New Years Open Thread
What are you all getting into?
I think I am going to spend the night fighting for position on the couch while gaming or watching tv. Not sure. Exciting, no?
*** Update ***
I know we are sposed to be thinking positive things about the fresh New Year, but I need to get this off my chest while it is 2010. Rosie is such a hot mess she is driving me insane. She sits near me and whines whines whines unless we are on walks, and simply can not entertain herself without my undivided attention. And I’ve been around JRT’s before- she is a special needs JRT. She is also the only dog I know who, given 6 feet of leash, can perfectly hog-tie herself and have 3 ft of leash left over to attempt to trip me- before we are even out the door. And then there are the walks, with her weaving back and forth and behind me and in front of me, tangling Lily’s leash and tripping me, all while barking and getting every damned dog in the neighborhood wound up. Lily was a mess on the leash at first, too, but she learned quite quickly. Not so much with Rosie.
Damned spazz.
December 31, 2010 8:08 pm
Posted in: Open Thread
211 Comments
211 Responses
cathyx - December 31, 2010 | 8:10 pm · Link
I really hope you win. It’ll be a good omen for 2011.
Just Some Fuckhead - December 31, 2010 | 8:12 pm · Link
Laura W. and I are talking about you.
cathyx - December 31, 2010 | 8:12 pm · Link
For me? Cabernet, steak and a salad. Crossword puzzle then bed.
Then be awakened at 12:00 by obnoxious neighbor’s fireworks.
adolphus - December 31, 2010 | 8:14 pm · Link
vegetarian hot dogs, Cheeze-its and Kick-Ass.
Don’t tell me. I’ve nothin’ to do.
TaMara (BHF) - December 31, 2010 | 8:14 pm · Link
Happy New Year everyone. I’ll be doing some end of the year work for a client and then, I don’t know, something fun like going to bed early. HowboutU?
joe from Lowell - December 31, 2010 | 8:15 pm · Link
I’m going to try to knock down this stomach bug with enough Tums that I won’t make Mrs. joe from Lowell feel like I’m disrespecting her cooking.
You don’t disrespect Mrs. joe from Lowell’s cooking. You just don’t.
Genine - December 31, 2010 | 8:15 pm · Link
It IS exciting. Mine will be somewhat similar, except add sparkling pear juice, a word processing program and minus the pets.
Maxwel - December 31, 2010 | 8:16 pm · Link
On my first Pilsner Urquell.
Nicole - December 31, 2010 | 8:16 pm · Link
Cheese, beer and the original True Grit, since we just saw the new one. Tomorrow, burgers and Lonesome Dove.
Uloborus - December 31, 2010 | 8:16 pm · Link
I have been urged to let the next book sit for awhile and will be flipping through games, cartoons, books, movies, anything. I am unlikely to settle down, because what will actually be going on will be my creativity throwing blocks together in the back of my head to build a short story. A quiet evening, but I expect it to be satisfying.
Steeplejack - December 31, 2010 | 8:17 pm · Link
Just got home from work about 15 minutes ago. Was invited to a couple of parties, but not gonna go, because I have to work again at 10:30 in the morning. So I am going to cocoon in the man-cave, drink some champagne later and vacillate between TV and surfin’ the Interwebs. Good times.
The Sam Adams Winter Lager is not bad. Of which I am almost +1.
AliceBlue - December 31, 2010 | 8:18 pm · Link
We will be watching “It’s a Wonderful Life” for what seems like the 1,001th time (cause It’s Mr. AliceBlue’s family tradition), then watch the ball fall at midnight on Times Square. (Even though we live in Georgia, we don’t watch the silly Peach midnight countdown).
Steeplejack - December 31, 2010 | 8:19 pm · Link
@adolphus:
Countin’ flowers on the wall?
realbtl - December 31, 2010 | 8:22 pm · Link
Off to play dobro and electric guitar in the trip I’m part of. Gourmet restaurant (yes they do exist in this part of Montana), $200 per couple and though they may get drunk there will be no fights. I’d play for free just to munch down on the food. Plus it’s over at 10ish so I can beat the fighting drunks home. Happy New Years all.
General Stuck - December 31, 2010 | 8:22 pm · Link
Waiting anxiously
until the cows come home to roost
EmanG - December 31, 2010 | 8:22 pm · Link
The wife and I are heading into RockBand 3. Her on the skins me rocking the gitar. Champagne and good rocking, couldn’t ask for more. Best to all and may the FSM touch us all with with warm noodly appendages in the new year!
cathyx - December 31, 2010 | 8:22 pm · Link
I have to say after coming from a state where fireworks were illegal (Pa, are they still illegal?) to one where they are legal, I much prefer the illegal stand. And not because I have fear of injury from them. But because I find them annoying and not worth the money, noise, and mess from them.
