiac stress test. His doctor said that if Tim had been given a stress test the morning before he died, he would STILL have performed well. His fatal heart attack was caused by a rupture of cholesterol plaque in an artery, causing sudden fatal coronary thrombosis. And so, Tim was teaching us. Even if you THINK you're in good health, live each day as fully as you can. There are no guarantees that you'll get another one.
I'll miss seeing that open, smiling face sparkling with the excitement on election night. It's just not going to be the same this year.
Good journey, Tim. You'll be missed.
Tim was not only a great journalist, but just plain fun to watch. No one enjoyed the drama of politics more than Tim. He made it fun for the rest of us.
Not only did he teach us about the political scene, he taught us more about family. His deep love for his family was well-known.
Even in death, Tim was teaching us. Though he had asymptomatic coronary artery disease, he was controlling the condition with medication and exercise. As recently as late April, he performed well on a cardiac stress test. His doctor said that if Tim had been given a stress test the morning before he died, he would STILL have performed well. His fatal heart attack was caused by a rupture of cholesterol plaque in an artery, causing sudden fatal coronary thrombosis. And so, Tim was teaching us. Even if you THINK you're in good health, live each day as fully as you can. There are no guarantees that you'll get another one.
I'll miss seeing that open, smiling face sparkling with the excitement on election night. It's just not going to be the same this year.
Good journey, Tim. You'll be missed.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Meanderings
Tonight I went to the Barter Theatre to see Barbara Bates Smith in Lee Smith's "On Agate Hill". I'd seen her several years ago performing "Ivy Rowe" from Lee Smith's "Fair and Tender Ladies" and enjoyed her very much. Tonight's performance was just wonderful, as well.
Lee Smith's work always makes me a little nostalgic. Her characters always remind me of someone I've known or someone I'm related to.....it never fails! So, on the way home from the theatre, I decided to add a little item to my blog called "Meanderings" (link on the right). As I think of some little something that happened in my childhood or some story I heard growing up, I'm going to add it.
Enjoy. :-)
Lee Smith's work always makes me a little nostalgic. Her characters always remind me of someone I've known or someone I'm related to.....it never fails! So, on the way home from the theatre, I decided to add a little item to my blog called "Meanderings" (link on the right). As I think of some little something that happened in my childhood or some story I heard growing up, I'm going to add it.
Enjoy. :-)
Sunday, February 03, 2008
A Weekend In With A Cold
When I woke up yesterday morning, I no longer had a question of whether my icky feeling was sinus trouble, allergies, or a cold. It is definitely a COLD. A rotten lousy cold. *sigh* I did the bare minimum household routine and crawled into the recliner with my knitting needles, the remote control, and MeggieDog. When I woke up this morning, I felt a little worse, so I stayed home again today to knit and catch up on some things I'd TiVoed. One of the things I've been recording is a series of Jane Austen novels filmed for television that are running on "Masterpiece Classic" on PBS. I'd already seen "Northanger Abbey" and "Mansfield Park". I'd missed the first of the series, "Persuasion". However our local PBS affiliate reran it the other night, and TiVo caught it for me.
So, this afternoon, fortified by a helping of fresh-out-of-the-oven homemade rice pudding, Meggie and I piled up in the recliner. I picked up my knitting needles and turned on "Persuasion". I knitted through the credits, since I never recognize the names in a BBC production anyway. Just a couple of minutes into the story, though, I recognized a voice. I looked up to see GILES from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". (Kris will be thrilled by this, no doubt. *L*) Just to be sure my eyes weren't deceiving me, I jumped to the end of the program to read the credits. Sure enough....."Sir Walter Elliot - Anthony Head". Son of a gun.
Unfortunately, I had to pause it pretty soon after I recognized him and will finish watching it later. My fever has gone up a little, so I'm going to take a couple of Excedrin and try to nap for a few minutes. I hate a cold.
So, this afternoon, fortified by a helping of fresh-out-of-the-oven homemade rice pudding, Meggie and I piled up in the recliner. I picked up my knitting needles and turned on "Persuasion". I knitted through the credits, since I never recognize the names in a BBC production anyway. Just a couple of minutes into the story, though, I recognized a voice. I looked up to see GILES from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". (Kris will be thrilled by this, no doubt. *L*) Just to be sure my eyes weren't deceiving me, I jumped to the end of the program to read the credits. Sure enough....."Sir Walter Elliot - Anthony Head". Son of a gun.
