Routine
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It was a wonderful night for Oscar, and war coverage aside, one of the more enjoyable ceremonies in many years. Steve Martin remains the sharpest ongoing host the telecast has going for it - he's the only one who treats the show like what it should be, a roast.
So let's talk about the thrills. Let's talk about Sean Astin being caught in a moment of jaw-dropped "WHUH?!" when Mickey Mouse starts babbling about Frodo. Let's talk about Sean Connery presenting to Catherine Zeta-Jones, allowing us all the opportunity to hear Jim Malone say "Chicago" one more time. (He should have followed up his announcement with a raspy "That's the Chicago way!" just to seal the deal, but who's complaining?). Let's talk about Peter O'Toole, more class in his pinky finger than the rest of the damned room combined. And let's talk about my new hero, Adrian Brody... it's just too bad the lips he had to meet were Halle Berry's.
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I love any Ocar winner who celebrates his victory by immediately and decisively ensuring that not only will he never win again, but that he'll never even be invited to another ceremony. I don't know what I found more apalling: the boos for Moore's speech, or the fact that the same crowd cheered the similar anti-war sentiments coming from prettier mouths just a few minutes later. But it was entirely satisfying to know that no matter what, Michael Moore doesn't disappoint: the nervous feelings as he climbed the stairs couldn't possibly have anticipated what he actually said.
And speaking of the war: could the coverage get any more obnoxious? I thought I'd seen it all, but ABC's three-dimensional digital replica of Baghdad, complete with exploding buildings and dying people, is the single most incisive example of news-as-entertainment I've ever seen. All they need are some Massive-generated Iraqis running for their lives and bingo, you can outsell Lord of the Rings.
I was a bit pissed that Scorcese didn't win, even if Polanski did. I did appreciate, however, the degree to which the evening could be seen as revenge for Moulin Rouge's losses last year: but does this mean Nicole Kidman's about to get annoying again? And of course, Gollum notwithstanding, the stronger FX work last year was Attack of the Clones. But you knew that.
Congratulations to Jason, who has won the Oscar Pool this year in a squeaker with 16 points, over Dave's 15. He would be sharing the pot with Steve, had Steve actually paid, as Steve's unregistered ballot also scored a 16. I, of course, failed miserably. In fact, I doubt I shall ever run the pool again without a hefty administration fee, to ensure that I see some money at some point... This "being a total loser" thing was funny in grade school but c'mon! Oscar's the biggest reality TV show around, so why can't I handicap it?
We had a great time at my place with the first HD Oscar broadcast, even if things got a bit squeezy from time to time. We'll have to do it again next year!
My Big Fat Greek Roadblock
Mar 23 2003 -
2:50 p.m.
All morning I'm thinking that an inordinate number of people are wandering down Pape carrying flags, but I pay it no mind and don't discover the reason behind this until I venture forth to buy some supplies for tonight's ever-expanding Oscar shindig. I find a throng of about ten thousand people are wrapped around the Danforth! From the sheer amount of broiled meat being sold by unlicensed vendors, I assume that it's some sort of Greek event, and my suspicion is borne out by the fact that on every corner, someone is getting into an argument over what's actually the funniest part of My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Looks like it's Greek Pride Day, and the Greek Pride Parade is rather neatly blocking my access to everything on the south side of Danforth... namely the grocery store and the liquor store. I have no problem with this, but couldn't they circulate a fucking memo? Still, it's a good example of why living in my new neighbourhood is often quite enjoyable: stuff like this never happened in Lawrence Park. (Then again, I'm guessing that there wont' be a Lawrence Park Family Fun Day down here on Danny.)
Only a few more hours till Oscar... can you feel the excitement in the air? Probably not, on account of how there is none.
P's and Q's
Mar 22 2003 - 9:11
p.m.