Mike in NC - December 31, 2010 | 8:22 pm · Link
Watching shitty DVDs and drinking Stoli martinis.
efgoldman - December 31, 2010 | 8:23 pm · Link
@joe from Lowell:
Hah! I’ve been fighting [the same?] bug since yesterday, although I find the pink stuff much more useful,than tums. Also, don’t diss Mrs efgoldman’s cooking, but she called when I was still at work and asked for Chinese. Unfortunately, the good place was so busy I couldn’t even get thru on the phone.
Old fudds, we are (Mr and Ms efg, not necessarily Mr & Ms jfl).
@Steeplejack:
Winter lager has got too much stuff in it for me. the summer ale, oln the other hand…
efgoldman - December 31, 2010 | 8:24 pm · Link
@Steeplejack:
A song of which I could have gone the rest of my life without hearing again.
SIA - December 31, 2010 | 8:24 pm · Link
Jammies. Jammies, Netflix, and two sleeping dogs next to a wood fire.
The Art of Staying Home.
adolphus - December 31, 2010 | 8:26 pm · Link
@Steeplejack:
bing!
Old Dan and Little Ann - December 31, 2010 | 8:27 pm · Link
I just watched some kick ass fireworks from my back porch. I thought the roof was caving in before I went to the window. From google maps they’re either from some random house or a golf course. The hound didn’t seem to mind. He freaked a bit this summer.
Yutsano - December 31, 2010 | 8:27 pm · Link
Annoying the kitteh, enjoying the fire, and trying to keep my glasses together long enough to get to the optometrist on Monday.
skippy - December 31, 2010 | 8:30 pm · Link
mrs. skippy and i have been power-cycling midsomer murders on netflix. we have just gotten to where the new sergent, sgt. scott, has arrived, taking over from sgt. troy.
they are delightful, terribly english whodunnits, taking place in the english country side, full of eccentrics and gentle humor.
we have some hot apple cider for our midnite toasts. we’ll watch the ball drop on tv, but god we hope dick clark doesn’t actually make an appearance. i am sorry to say it’s painful watching him try to countdown after his stroke.
anyway here’s to a peaceful and prosperous new year for all the balloon juicers and everyone in blogtopia and yes, i coined that phrase!
gbear - December 31, 2010 | 8:32 pm · Link
Used a shit-load of Border’s discounts to get the Jimi Hendrix ‘Seattle’ box set last night for $24. Either listening to that or curling up with a book tonight. Freezing rain forcast tonight so the car is going to stay in the garage.
General Stuck - December 31, 2010 | 8:32 pm · Link
2011 – Year of The Aqua Buddha ?
The Disgruntled Chemist - December 31, 2010 | 8:33 pm · Link
My daughter is due to be born on Monday, so I don’t get to drink much in case Mrs. Chemist goes into labor tonight. I’m +2 (Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA), and that number isn’t going very much higher at all.
bk - December 31, 2010 | 8:34 pm · Link
I’m in Las Vegas, where there is absolutely nothing to do on New Year’s Eve – so staying home, drinking champagne and grilling steaks and watching the Marx Brothers marathon on TCM.
J. Michael Neal - December 31, 2010 | 8:34 pm · Link
@cathyx: My kittehs hate fireworks. The large scale professional type from downtown, or the local kids, it doesn’t matter. I wish they were illegal here.
Wait. They ARE illegal here. Fucking cheeseheads selling contraband to children.
4tehlulz - December 31, 2010 | 8:35 pm · Link
Currently +3
Just so you know, Harpoon Chocolate Stout is pure shit. Old Man Winter Ale is tolerable.
Also, 2010 can go eat a bag of salted cocks.
Hal - December 31, 2010 | 8:35 pm · Link
Pizza just arrived. A couple of cocktails and a bottle of white wine chilling in the fridge. Watching people on House Hunters claim the 3000 square foot home they are looking at is a “little on the small side.”
Starting new, full time job with benefits job on Monday after being temp for 6 months. Pay isn’t fantastic, but I’m thrilled I can actually go to the Doctors soon. Overall, not a bad New Year’s.
efgoldman - December 31, 2010 | 8:35 pm · Link
I don’t give a damn about the Old Bawl Koche or either of the teams in this bowl game, but damn if this doesn’t show the weakness of the long layoffs between the season and the bowls.