Unfortunately, I had to pause it pretty soon after I recognized him and will finish watching it later. My fever has gone up a little, so I'm going to take a couple of Excedrin and try to nap for a few minutes. I hate a cold.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Six Feet Under
I watched the final episode of "Six Feet Under" last night (TiVo'd the night before that). I actually had to run the recording back to watch the last several minutes a second time. I was crying so much, I missed parts of it.
I was truly sorry to get to the end of that series. It had moments when I just wanted to smack some of the characters for being so completely self-absorbed, but the bottom line was that I CARED what happened to them, even the irritating ones. Writing like that is unexpected and a beautiful surprise.
I'm still in the final season of watching reruns of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". When I started watching it, I actually began with the last few episodes. I'm back up to those now, but am watching them again so I'll understand what I saw the first time. *LOL* Another couple of weeks should finish up that one.
As usual for me, I started another series in the middle. A&E started running "The Sopranos" in January, but I only started watching them a couple of weeks ago. So, I have to rent the first 17 (I think) episodes to catch up. I've already watched the first 4 episodes, thanks to Netflix, so it shouldn't take me too long to get up to speed. I actually didn't expect to like it as much as I do. I was hooked from the first 8 bars of the theme song.
Well, lunch break's over, so I'd better get back to work. Today's Mom & Dad's 54th wedding anniversary, so I'm going to take them a little something down there after work.
I was truly sorry to get to the end of that series. It had moments when I just wanted to smack some of the characters for being so completely self-absorbed, but the bottom line was that I CARED what happened to them, even the irritating ones. Writing like that is unexpected and a beautiful surprise.
I'm still in the final season of watching reruns of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". When I started watching it, I actually began with the last few episodes. I'm back up to those now, but am watching them again so I'll understand what I saw the first time. *LOL* Another couple of weeks should finish up that one.
As usual for me, I started another series in the middle. A&E started running "The Sopranos" in January, but I only started watching them a couple of weeks ago. So, I have to rent the first 17 (I think) episodes to catch up. I've already watched the first 4 episodes, thanks to Netflix, so it shouldn't take me too long to get up to speed. I actually didn't expect to like it as much as I do. I was hooked from the first 8 bars of the theme song.
Well, lunch break's over, so I'd better get back to work. Today's Mom & Dad's 54th wedding anniversary, so I'm going to take them a little something down there after work.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
An Eventful Week
Meg had a pretty rough day Sunday. Her medication hadn't really started to work yet, and every time the poor little thing moved, she yelped. I felt so sorry for her. Monday was much better, thank goodness, and she was moving around really well last night. I hope to find her as much improved when I get home from work today.
I stayed in Sunday and Monday (a holiday for me). The weather was icky, and I was worried about Meggie, so I just read, rested, and watched some TV with her snuggled up on my lap. My wireless adapter for TiVo arrived on Friday, but I didn't receive my wireless router until yesterday, so I couldn't even get my TiVo set up over the weekend.
However, I was delighted to find my router waiting at my door for me when I got home yesterday. I hooked it up, got it configured, and hooked up the TiVo adapter with no problem at all. I initially had a little problem getting TiVo to connect to the TiVo servers, but that didn't take long to fix. Because I'd been disconnected from the computer for so long, it took a little while to get the updates loaded, but not too long.
I'm delighted with the signal strength and was very happy with the transfer rate when I was moving some CSI episodes to the computer. So far, so good!
Tonight I need to burn some CSI episodes to DVD so I can take them to Lesa when I go visit. (Mom, Dad and I are going down Sunday for a few days.) I also need to start working on doing some packing for the trip. I hate to pack. I probably wouldn't mind it so much if I was better at it. I checked weather.com yesterday to see what the weather prediction says for our time in Mississippi. It looks like it's going to be sunny and warm, compared to what we've had lately. Having said that, though, I'll have to say that today is unusually warm compared to what we had Saturday and Sunday! Right now it's in the high 50's....that about 35 degrees warmer than it was Saturday!
Eeek....lunch break's over.
I stayed in Sunday and Monday (a holiday for me). The weather was icky, and I was worried about Meggie, so I just read, rested, and watched some TV with her snuggled up on my lap. My wireless adapter for TiVo arrived on Friday, but I didn't receive my wireless router until yesterday, so I couldn't even get my TiVo set up over the weekend.
However, I was delighted to find my router waiting at my door for me when I got home yesterday. I hooked it up, got it configured, and hooked up the TiVo adapter with no problem at all. I initially had a little problem getting TiVo to connect to the TiVo servers, but that didn't take long to fix. Because I'd been disconnected from the computer for so long, it took a little while to get the updates loaded, but not too long.