Mark and I went down to the peace rally today, which was perfectly peaceful for the entire time that I was there but evidently ended up a bit nasty towards the tail end... who knows what that was about. The only exciting thing that happened in my presence was a guy starting to chant "U.S.A.! U.S.A.!" and being escorted out of the throng by security.
Quidditch
Mar 22 2003 - 9:17
a.m.
The guy who plays Marcus Flint has announced that he ain't in Prisoner of Azkaban, either. It's looking increasingly like "no Quidditch for you!" Which makes me want to camp out in front of Warner Brothers wearing nothing but a diaper and go "waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"
Dreams
Mar 21 2003 - 10:08
a.m.
Am I asleep? Have I slept?
Forgot to post this yesterday: the war in Iraq's gonna be okay cuz Optimus Prime is over there. He will defeat the forces of Megaddam! Now if I were going to change my name to an 80s pop cultural icon, I'd think Gobo Fraggle would be the best fit, no?
David Greenwalt is saying that whatever Joss has planned for "Chosen," the battle will be as big as Lord of the Rings. Well no, obviously not, but the sentiment is appreciated. Me, I'll be happy if there's just one Braveheart battle between potential Slayers and Turok-Hans, with Willow in a tree somewhere (a Willow, perhaps?) just going ZZZZZZZZAP, ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZAP, ZZZZZZZZZZZZAP!!
Not quite enough sleep last night but it was deep and dark, man, I was nowhere near here.
Lessons
Mar 21 2003 - 1:37
a.m.
It's amazing what you intuit ... what you feel is right, before you know it's right. What the world teaches you. Let the instincts guide you, go with your gut, etc. It happens to me a lot when I look over my older notes and outlines of things I'm writing now, and find that ideas I'd had ten years ago solve problems I thought I hadn't even invented until this week. Spooky... and so reassuring.
I've been feeling that weird connection all week. Hard to shake that feeling. I feel awake these days, really plugged in to myself and everything that's going on around me. I guess it happens to me every spring. Now it's 03/21 which I would guess is about as close as I get to a numerically perfect day.
Right now it's twenty to two on Thursday night already - when did that happen? Sure, poker got shuffled off to a different night, Survivor was on a Wednesday, and a war started, but even beyond these disruptions I'm completely mentally unable to even consider that this week is almost over. Things are just flying by right now, which is good, cuz I can't wait to get to the end of it all.
I broke just 75¢ above even at poker tonight, but then we bagged off to the Golden Griddle for some of that creepy Hollandaise of theirs. That's always fun. But where are the midnight madness screenings? Am I really getting that old, that the whole 4 in the morning thing just genuinely frightens me, and I look back fondly on the days I could go to Canada's Wonderland without feeling like I'd been kicked around by a linebacker? I never even had a real stay-out-till-dawn adolescence and here I'm already in my in-bed-by-ten middle age. The hell with that!! Gotta snag back some of that time if I can.
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The UK cover of Order of the Phoenix was released today; the Canadian version will probably be exactly the same. I didn't see the yellow coming. But hey, who cares? It's exactly three months away today. Gonna line up as long as I have to, and then blammo - you won't see me or hear me for however long it takes me to read the 847 page monstrosity, twice. That's gonna be all I'm about for the entirety of the end of June.
Boy... I guess I should go to bed.... Everything's mirror images and dark parallels, I can see nothing else... which shows me that I've been writing Night for far too long. Gotta get back to something simple.... why can't I ever come up with something simple?
But I'm learning, every day. Learning how to do this better... all this... and hey, I was getting the job done well enough before. Something's turned over in me; there's a kind of critical mass to everything right now that gives momentum to everything I'm doing. It's kind of nice. Or maybe I'm just going crazy? Hey, whatever it is, I'll take it....
The Truth, 41 Minutes Later
Mar 19 2003 -
9:43 p.m.