I mean, this is the S Carolina team that beat Alabama, and they’re playing like they don’t know which end of the football to hold.
And its another ten days until the champeenship. A penalty- and turnover-filled evening looms, I’m afraid.
General Stuck - December 31, 2010 | 8:36 pm · Link
@The Disgruntled Chemist:
Now THAT is an exciting new years!! good luck
hamletta - December 31, 2010 | 8:37 pm · Link
@Yutsano: Have you ever ordered glasses online? You can save a shit-ton of money. The eyewear industry is a criminal racket.
Glassy Eyes keeps track of all the online merchants and their sales and specials.
My vision insurance kicks in tomorrow, and I can’t wait to get some new specs! I got my last pair from a shop in Hong Kong for $65. That’s kinda high, because they had clip-on shades.
Zenni Optical has a bunch for $6.95. And they’re not even birth control glasses!
hilts - December 31, 2010 | 8:38 pm · Link
What are you getting into? BookTV all weekend long.
OT
Chris Christie commits political suicide
http://blog.nj.com/njv_paul_mu.....still.html
Nice takedown of NJ’s insufferable blowhard governor
Yutsano - December 31, 2010 | 8:42 pm · Link
@hamletta: This is more of an emergency repair situation, plus I have pretty uber vision insurance. I need a good eye exam anyway, I’m supposed to have them yearly and I’m overdue because of the move.
freelancer - December 31, 2010 | 8:42 pm · Link
I’m pulling a very Balloon-Juice New Years. Stayed over at the folks last night watching the abortion that was the NU vs. Washington Holiday Bowl, watched some bowl games. Now I’m at home settling in for a movie marathon, conversations with dear friends in AZ and Hawaii, and a bit of booze. What a difference a
dayyear makes.First movie: Catfish. Holy shit this is a shocking but human documentary. In the future, this should be screened alongside every viewing of The Social Network as a Double Feature.
Here’s my very, very tentative Top 10 films of 2010:
Inception
Four Lions
True Grit
The Town
Catfish
The Social Network
Casino Jack and the United States of Money
Toy Story 3
Countdown to Zero
Restrepo
Haven’t seen yet…
[Black Swan]
[Inside Job]
[127 Hours]
[Let Me In]
[The Fighter]
[Casino Jack]
SIA - December 31, 2010 | 8:42 pm · Link
@Hal: Congratulations on the new job! And benefits!
@The Disgruntled Chemist: And congrats to you and Mrs. Chemist!
Also. Too. I like it that there are a lot of the home-bodies around here. And no one apologizes for watching TV or movies.
Gin & Tonic - December 31, 2010 | 8:43 pm · Link
Finished off some tagliatelle with pancetta and chestnuts and a nice pinot. Wondering if we’ll make it awake until midnight EST. Starting a fire in the frpl seems too ambitious after 2/3 of a bottle of wine.
There’s a bottle of ice wine cooling on the deck for later (no, we’re not really fans of the bubbly).
JPL - December 31, 2010 | 8:44 pm · Link
@The Disgruntled Chemist: Yeah! Another baby. Good luck to you and your wife. Next year we expect pictures.
Happy New Year!
demimondian - December 31, 2010 | 8:45 pm · Link
Let’s see…FDDD and I will be entertaining all three children, plus at least one child’s significant other, for cheese dip, video games, roast chicken, and a 10pm bed time.
Gravenstone - December 31, 2010 | 8:45 pm · Link
Just finished a bit of home made pizza, currently flipping between a Tonic concert on the 101 and Doctor Who on BBCA. Figure I’ll wind up in WoW tonight long enough to get the mage to 85, maybe before the stroke of midnight. Yeah, good times – I no has them.
Ross Hershberger - December 31, 2010 | 8:50 pm · Link
@hamletta:
My wife the extreme cheapskate found glasses so cheap from Zenni that she ordered a second pair she didn’t even need.
This makes the local eyeglass shops look like they should be wearing masks and holding revolvers.
Long live the intertubes.
freelancer - December 31, 2010 | 8:53 pm · Link
I’m in mod hell. Goddamnit. Rescue me, oh blessed frontpagers, you’re my only hope.
Also, drink your cup of kindness, yet.
