Randomness

• I have an iPhone and am in the stage of looking at it all the time. I'm annoying even myself.

• I'm still reading Dance With Dragons - only about 350 pages in. Both Sly B and her mama have already finished. I'm usually much quicker through these beloved books, but life has gotten in the way. So far, I'm loving it.

• Evil Inc., bleh, but I realize that it's time to stop caring SO MUCH.
  

• We've seen tons of great TV this year. Standouts (some of which may be repeats but are just THAT good): Nurse Jackie, Treme, The Killing, Torchwood

Finales and New Seasons

Two shows that Sly B and I watched religiously for their first seasons ended on Sunday: The Killing and Game of Thrones.

The Killing ended with a twist that's gotten a lot of bad press. I liked it. Holder is one of my favorite characters on the show, and I like that he's not just a recovering addict who doesn't have much agency. It was refreshing to learn that he's more complex than the nice, humble guy we thought he was and that he's up to something. The Salon.com editor argues that these two are the worst police ever -- I don't think I agree. Their investigation was obviously riddled with misinformation, and someone is using them to take down a powerful politician. I love this show. I love how, as B pointed out early on, it focuses on the grief of the family. I also just love the damaged Linden. What a great TV character.

Game of Thrones ended just the way B said it would as we began the episode. Really, she should be a TV writer and we should live in a big house and I shouldn't have to work. She always knows who did it and what will happen. I enjoyed the first season of GoT. I think that HBO did a great job of translating a very detailed universe into an easily digestible show while not losing the complexity of all of the players. I think that the casting of the Dothraki could have been truer to the book, with darker-skinned people -- that was my biggest disappointment. I also think turning a mid-important character into a gay character was puzzling, but I'm all for the gay, so I live with it. What I DO love: the visual of the wall and especially the tunnel through the wall - AMAZING; the casting of Dani; the actress who plays Arya. I'll keep watching, definitely. It's pretty good!

What I'm most excited about now is that the next Song of Ice and Fire comes out in about a month. Of course, I've got it pre-ordered and cannot wait. Also, Nurse Jackie has become one of my favorite shows. It ended last night, I think, but we haven't watched the episode yet.

Summer watching will include: True Blood (the latest Sookie book is out and in the queue for both of us as well), The Big C (love Laura Linney), Torchwood, Falling Skies, Rescue Me if we can tolerate what's become of this beloved show for another season, and a rewatch of Deadwood on our newly acquired bluray DVDs.

Fangasm

I cannot believe how much I loved Torchwood: Children of Men. I have a lot of friends who haven't watched it yet, so I'm going to avoid big spoilers, here, but I just had to say that this is exactly why I like scifi.

This 5-episode mini-series really allowed us to watch as Karma kicked Captain Jack in the balls over and over again. You can't escape your past, so don't do horrible shit.

I read yesterday that John Barrowman is going to become a Desperate Housewife (get it, he's GAY - hahahaha . . . erm . . . ha . . . cough), and that a series 4 is is serious question at this point. While I'd love to see more and more and more Torchwood, I would be completely satisfied with this as the end of the show. Without Jack, I'm not sure the series can survive (even though I am completely in love with Gwen Cooper).

Whew. Poor review, I know. I give this one 10 out of 10 nipples, and recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it yet.

Bachelor Night Post

I remain unfocused. I have a huge week at work, and we have a huge family weekend coming up with the rosary/funeral/family meal for Grandpa D. Lots on the mind . . . Still, though, I have some thoughts to get out.

• Supersucky employee gone today. Yay. Good riddance you ladder-climber, you. You're probably right, I probably can't help further your career, so it's best we no longer interact.

• Listened to a podcast where the interviewee said "noodled" over and over again to mean "thought about." Struck that term forever from my vocabulary as it sounds toolish.

• Finished off John Adams tonight. I now know lots about the second President. Probably could have done without that info, but all-in-all am glad I watched it. Laura Linney has been one of my favorite actors since The Life of David Gale.
  

• Hated to see Torchwood end Saturday. Good lord, what a fantastic show that is. I'll avoid spoilers here until I have something substantial to say.

• I geeked out greatly on the Whedon comics Sunday. All three - Buffy, Angel, and Serenity - are awesome. Buffy is my favorite.

• I finished Twisted by Jonathan Kellerman. Good fast read.

• Sly B and I watched Sweeney Todd yesterday. For a musical, I give it 4 out of 5 nipples.
  

And Sly B just called - bachelor night is over! See y'all on the flip side.

Geekgasm - Stand Clear

Holy crap.