And no, friends, it ain't all Survivor and Buffy, but there's no personal ability for me to react to what's about to happen - what's already happening - so I'm not sure if I can be much help right now. I'm sorry if the content of this site seems trite and unassuming in the wake of what's going on. But guess what: my life is trite and unassuming. I build web sites. And on good days I make movies. I crack wise and collect action figures and live the absolute epitome of the 21st century's luxuriance, bestowed upon me because I am at the very, very top of the food chain. White. Male. Heterosexual. Twenties. Canadian. DISPOSABLE INCOME.
This isn't self-deprecation or a lack of belief in my own value. I have value. A lot of it. I have things to offer. But I'm neither a soldier nor a peacemaker. I don't perform neurosurgery, rescue children from burning buildings or strike out into space in search of understanding. I build web sites. And on good days I make movies.
I live by a few collections of good words, and one of those passages is:
"Only the best [art] can realign chaos to suggest both the chaos and the order it will become."
I believe these things because I am what I am. I'm a simpleton in most respects because I don't buy the cynicism. I try to see it all with eyes open and I fail more often than I succeed, but onward I go. Wherever I am in the world I always know that I can pick a direction and walk, never stopping until I get home.
Our "friendly neighbours" are about to jump Iraq. A whole lot of people are going to get killed. My "twin" is over there right now, willing to face the consequences of her beliefs because she is a hero. I'm not one yet, except in my own very insignificant story. So if you'll excuse me, I'll retreat to an ongoing ramble regarding good tilled earth....
Back in the Game
Mar 19 2003 - 9:02
p.m.
I've been blabbing to anyone who'll listen (which isn't much of a list) that I haven't really been feeling it lately when I watch Survivor, but consider that ended: I think tonight's ep was the most enjoyable hour of the series since Big Tom and Tattoo drunk beer with a hippo. It had all the strategy, intrigue, sexual politics, and back-door scheming that makes Survivor great, and put a nice big cherry on top: a whole bunch o' folk tearing rrrrrrrred meat off the bone with their teeth.
And there was also that spooky moment: the first time I saw someone write "Matt" on the little piece of paper and hold it up for camera. Just think, someday that'll happen to me!
If I had my druthers, I'd put Matthew, Christie and Butch in the final three, and I do think they all still have a legitimate shot at the Final Four. Still rooting for my namesake to win although he made some foolish choices tonight. The one person I want out, and now, is Heidi. After all that shit about Michael Jackson being the freakiest person on the planet, leave it to CBS to trump its neighbour networks by showing a human being actually de-evolving into a gibbon, live on TV in just a few weeks' time. Naked next week? Count me out!
Two Angels Enter, One Angel Leaves: Welcome to
Thunderdome
Mar 18 2003 - 11:01 p.m.
I've got a lingering, objectivity-nullifying fondness for any time a character gets into a fistfight with his evil twin. (And I just realized what's missing from Night. Damn! Back to the drawing board) It goes all the way back to the Good Captain Kirk vs. Evil Captain Kirk days and it's more than enough to sell me on Angel vs. Angelus in the back alleys of the mind.
Willow's appearance on the ep was less affecting but I dug the scenes between the future Mr. and Mrs. Hannigan-Denisof. And was that a genuine lesbian hot flash for Fred? Goodie goodie.
So remember everyone, Survivor is on Wednesday this week (and next?). I was going to go with Roger... but instead I'll veer left and pick Alex as the lucky loser. The love triangle shall end badly.
Okay, that's all the jive I can blow out my ass for now. But let's give a cheer for the ten thousand signatures the Original Trilogy petition has racked up in the past 36 hours... At sixty bucks per "vintage cut" DVD 3-pack, that's just over half a million dollars Lucasfilm is pissing away. And we're just getting started...
(Wow: Tederick.com Mainstay 1, Buffy, meets Tederick.com Mainstay 2, Original Trilogy petition. Are you sure you're not bored yet?)
Heat
Mar 17 2003 - 2:30
p.m.