Happy New Year BJ
Jeffro - December 31, 2010 | 8:53 pm · Link
Finishing DROOD and listening to Leon Bates tear it up on PBS after a belly-busting amount of Grotto Pizza and Greek salad…not a bad night, actually!
Ron Beasley - December 31, 2010 | 8:54 pm · Link
Just about like any other night – to bed at nine, read for an hour then go to sleep. The difference is I will be awakened at 12:00 by the carbide canon fired by the jerk up the street.
Yes, I’m an old man so get off my lawn.
JPL - December 31, 2010 | 8:56 pm · Link
I’m watching Les Miserables. Liam Neeson is hot and although Geoffrey Rush is a great actor, I hate him.
efgoldman - December 31, 2010 | 8:58 pm · Link
Anybody see a pattern here?
How all of us former DFHs have become our parents?
The ultimate revenge of the greatest generation.
ETA: And we’ll have the same revenge on our kids.
hamletta - December 31, 2010 | 8:59 pm · Link
@Ross Hershberger: Ain’t it grand?
I’m not settling for clip-ons this time. I want a big honkin’ pair of Jackie O prescription sunglasses. And my beloved “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues” glasses, that I’ve been coveting for years. And some bifocals, so I don’t have to take off my glasses to work, then put them on again if I want to talk to someone and see them at the same time.
Martin - December 31, 2010 | 8:59 pm · Link
On the last day of work of 2010 I finally hired someone. She starts in 2 weeks. It’s her first full-time job out of college and I think she’s going to be fantastic – outgoing, energetic, smart, and will charm the pants off of the people she needs to get work out of. There were 2 other candidates that I liked but weren’t quite as strong and are unemployed, so I’m going to find them positions. One of my few good reputations is being able to filter out bad hires so my recommendations thankfully carry a lot of weight.
The applicant pool wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought, but it became clear in the interview process that it was shitty resumes, not shitty applicants. So, my broad advise to those suffering in our unemployment pool – fix your resume. For whatever reason, resumes have gotten much crappier.
Mnemosyne - December 31, 2010 | 9:00 pm · Link
I’m going to start preparing our pizza in about half an hour since G is hoping to be able to leave work at 7 pm and it takes 40 minutes to cook. In the meantime, I’ve finished the first part of my left-hand Broad Street Mitten and just cast on for the right hand.
PurpleGirl - December 31, 2010 | 9:00 pm · Link
@Hal: Congratulations on the new job.
stuckinred - December 31, 2010 | 9:00 pm · Link
Just watched Howl, I loved it.
Gina - December 31, 2010 | 9:01 pm · Link
Waiting for this boring emo western that DH is watching on Netflix to be over. I hate emo anything, and an emo western is just about the worst.
joe from Lowell - December 31, 2010 | 9:02 pm · Link
When I was in high school, my friends and I used to celebrate New Years Eve with a drinking board game we made up called “Puke Zone.” Basically, you kept having to drink, and if you had to get up to go throw up, you were out of the game.
Unless you got a “Yack and Come Back” card. Seriously, people would play those.
Good times. Yeah. We’re lucky nobody died.
So, in a sense, this year is just like old times.
General Stuck - December 31, 2010 | 9:04 pm · Link
Meet the next greatest guitar player that ever lived. Move over Jimi. Amazing,
MattRach – 17 year old french kid.
mclaren - December 31, 2010 | 9:05 pm · Link
Star Trek: Voyager marathon.
JAHILL10 - December 31, 2010 | 9:06 pm · Link
We are getting into some poached salmon, endive with balsamic vinegar and a creme brulee for desert with a little Sauvigon blanc on the side. We’re going to toast the New Year with some 18-year-old Laphroaig. Here’s to full employment in 2011!
Ross Hershberger - December 31, 2010 | 9:09 pm · Link
@hamletta:
Years ago I had a big pair of Persols converted to prescription tints for motorcycling & outdoor wear. Best eyewear purchase ever. Went to have a replacement pair made with new prescription this year and they casually quoted “around $600, depending…”
Eff that!
Mail order eyewear FTW.
Thoughtful Black Co-Citizen - December 31, 2010 | 9:13 pm · Link
Glad to see I’m not the only one who lives near pyrotechnics enthusiasts.
Unfortunately for them, one of my NY’s resolutions is to bring more pranks and mayhem into the lives of those around me.
Ross Hershberger - December 31, 2010 | 9:15 pm · Link
The turtles are fed, wife is playing Farmville and I’m bored so I’m annoying my Facebook friends by changing my profile pic back and forth between Mickey Rat and a hand shadow bunny.