I'm delighted with the signal strength and was very happy with the transfer rate when I was moving some CSI episodes to the computer. So far, so good!
Tonight I need to burn some CSI episodes to DVD so I can take them to Lesa when I go visit. (Mom, Dad and I are going down Sunday for a few days.) I also need to start working on doing some packing for the trip. I hate to pack. I probably wouldn't mind it so much if I was better at it. I checked weather.com yesterday to see what the weather prediction says for our time in Mississippi. It looks like it's going to be sunny and warm, compared to what we've had lately. Having said that, though, I'll have to say that today is unusually warm compared to what we had Saturday and Sunday! Right now it's in the high 50's....that about 35 degrees warmer than it was Saturday!
Eeek....lunch break's over.
Friday, February 16, 2007
TGIF
I'm always glad to see Friday roll around, but today I'm especially glad. It's sunny outside but awfully cold (22 deg. F right now). My office, as always when it's cold outside, is really uncomfortably cool. I have faith that it will warm up about June.
This is a three-day weekend for me. The office will be closed Monday for President's Day. I'm hoping I'll have my wireless router and adapter in time to spend Monday connecting TiVo to my computer again. I have several episodes of CSI (and the movie "The Elephant Man") on TiVo that I need to transfer to the computer so I can burn DVD's. I've recorded all of them at a high-quality resolution, so they use up a lot of my TiVo drive space if I don't transfer them to the computer pretty often. I should probably get a bigger TiVo, but the one I have works fine, and I rarely run into space issues. I already record more stuff than I have time to watch anyway. *L*
Ah, lunch break is over. Guess I'd better get back to posting leave records. Whee.
This is a three-day weekend for me. The office will be closed Monday for President's Day. I'm hoping I'll have my wireless router and adapter in time to spend Monday connecting TiVo to my computer again. I have several episodes of CSI (and the movie "The Elephant Man") on TiVo that I need to transfer to the computer so I can burn DVD's. I've recorded all of them at a high-quality resolution, so they use up a lot of my TiVo drive space if I don't transfer them to the computer pretty often. I should probably get a bigger TiVo, but the one I have works fine, and I rarely run into space issues. I already record more stuff than I have time to watch anyway. *L*
Ah, lunch break is over. Guess I'd better get back to posting leave records. Whee.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
I've Had About Enough of February
Remember my last post, when I said I needed to make a Wal-Mart run to get a new adapter for my TiVo? That Wal-Mart run was an exercise in futility!!!
First things first. On Sunday, I was down all day with a migraine. Miserable, grumpy, and IN PAIN. When I woke up Monday morning, I still didn't feel well, but I was able to go to work, at least.
While I was doing nothing on Sunday I began thinking about the adapter for my TiVo. From window-shopping on the internet, I knew that I was going to wind up spending about $30 for a replacement for the ethernet adapter I'd broken. Why not treat myself to a wireless router and wireless adapter? That way, I could move the TiVo into the living room (where I've wanted it for a long time) without having to figure out how to run an ethernet cable to connect it to my computer. I did a little more window-shopping and found that I should be able to set myself up with a wireless connection for $100 or so.
After work on Monday, I went to Wal-Mart, fully expecting to be able to buy a wireless router and wireless USB adapter. Imagine my surprise when I found that they only had two models of routers and both were at least $20 more than I'd priced them for on Amazon.com. They didn't even HAVE a wireless USB adapter. In desperation I thought that maybe I'd replace the ethernet adapter for the time being, and go wireless later. They didn't even have an ethernet adapter!
That Wal-Mart used to be my main one-stop-shopping source. They recently "reorganized" their stock. Now no one, including the employees, can find ANYTHING. *grrrrrrrrrrrrrr* Their computer accessories department (in which I've spent a LOT of money in the past) is now down to a few pathetic items and a lot of overpriced ink cartridges.
I left Wal-Mart and went to Office Depot. They had a much better selection of routers and adapters, but were still pricier than Amazon.com. I stopped by K-Mart; believe it or not, our local K-Mart's computer accessories consisted of a few packages of paper and a few outdated printers. Sad. Just plain sad. I can hardly wait for them to open the now-being-constructed Target in our area.
So, to make a long story short (tooooooo late!!), I came home, got on the internet, and ordered the router and adapter from Amazon. I'll have to wait a few days for it, but overall I wound up saving $35. For that kind of savings, I can wait.