God-DAMN it's gorgeous today. Yesterday was a wee bit disappointing, I've gotta say, but today's delivering on all thrusters. It's actually kind of nice that I had to take Zam to the vet, cuz it meant I got to go outside; otherwise I would have been chained up in here with all this bitchy work.
Zam's probably fine, there wasn't anything overtly wrong with her although I get to take a poop sample tonight and bring it in tomorrow in case she's a hive of evil bacteria. The things we do for our loved ones.
I'm sixteen figures away from crowning the 400th member of my Star Wars action figure collection, not including my custom figures which are an entity among themselves. Mental!
So yeah, everybody into the pool. I wish I could be out there with you but I've got a bunch of shite to write for the Edge Codes Telefilm proposal....
(and exactly when do I get to write my own Telefilm proposal?)
Paddywagon
Mar 17 2003 - 9:41
a.m.
Top o' tha mornin' to ya!
Now for ten dollars or ten points, who was Saint Patrick, and what did he do to earn all this fine, chocolatey Guinness?
After garnering an impressive 3,000 signatures on its own, the cat's out of the bag on the Original Trilogy petition and it's now being promoted by the larger DVD and Star Wars fan sites. Watch those numbers fly! And of course, my thanks goes out to all those Tederick.com readers who signed, my enmity goes out to those who didn't, and my indulgent smiles to those who signed but then chickened out at the confirmation e-mail phase.
What was with the George Lucas fetishing on Fox last night? A Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones ref and an American Graffiti ref on The Simpsons, and then Raiders on Malcolm. Was this a theme night?
I know a cat who's going to the vet. I call her Barfmaker Prime.
Ponder, Penetrate, Ponder S'More
Mar 16
2003 - 5:19 p.m.
It's finally beautiful here in T.O.... or beautiful enough. I dusted off the bike and got myself damn good and soaked today (and re-learned the age old lesson, never take your cell phone when you go riding). All the while I'm pondering the question of Tederick.com and its future. You know what three days ago was? The three year anniversary of this ongoing weblog component of the site. That's a hell of a lot of blather about nothing, don't you think? And to be honest, the whither-to's and the why-for's of how so many strangers can be visiting this page on a daily basis are beginning to form a shadow on my mind... Suffice it to say, I don't understand it. But I do know things will change, I do know this can't last forever.
After a spate of productivity a couple of weeks ago I'm in a bit of a standstill on my two scripts... In fact I think the most creative thing I've done all week was discuss my Subculture with Daniel, who discussed his Subculture in return. But where it's going... more riddles. All things seem to be drawing together into a cosmic point, but the meaning eludes me.
It's going to be a shite-busy week and I'm antsy already. The sun is just setting... that western exposure in my living room is paying dividends now, and looks to continue to do so through October or so. And then there's these virgin streets, which haven't seen what my bike can do to them, and the feeling of picking up speed, pushing harder, out and down into the ravine. I love it when everything's melting, it's like the world suddenly remembered how to smell good.
Weta Digital has turned in their work on the Two Towers Extended Edition, and is now full-bore on Return of the King. And guess what they're doing immediately after? The first Chronicle of Narnia, of course, the goddamned useless motherfucking hack Shrek director's take on material way, way above his station. I'm assuming they're starting with Lion but I have yet to see this confirmed, and the whole thing's heading for release next summer, just in time to get the shit kicked out of it by Harry Potter. As for me, hell, I've got seven Narnia scripts in my drawer but even I'm on to new things now....
ONE HUNDRED
Mar 14 2003 - 10:33
a.m.
Today's Woogie's hundredth birthday! (In cat years, of course. In human terms he's turned 20.) We failed in our bid to make Woogie Day a national holiday, but I highly recommend taking the day off anyway, and celebrating it properly: lie down in front of a fire somewhere and sleep for eleven hours. Or eat, eat, and eat some more. The more adventurous types might want to try peeing indoors and/or falling off kitchen cabinets. Remember to accompany all of these with a full-throated "mowwwwwwwwroooooooooooooooo!"