Passive agressive ‘R Us.
cathyx - December 31, 2010 | 9:17 pm · Link
Warning…Star Trek geek talk here:
@mclaren: So funny you mention Star Trek. We were just talking about it tonight. I was saying how much I liked the original show, wouldn’t dream of even watching The Next Generation, until I did and loved it more than the original, and hating Voyager and Deep Space Nine, because those two didn’t have likable characters. But I did love the movie Star Trek from 2009 of the original crew when they just got into star fleet. Any other trekies here?
demkat620 - December 31, 2010 | 9:19 pm · Link
I am so ready for bed. I can’t remember the last time I saw the ball drop. I feel so old.
Bella Q - December 31, 2010 | 9:21 pm · Link
Having a late dessert of chocolate ice cream followed by Nantucket Cranberry Pie when it comes out of the oven. Dogs have had their firework foiling dose of acepromazine, and Mr. Q and I will enjoy a Bombay Sapphire martini and a movie of Mr. Q’s choosing (he lost the toss).
Happy New Year to all!
Dee Loralei - December 31, 2010 | 9:21 pm · Link
@Ross Hershberger: I left another Cary Grant movie rec down in the Partay thread. #125. It’s for HotShot or something like that with Grant and Barbara Stanwyck. He’s a genius heping to write an encyclopedia with a bunch of old men, she’s a mobmoll who teaches him slang. (They are on the S part of the encyclopedia.) Hilarity ensues. But I also reiterated to rec for Holiday. Even though my fav Grant/ Hepburn movie is Bringing up Baby. I also mentioned I was a Male War Bride, Pappa Goose and Houseboat.
Jill - December 31, 2010 | 9:22 pm · Link
Indian dinner earlier, then Marx Bros. marathon on TMC. Amazing how funny Animal Crackers still is.
JGabriel - December 31, 2010 | 9:26 pm · Link
John Cole:
Wow. I feel like I just got yelled at by my Dad.
Poor Rosie.
.
PurpleGirl - December 31, 2010 | 9:27 pm · Link
@cathyx: trekker here. I even worked at the NYC conventions.
ETA: I liked the original, Next Generation, Deep Space Nice but didn’t like Voyager or Enterprise.
Mnemosyne - December 31, 2010 | 9:30 pm · Link
@Dee Loralei:
Sorry, I just corrected you down below—you’re thinking of Ball of Fire with Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. Great movie, but no Cary Grant in it.
cathyx - December 31, 2010 | 9:30 pm · Link
@PurpleGirl: Wow. I may be a trekie, but I can honestly say I’m not such a geek as to have gone to any conventions. At least you had the excuse of working at it and not attending it.
J. Michael Neal - December 31, 2010 | 9:30 pm · Link
@Martin:
I have no idea how. Every time I ask someone who is supposed to know about these things, they give me advice that directly contradicts what the last person told me to do. As far as I can tell, no one has any idea what a good resume looks like, but they’re willing to charge you money to pretend.
That includes three different advisers in the University of Minnesota Business School’s career center. There wasn’t even a consistent office answer. Then again, given how useless they have been at every turn, I should probably discard everything that any of them suggested.
Ross Hershberger - December 31, 2010 | 9:31 pm · Link
@Dee Loralei:
I can’t frikkin’ believe that’s really a thing. I have a memory of watching that while laid over in some airport long ago. It’s so surreal I had reflexively categorized that recollection as a hallucination or something.
I’ll be damned if it doesn’t actually exist.
ETA with Gary Cooper in ball of Fire
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033373/
Brachiator - December 31, 2010 | 9:31 pm · Link
Came in from a rare double feature day, True Grit and The Fighter.. Enjoyed both movies, although something about TG left me more admiring than moved, despite some good performances. Really liked the second movie though, especially the performances of Christian Bale, who made you believe he was both washed up and a former fighter, and that of Amy Adams, who was just plain wonderful. Also liked the actresses who played the sisters, as fearsomely loyal (and scary) a bunch of women you are likely to see on the screen, ever.
Now it’s time for some pre New Years and pre Rose Parade barbecue.
PurpleGirl - December 31, 2010 | 9:32 pm · Link
One of the Twilight Zones on today had the actress who played Ta Pau from Amok Time.
stuckinred - December 31, 2010 | 9:32 pm · Link
@J. Michael Neal: I have had exactly the same experience.