Torchwood is awesome. BSG is awesome. We even are digging The Sarah Jane Adventures.

Life's good.

Bachelor Night Post

I am full of scattered thoughts tonight:

• Have you all heard about the Walmart employee sued by the company for insurance received? The woman has massive brain injuries from a car accident, won a settlement against the company responsible for the accident, and was sued by Walmart. They want the insurance $$ that was paid out on her behalf back.

• My company is becoming Walmart.

• I'm watching John Adams on HBO. It's fucking boring, I've gotta say. I think I feel that way because I truly dislike Paul Giamatti's acting. I'll keep watching - I give anything 2 episodes.

• Ohboyohboyohboyohboy, BSG premiers tomorrow night. That knowledge will make enduring 8 hours at the job bearable.

• Our Torchwood DVDs arrived today. Yay!

• I got Issue #5 of Angel: After the Fall today. Yay x2! Should I be embarrassed that I pay $9.25 for shipping monthly to receive this $2.50 comic? What about if I do that 2 times a month?
  

• I watched the premier of Season 2 of The Tudors today during lunch (long story, that), and dug it a lot. I think that's a show worth watching for any Henry VIII geeks.

• Bitch, please.

• I had steak and cake tonight. Thanks for the recommendation. You're right, I feel better.
  

• I'm about over bachelor week. Sly B, come home now.
  

Random

I love BSG. One week, and Season 4 starts. Yippee!

I'm missing The Wire.

I just subscribed, finally, to Heaven: Season 1 on podiobooks.com.

Torchwood is getting scary! And damn is it good. Ianto is a wedding fairy, and I love him.

I work with some fantastic, kick ass, hardworking people. I also work with some real losers. Why do some people have to be such douchebags? I continue to strive to being a mensch, but damn those fools make it hard for me.

We watched the finale of The L Word. Why does Shane always hurt the ones she loves? How did Jenny end up kinda cool? Does anyone who can see the orange in my font care about Bette and Tina anymore?

The Tudors starts up with Season 2 this Sunday. I'm kinda looking forward to that.

I'm going to pick up the newest Widespread Panic album pretty soon. I listened to Panic all day at work - it's probably what kept me from hollering at aforementioned douchebags. I watched their DVD Panic in the Streets last night and it brought me a lot of great memories. Mostly, stumbling out of Red Rocks with Lil' Toni after the Leftover Salmon/Panic show in around '95. Ain't life grand?

I'm still enjoying Clockers, but it's turning out to be a slow read for me.

I have a really annoying injury to my right ankle. I tore up those tendons playing basketball another lifetime ago and didn't have the surgery I should have. Ever since then I have injured it badly probably a dozen times. I just did it again today, so here I sit with my giant ankle and an ice pack.

OMG, Admiral Adama is everyone's daddy. Kat was an annoying pain in the ass, but "The Passage" was a sweet ass episode. Him sitting with her at the end was super touching. There is still hope for humanity in moments like that.

Torchwood Whiplash

Sly B and I have been having an ongoing discussion about the representations of race on Torchwood. I've been thinking about that issue a lot lately, and formulating a post on the subject for a few weeks. Today, I encountered two items on the show, and figured now was a good a time as any to get my thoughts out.

The first item, from where I stole the image above, was a really nice essay on Feminist SF - The Blog, which I read and enjoy occasionally. I think that Shannan Palma makes some great points that are similar to things that Sly B and I have been tossing back and forth as we enjoy the show. In a nutshell, why are the women of color (3 - 1 lead and 2 guests) on the show either evil aliens or sad and lonely singles? Click on the link to read her post, because she outlines this much better than I would have done.

The second item was a pretty homophobic and poorly done guest review on the latest episode of my favorite podcast, Slice of SciFi. It was really disappointing. Briefly, the reviewer, Just Terry, who I don't know anything about except he thinks he's really funny, said that he likes Torchwood but thinks there is too much gay stuff on it. He doesn't mind gay people, but wonders why we have to be hit over the head with it. If you want to hear it, don't say I didn't warn you -- it's linked at the beginning of this paragraph. Listen to the entire episode so your time isn't all the way wasted -- it's generally an outstanding show.

As anyone who reads this blog knows, I LOVE Torchwood. I think that it's got a queer vibe that The L Word tries and fails weekly to capture, and has great writing. It's outstanding SciFi, but also just a fun geeky soap opera. I have high hopes, like Shannan Palma, that the creators of the show will give Tosh something interesting to tackle so she doesn't have to continue playing the techie Asian who never gets laid, and is always on call and always willing to self-sacrifice for the job. The show is too good not to hope that it gets better.