Tuesday, the migraine was back in full force. I took a couple of Tylenol PM's and spent the day sleeping to try to get back to normal. It worked, thank goodness. I was able to go back to work Wednesday.
After work Wednesday, I decided that since TiVo isn't connected to my computer now, I'd go ahead and move it to the living room. I moved it and my newer DVD/VCR combination unit to the living room and moved the older DVD player and VCR back to the bedroom. What with unplugging, dusting, and replugging, it took me awhile to get it all set up.
Now I'm just waiting for my wireless equipment to arrive. I adore TiVo and wish I could justify the expense of having a second unit for the bedroom.
First things first. On Sunday, I was down all day with a migraine. Miserable, grumpy, and IN PAIN. When I woke up Monday morning, I still didn't feel well, but I was able to go to work, at least.
While I was doing nothing on Sunday I began thinking about the adapter for my TiVo. From window-shopping on the internet, I knew that I was going to wind up spending about $30 for a replacement for the ethernet adapter I'd broken. Why not treat myself to a wireless router and wireless adapter? That way, I could move the TiVo into the living room (where I've wanted it for a long time) without having to figure out how to run an ethernet cable to connect it to my computer. I did a little more window-shopping and found that I should be able to set myself up with a wireless connection for $100 or so.
After work on Monday, I went to Wal-Mart, fully expecting to be able to buy a wireless router and wireless USB adapter. Imagine my surprise when I found that they only had two models of routers and both were at least $20 more than I'd priced them for on Amazon.com. They didn't even HAVE a wireless USB adapter. In desperation I thought that maybe I'd replace the ethernet adapter for the time being, and go wireless later. They didn't even have an ethernet adapter!
That Wal-Mart used to be my main one-stop-shopping source. They recently "reorganized" their stock. Now no one, including the employees, can find ANYTHING. *grrrrrrrrrrrrrr* Their computer accessories department (in which I've spent a LOT of money in the past) is now down to a few pathetic items and a lot of overpriced ink cartridges.
I left Wal-Mart and went to Office Depot. They had a much better selection of routers and adapters, but were still pricier than Amazon.com. I stopped by K-Mart; believe it or not, our local K-Mart's computer accessories consisted of a few packages of paper and a few outdated printers. Sad. Just plain sad. I can hardly wait for them to open the now-being-constructed Target in our area.
So, to make a long story short (tooooooo late!!), I came home, got on the internet, and ordered the router and adapter from Amazon. I'll have to wait a few days for it, but overall I wound up saving $35. For that kind of savings, I can wait.
Tuesday, the migraine was back in full force. I took a couple of Tylenol PM's and spent the day sleeping to try to get back to normal. It worked, thank goodness. I was able to go back to work Wednesday.
After work Wednesday, I decided that since TiVo isn't connected to my computer now, I'd go ahead and move it to the living room. I moved it and my newer DVD/VCR combination unit to the living room and moved the older DVD player and VCR back to the bedroom. What with unplugging, dusting, and replugging, it took me awhile to get it all set up.
Now I'm just waiting for my wireless equipment to arrive. I adore TiVo and wish I could justify the expense of having a second unit for the bedroom.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
A Clumsy Saturday
Why do I say it's been a "clumsy" Saturday? Well, for starters, I decided that today was the day I was going to move my stereo from my bedroom to the living room. So, I unplugged the components and removed them from the glass-doored stereo cabinet and moved them into the living room.
I'd been using the top of the stereo cabinet as a stand for my TiVo and DVD/VCR combination in the bedroom. Rather than unplug those units, I decided to just slide them over onto an adjacent chest of drawers. Bad move. I didn't allow enough room behind the TiVo unit for the ethernet adapter to clear the wall. Crunch. *grrrrrrrrrrrrrr* Now my TiVo is without a connection to my computer until I make a WalMart run to buy a new adapter.
So, mentally kicking myself, I went into the living room to clean the stereo cabinet and reconnect the components, cleaning as I went. When I connected the turntable and began cleaning it, I managed to ruin the stylus.
In total disgust with myself, I came to the computer to find out what my day's damage will wind up costing me. It looks like a $50 will cover the bill. Still, $50 seems pretty steep to spend a Saturday at home!
So, I felt better after talking with Kris on Skype; she'd had a rough morning, too, though. So now it's nearly 9:00 pm and I just realized I've not stopped yet for dinner. Dumb. I think I'll eat dinner, take a warm, relaxing bath, and call it a night!
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