JGabriel - December 31, 2010 | 9:32 pm · Link
@Dee Loralei:
Favorite Grant movie: His Girl Friday. But Bringing Up Baby and The Philadelphia Story are, respectively, a very close second and third.
.
Jane2 - December 31, 2010 | 9:33 pm · Link
@J. Michael Neal: I’ll give you advice for free. And every single resume I’ve helped with has resulted in a job.
Steeplejack - December 31, 2010 | 9:34 pm · Link
@efgoldman:
Let me make it up to you. From roughly the same period. Plus—go-go dancers!
You Don't Say - December 31, 2010 | 9:35 pm · Link
I empathize, John. Our dog whines a lot and it drives me crazy. He’s the only dog I’ve had that whines incessantly. Otherwise, he’s great, but it is very annoying.
Happy New Year!
PurpleGirl - December 31, 2010 | 9:36 pm · Link
@cathyx: I was part of con security when Nimoy was the main guest (as a surprise) at the second convention.
A friend answered the phone that afternoon, then turned pale and handed the phone to me. I had to get the con chairman to the phone.
My involvement came from also attending regular science fiction conventions.
Steeplejack - December 31, 2010 | 9:37 pm · Link
@General Stuck:
I’d be down with that. Has a nice ring to it. Not to mention: “What would Aqua Buddha do?” A guiding principle for these troubled times.
birthmarker - December 31, 2010 | 9:38 pm · Link
@bk: Will be there next weekend. What should I expect weather wise?
CaseyL - December 31, 2010 | 9:38 pm · Link
@cathyx:
Totally a Trekkie here: the first genre convention of any kind I ever went to was a ST convention, back in the mid-70s. I loved DS9 as well as TNG; it was Voyager and Enterprise I couldn’t stand. I loved DS9 precisely because the characters were so much more ambiguous (and, therefore, complex) than those in any other incarnation of Trek.
ST:TOS was essential and formative. Between that and all the other SF I read, I was totally and absolutely sure humankind would be exploring deep space within my lifetime – up close and in person, not via drones – and likely colonizing it, too. I can’t tell you what a source of grief it has been, realizing that won’t happen. Realizing humanity has given up on reaching for the stars, and isn’t even terribly interested in the idea. I think that was a huge mistake; and that we gave up on ourselves at the same time. (I don’t think it’s at all coincidental that we stopped thinking we were capable of solving our other problems round about the same time we stopped thinking we were capable of achieving the stars).
I have no plans for NYE. I usually don’t, since going out on the roads when a bunch of drunkards are out there isn’t my idea of a good time. I’ll probably wind up watching the Space Needle fireworks on TV.
Happy New Years to all!
JGabriel - December 31, 2010 | 9:38 pm · Link
@Brachiator:
I think it’s supposed to. Apparently it was the Coen Bros. aim to stick close to the novel, more a “wages of sin” story than redemption story of the 1969 movie.
.
PurpleGirl - December 31, 2010 | 9:40 pm · Link
@CaseyL: Was the convention in NYC?
Yutsano - December 31, 2010 | 9:42 pm · Link
I was considering going and watching the Space Needle blow up on Queen Anne hill, but it’s butt ass cold out there right now. Plus I’d rather not risk moving too much with the glasses in the condition they’re in. Broken bridge and the Krazy Glue ain’t cutting it keeping them together.
M. Bouffant - December 31, 2010 | 9:42 pm · Link
@skippy:
Oooh, I’ll rate for Midsomer Murders. Haven’t seen any since they were on A&E when A&E was still tolerable.
Try one of the books, fun because Sgt. York (Huh?) is a much more class-resenting, all for bourgeois respectability sort then he’s written on the telly.
hilts - December 31, 2010 | 9:43 pm · Link
@cathyx:
Loved both Star Trek:TOS and Star Trek:TNG, but didn’t care much for the other series incarnations. YouTube has Tom Snyder’s 1976 interview with DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, and Walter Koenig. It’s a great blast from the past.
@Mnemosyne – Barbara Stanwyck and Gary Cooper were wonderful in Ball of Fire. This movie deserves much more recognition than it has received.
@Brachiator – Do you give The Social Network a thumbs up or a thumbs down?
cathyx - December 31, 2010 | 9:45 pm · Link
@CaseyL: There are so many instances in every day life where Star Trek can be referenced. I was watching the TNG series with my 12 year old (she loved them too) and there were so many teachable moments in it about humanity and how things should be here on earth now, but it was sad in a way too to know that it probably won’t be anything like it in our lifetimes.