Meanwhile, Mojo met Zam for the first time last night. While they (of course) didn't particularly like each other, they also didn't try to kill each other, which I think was as good as we could hope for. You know what happens when girls get together.... scratch! hiss!
Speaking of cats, here's some "from bad to worse:" Ashley Judd is out as Catwoman, and Halle Berry is in. And Katie Holmes is evidently the frontrunner to play Christine in Joel Schumacher's Phantom of the Opera. Shiessh!
And finally: I was wrong about Survivor! Which I am actually rather pleased about; a four-episode streak was more than enough satisfaction for me. I'm digging the swap, but my overall Survivor interest is dipping low. I like Matthew, Butch, and unfortunately Jenna for the final four. Not sure who will fill the wildcard slot....
Shawna's a Gawna...
Mar 13 2003 - 3:51
p.m.
Really thought there was somewhere I could go with that but I guess it's fairly self-explanatory.
Where is the Matrix?
Mar 13 2003 - 10:21
a.m.
As I was discussing last night with Erik and the poker power pod, my interest in the Matrix sequels has completely vanished in the last three months. Very odd, n'est-ce pas? I don't think it's perfect, but I've always gotten a kick out of the first film, and I've been on board with it since before the beginning. I remember Brandy and I having gleeful discussions of our anticipation of the flick in the editing corridor at York, back when most people thought it was going to be another Johnny Mnemonic. We'd take a tape of the trailer and sneak into one of the classrooms to watch it on the big screen with the video projector. (It was a nice break from all the pre-Phantom Menace mayhem.) She, Steve, Candace and I all decided to try to catch the sneak preview, expecting no one to be there (Johnny Mnemonic?!) and were amazed to find about a thousand people crowding the door of the theatre. We got in, literally, on Brandy and Candace's good looks alone.
But it's looking increasingly like Team Matrix left things about a year too long. If Reloaded had hit last summer, I would have been all over it. Now, it's a decided "meh." I'm far more interested in X2, and even the Hulk.
Of course, all this probably means Matrix 2 will be one of the films I enjoy most this summer, and I'm just fooling myself. I have to admit, the second Animatrix short ("Program") was really enjoyable, although the first one was absolute shite and totally robbed the entire Matrix backstory of any grandeur or originality. (The world was overthrown by a bunch of robots who look like Flo from Attack of the Clones? Mesa no think so.)
I guess we'll find out soon enough. And speaking of soon enough: The hundred-days countdown for Harry Potter 5 has started! Hard to believe time is flying by so quickly; the DVD of Chamber is out in less than a month. That's all good. Meanwhile my Hogwarts has been reconfigured to fit into a smaller space. What this apartment desperately needs is a gigantic toy display area...
And while on the subject of red pills, check out this photo from my cottage a few weeks back, wherein Mark actually built a snowman on the dock. Well done!
Misappropriation
Mar 12 2003 - 6:41
p.m.
Some wanker tried to sign the petition as Bone Daddy, using my e-mail address... whoever you are, please get in touch with me so we can discuss better ways for you to vent these strange sexual urges of yours.
The Force of Fan Complaint
Mar 12 2003 -
11:43 a.m.
Whaddaya know, I got a letter back from Lucasfilm. A form letter, to be sure, but at least it specifically addressed my query ("Mr. Lucas does not plan to re-release [the films] in their original form for the DVD") and they tossed in a free issue of the Insider. Of course, it's one I've already got, but it's the thought that counts. If anyone wants #65 free of charge (it's the one with Vader on the cover), let me know, first come first served.
Perhaps today would be a good day for you to sign the petition?
Or you can try writing a letter yourself, remembering that paper always weighs more than electrons. The address is:
George Lucas
c/o Lucasfilm Ltd
P.O. Box 2009, San Rafael
CA
94912-2009
Be polite.