I’m not starstruck, I don’t need to see the actors, I loved it for the themes and messages the show put out there.
Brachiator - December 31, 2010 | 9:45 pm · Link
Are you sure it wasn’t Arlene Martel, who played Spock’s “wife” T’Pring? I recall seeing her in a Zone episode, as well, I think, in “The Outer Limits.”
hamletta - December 31, 2010 | 9:47 pm · Link
@General Stuck: Dear Lord! And he’s gorgeous, too!
Have to send that to my Sister Outlaw. She used to get goopy every time she heard Pachelbel’s Canon, because they used it as the processional when she married my brother.
They split up several years ago, so I think she’ll enjoy it.
MikeJ - December 31, 2010 | 9:47 pm · Link
@JGabriel: I kept hearing about how the Coen’s version was much more true to the book and not a remake of the movie. I saw the John Wayne version on TCM last week and caught the new version on boxing day. I really expected more difference between the two versions. Of course the girl in the new one was much more believable as a 14yr old than Kim Darby, but they were more similar than I expected.
And even as a fan of Matt Damon’s, I was pretty unimpressed by his over the top Le Boeuf. Hard to say which was worse, Glen Campbell’s non-acting or MD’s over acting.
All in all, I really liked True Grit, but I expected to love it, as is often the case with Coen bro movies. Didn’t happen here.
Anne Laurie - December 31, 2010 | 9:48 pm · Link
Powering through episodes of Detroit 1-8-7 on Hulu. Which I would encourage fans of the po-leece procedural to watch while they can—good, compact, episodic stories and appealing actors. (The last two p.p. series I fell for were The Unusuals and Southland, so the odds are against having to make a long-term commitment here, dammit.) All ten D187 episodes to date are free on Hulu till Monday, if you want to get up to speed.
Spousal Unit is back in the midwest visiting his family, setting up for a marathon paper-and-pencil FRP (fantasy role playing) session with the nephews tomorrow. Since neither of us are get-drunk-and-party people, the only real sufferers are our three rescue dogs, who are convinced that “Daddy” is never coming back.
Southern Beale - December 31, 2010 | 9:49 pm · Link
@skippy:
Word, and I say this as someone whose mother had 4 strokes and was at the end pretty much incapacitated. So I’m not being insensitive. Maybe it’s bad associations for me. I spent many a Christmas changing adult diapers so her caregivers could be with their families.
Anyway, we had a lovely dinner at a fancy shmancy place in town, now I’m in my jammies and about to tackle the Christmas tree. Apparently no hockey, the game must have been an early one—just found out we won, 4-1.
Haven’t decided if I want to do my traditional burn list, where I write down everything I don’t want to take into the New Year and burn it. I’m pretty sure I wrote down Sarah Palin’s name last year and damn if that bitch didn’t hang around anyway. SIGH
Happy New Year’s, all! Catch y’all on the other side.
PurpleGirl - December 31, 2010 | 9:50 pm · Link
No, this was the actress who played T’Pau. She was playing the “mother” of character who lived eternally by killing men.
ETA: She was an older actress even on the Twilight Zone. I like to watch old series to see the actors who I know from other shows.
hamletta - December 31, 2010 | 9:51 pm · Link
@Brachiator: You may be right. I remember T’Pau as a one-hit wonder in the ’80s.
JGabriel - December 31, 2010 | 9:51 pm · Link
@JGabriel:
Sorry, meant “wages of revenge” there.
.
Yutsano - December 31, 2010 | 9:52 pm · Link
@JGabriel: One could argue they are essentially the same thing.
Dee Loralei - December 31, 2010 | 9:56 pm · Link
@Mnemosyne: Yea, I saw that and thanked you down there.
Ross, I’m hanging my head in shame getting Gary Cooper and Cary Grant mixed up. It’s still an oddly amusing and affecting movie. But like Mnem said down below about Arsenic and Old Lace it’s quite dated. But I do love that movie too, and I love me some Teddy Roosevelt.
Ya know they could remake Ball Of Fire.. see the main writers of Wikipedia all live in one townhouse….and it could be “Bag of Salted Dicks,” or perhaps ” DIAF,” in the update. Or maybe ” And a bag of chips.” LOL.
< —still abjectly ashamed about the Cary/Gary thing…..
Cacti - December 31, 2010 | 9:58 pm · Link
Kiddos are sick, so my New Year’s Eve will consist of sitting at home with the wife and watching the ball drop on TV.
Yipee!