Slaghoople
Mar 12 2003 - 10:08
a.m.
The first look at the Clone Wars action figures isn't terribly promising, but as with all Expanded Universe stuff I'll likely just grab what's cool (like that cold-weather Obi-Wan last year). And speaking of cold weather: proving that they haven't completely lost their touch, Hasbro is releasing two versions of their new Hoth Han - one with a brown coat and one with blue, because no one in the world can say for certain what colour that damn coat is. I'll be buying the blue one myself, to bask in the glory of the vintage days.
We've had Paul Thomas Anderson directing an Adam Sandler film, and now Steven Spielberg is taking on Jim Carrey in a remake of The Life of Walter Mitty. Between this, Terminal, and the other thing, I'm not sure where Indy IV has been left in the shooting schedule, but I figure if they leave it a few more years they can pull out a lovely deuce at the end of the movie by having Indy find the treasure within the folds of his own wrinkles. Didn't see that coming!
Binge
Mar 11 2003 - 11:58
p.m.
Came running in the door just now with only one thought in the world: gotta watch Angel. Unfortunately Zam had other ideas.... that damned thing barfed all over this place! So I spent a half an hour cleaning that up and quivering in my boots over my very, very, very, very, very foolish DVD day.
Lovely to see folks' names popping up on the Original Trilogy petition.... shows me who loves me and who's a sack o' nuthinmuch. I'll keep a button on the left for the rest of ever, just to continue to badger. Apparently another me signed from somewhere in Jersey...
There's a lovely balmy moisture in the air, which suggests that in spite of the intense frigidity of the last few days, spring really is just around the corner. Which suits me just fine.
Watched American Idol for the first (and only) time in my life tonight, but just for the record:
Carmen to win, Clay for second, Ruben for third. Bet the house.
Now I'll watch Angel, if there are no more disruptions...??
Spring Breeeeeeeaaaaaaaaak!!!
Mar 11 2003
- 10:48 a.m.
My parents are in Spain (and so's Bex, oddly enough... wine and cheese on the Mediterrannean?), but my March continues unBroken. Ah the good old days. I'd even take a text-packed Reading Week right around now. Instead I've been working on another Telefilm application, this time for EdgeCodes.com. And revising like a madman, of course.
It's time to get out your signing fingers again: there were some problems with the first petition at OriginalTrilogy.com, which turned into a fairly heavy Lucas bash-fest. Please SIGN THIS RIGHT NOW. This goes double for Star Wars fans, obviously, but film folk in general would be well advised to consider signing as well... regardless of your relative fandom of Star Wars, you gotta admit that burning the negative of the original trilogy is just a bad, bad bit of business from a historical standpoint.
Or just do it cuz you love me.
Or just do it cuz I let you read my web site for free and it's time to start giving something back, freeloaders!
Craving
Mar 9 2003 - 10:20
a.m.
There's no way around it, I'm craving the X Files. That's not good; that's a craving that carries a $900 price tag. (to date!) But it's on my mind. Scully! I miss Scully! Maybe I'll dredge out my Scully action figure and go to town.
Started, and finished Art and Fear yesterday. I can think of five people off the top of my head who need to read this book right away. (They know who they are; they're the people whose jaw hit the floor when I said I'd written 77 pages in 52 hours). The book's not brilliant in its entirety but there are a number of key distinctions in there that go a long way to explaining why, for the sake of argument, work gets done in the artistic field by a boob like me. (As I was contemplating last week, the only problem with my strategy last year was that 4 pages a day wasn't nearly enough.)
What to read next? Springtime always puts me in mind of pelting through Ulysses again but I should probably curb that....
"...Finally Defeated..."
Mar 8 2003 -
10:22 a.m.
Very bad news this morning - Sean Biggerstaff isn't going to be in Prisoner of Azkaban, because Oliver Wood never appears...! This is obviously a huge change from the book, where a triptych of Quidditch matches (in Wood's final year at Hogwarts, no less) form a very important ongoing plot point for Harry. If these Quidditch matches aren't in the film at all, I'm going to be very, very disappointed. They're my favourite matches of the whole series, one my favourite parts of this particular book, and some of the best mood-n-atmosphere writing Jo Rowling's done to date. GRRRRRRR.........
Other than that, I'm fuckin' tip-top. The music for Bone Daddy is coming together nicely and I assembled a pretty decent opening titles sequence yesterday. I'll have to get cracking on the closing titles today if I have time for it.... for some reason "clean the house" is taking priority in my mind. (It's been a while.)
I finished Porno last night and I'm starting Art and Fear next. No book I've ever read has inspired more curiousity from strangers than Porno.... I suppose that's to be expected, what with the lurid pink cover and the nipples and all.
And no Tederick.com content has inspired more reaction from readers than the ongoing Buffy lament that has been part-n-parcel of the site for the past month. A lot of people love it, a lot of people want it shuffled off to Buffalo. Well, as Dave sagely pointed out.... it's my web site!!!! You're all just lucky you weren't here in '94, when The Next Generation got cancelled, or when I was contributing to the Save My So-Called Life campaign.
mwa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha evil webmaster luvs buffy.
"Now Make an End"
Mar 6 2003 - 6:52
p.m.
Here's the skinny on the final Buffy roll out:
Lies My Parents Told Me will probably air on the 18th or 25th, and hopefully will deal with Joyce's obscure prophecy to Dawnie. But after that, I'd expect some more delays getting to the big, five-ep arc that ends on May 20th. The final wind-up includes:
Dirty Girls - Faith returns!
Empty Spaces
Unlock the Power
Pipe Dream
Chosen - May
20
And holy cow wasn't Eliza's first Angel ep brilliant? "Step away from the glass...." frickin' perfect. Couldn't have asked for it to be better. And Angel's phone call to Dawn.... hysterical!
And fans of Firefly will be seeing Nathon Fillion in a recurring role through the final five episodes of Buffy, playing someone named "Caleb." Where do they come up with these wonderful names?
Snapshot
Mar 6 2003 - 3:13
p.m.
Oh Glory! Hallelujah!
Mar 6 2003 - 2:45
p.m.
I honestly have no fucking clue for Survivor tonight so I'm going to go with what I hope will happen, namely that Joanna gets the boot. If it's the men's turn, I'll pick Alex as a spare.
bah
Mar 6 2003 - 10:37
a.m.
Steven Wright was fabbo last night, and it was damned neat to see him again after all these years. Do you know about last time? Last time, me, Mark, Adam and Ryan actually hung around the stage door after the show to get a chance to meet the big man. Well, big man misconception #1: he's fairly little. Still, it was damned cool, especially given that it was at a time in our lives when the study of the art and science of comedy was key. And here was The Man, and not only that, I could ask him about what it was like to win an Oscar. (And did.) (Have you visited the Oscar Pool page yet? Why not? Shame on you.)
So yes. Neat.
After the show I proceeded to make a gigantic strategic error and I went to the poker game, where I lost eight hands in a row and got cleaned out for my entire 21 bucks in just over an hour. "The cards were not in my favour" is a relatively lightweight manner of describing: I got the shit kicked out of me. It was nothing short of a massacre. But there will be revenge...!
Today's good thing:
Boy, this is really gonna happen, isn't it? Since I never watch CNN, could someone give me a "previously on buffy" synopsis so I'm up to date during sweeps when Bush starts bombing the shit out of everyone?
It's Oscar Time...
Mar 4 2003 - 1:34
p.m.
Guess what folks? I finally got off my ass and finished up this year's Oscar Pool. There's a convenient link on the left, or you can just CLICK HERE. Entries are due March 23rd at 7:00, along with all yo' money.
All That Jazz
Mar 4 2003 - 9:57
a.m.
I'm fairly protective of my Peter Pans, but check this out:
That's a pretty good Pan. (And Jason Isaacs is playing Hook!) The flick's due on Christmas Day, just in time to get the stuffing kicked out of it by Return of the King. Must we witness another Nemesis-style suicide mission? Sigh.
Here's today's I-wish-it-were-true rumour: James Marsters in Episode III! The rumour is that he's up for Tarkin, although they've been rumouring Tarkin's involvement in the prequels for far too long for anyone to get excited about this. Good job matching the facial bone structure, though.
So I finished Subculture last night, although I still feel like something's missing. Might have been because of the splitting headache... but I suppose I'll have to find time to go over it quickly and see what didn't happen that should have happened. Gotta keep this insane pace up, if only because it's making me the stuff of legend. (Wait: I wasn't already the stuff of legend?)
I also finished Angel Season One last night because $%#@& ATV didn't show the new episode like they bloody well should have to get back in the groove so that viewers like me can watch a new Buffy and a new Angel back to back as it was always meant to be instead of diverging the star-crossed lovers across separate nights, the network bastards I hate them so much, run-on sentence ends here.
ANYHOO - I'm digging the Angel, the last reveal was absolutely loverly. And I've fairly well decided that Julie Benz might actually be the most beautiful woman in the history of the world. Or at the very least, the most camera-friendly. As for the Angelic drama, yeah, it gets a lot better when Wes shows up, but I don't think that's because of Doyle specifically, just that Doyle was around while the show was still trying to find its feet. After three weeks of being nervous about it, I am definitely glad I added the big lug to my collection. And give it up for "I Will Remember You:" the best Buffy episode that isn't actually a Buffy episode.
Now I gotta wait till September. Damn all this!
Is that enough pop-culture arcana for you? How about this: Star Trek IV is out on DVD today, so here's my long-awaited Star Trek IV review. Woo ... hoo.
All things being equal I guess that was a rather weak way to end my rantings of the day. Perhaps I shall return later with more rantings about Angel and Buffy because y'know, that's all this site is about. Buffy.com. "Tederick" is "Buffy" in Greek.
Ah yes, that's the last thing: to clear up any confusion regarding a screening of the final episode of Buffy: yes, if no one else is doing something spectacular, I will do something spectacular for Buffy-faithful and posers alike. It will probably be costume-required or at the very least costume-optional but if it's the former, wuss-ass costumes like "Jonathan in episode 46" are permitted as long as photographic evidence is supplied. I can help with that. Barring any nastiness out in the Maritimes, the gathering would be on May 19th with the episode starting at 7:00. A "Once More With Feeling" singalong will be featured. Drinkable blood and/or cranberry juice will be available. Formal invitations won't go out until May. So why am I talking about it now? Damned OCD...
Perfunctory
Mar 2 2003 - 11:35
p.m.
Today was my second time snowboarding. I'm glad to say my skills don't seem to have dropped away in the past five weeks - I went to that mountain and by the end of the day I had handed it its ass. The weather, on the other hand, kicked the living shit out of us. It was supposed to be a balmy +1 and partly cloudy; by mid afternoon the wind chill was in the low -20s and several of the hills were literally unusable. Still, I got in some very good runs, and I'm a Blue boy now. I don't honestly know if I'll ever graduate to blacks but hey, a lot of things can happen in a year.
Mightily exhausted now, though; getting up at 7 isn't as much fun as it used to be. My page count on Subculture is only the high seventies but I'll try to top it off tomorrow; I'm too wasted tonight.
Happy Birthday Ron!
Mar 1 2003 - 7:23
p.m.
Can't believe it's March already. And a lovely first of March we had too! I'm off snowboarding tomorrow... let's see what February did to my skills.
Oh and February sucked by the way. SUCKED.