Ross Hershberger - December 31, 2010 | 9:58 pm · Link
@Dee Loralei:
That maybe mattered more 50 years ago but at this distance they practically overlap. Either will do for the present purpose.
Anne Laurie - December 31, 2010 | 9:59 pm · Link
@Mnemosyne:
Aaaand it’s available on Netflix, including Instant Play no less! I’ll have to check it out later this weekend, I remember loving Barbara Stanwyck back when vintage movies were only available randomly on black-and-white television broadcasts…
Speaking of Netflix, I believe I’m not the only long-term subscriber who’s cycling discs a lot slower since they got the last big batch of instant-watch permissions. For the new year’s round of fee upgrades, I’m cutting back from 8 discs to 6 discs.
Next question is whether I use some of the cost saving to subscribe to “Hulu Plus”. Anybody here ponied up for that yet? Do you actually get immediate streaming of current episodes?
MTiffany - December 31, 2010 | 10:01 pm · Link
The rejection of science and logic is just as likely to be found among the academic left (and pseudo-intellectual left, yes, I’m talking to you HuffPost) as it is the theological right: http://physics.nyu.edu/faculty.....ca_v4.html
jinxtigr - December 31, 2010 | 10:03 pm · Link
@General Stuck: bah, Jimi Hendrix played live as a rhythm guitarist for a decade before anyone heard of him. That kid’s good shred, but he’s soulless and sloppy and I don’t hear a hit song. But he is good shred, if kinda slow for shred :)
I’m not saying I can outplay him, though I write weirder music than that :) but I am saying there’s a reason the onlookers are bored and not reacting- there’s not enough music there, just notes.
Happy new year ;)
Ross Hershberger - December 31, 2010 | 10:03 pm · Link
@Anne Laurie:
Okay, we’re gonna watch that instead. My wife actually remembers the movie, and some of the plot.
I married right.
back in a couple of hours.
PurpleGirl - December 31, 2010 | 10:04 pm · Link
@Brachiator: I just checked the Twilight Zone show (Queen of the Nile) on the schedule and then a Trek Web Site, and the actress was Celia Lovsky.
CaseyL - December 31, 2010 | 10:05 pm · Link
@PurpleGirl:
No, Miami Beach, with James Doohan as the GOH. For a convention that was Not-in-NY there was a pretty respectable turnout. I remember chaos in the huckster room.
snarkyspice - December 31, 2010 | 10:06 pm · Link
@J. Michael Neal:
Check out the free course on this site http://www.blueskyresumes.com/ – made all the difference for me. Had no idea how bad my resume was until I took that course.
snarkyspice - December 31, 2010 | 10:08 pm · Link
I just can’t believe how lucky Rosie was to find you, John. Not many people could handle her and love her the way you do.
robertdsc-PowerBook & 27 titles - December 31, 2010 | 10:08 pm · Link
LOL. Love that Rosie.
PurpleGirl - December 31, 2010 | 10:09 pm · Link
@CaseyL: Oh, yes, huckster rooms usually were choatic. We began calling the NY cons “parties for 5,000 of your closet friends”.
Cat Lady - December 31, 2010 | 10:10 pm · Link
I love all you guys. All of you. Yes, you too. Yup. Also.
+ s=z;’u
Anne Laurie - December 31, 2010 | 10:12 pm · Link
@cathyx:
I was not only a proud Trekkie, I actually helped organize one of the early fan-based Midwestern conventions back in the early 1970s. Which introduced my young self to the concept of the fustercluck, but I don’t regret meeting some of the people who are still my dear friends.
Never watched any of the later series because, well, by that time I wasn’t watching much tv and besides—been there, done that, fully stocked up on tshirts. Although I did go to see the 2009 movie in IMAX 3D, and enjoyed it, for what it was. Chris Pines’ ADHD Captain Kirk actually made sense as a starship captain… unlike the earlier incarnation.
freelancer - December 31, 2010 | 10:13 pm · Link
Okay, out of mod hell. Thank you, whoever. This is what I’m up to:
freelancer’s NYE
Gin & Tonic - December 31, 2010 | 10:13 pm · Link
@jinxtigr: This.
About 10-12 years ago, there was some kid on Prairie Home Companion’s “Talent from Towns Under 2,000” who played Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor on electric guitar. It took your breath away. Wonder what ever happened to him.
Alison - December 31, 2010 | 10:14 pm · Link
Happy to see I’ve got lots of “staying home on NYE” company. Maybe I’m not really a 50-year-old in a 30-year-old’s body…of course, that depends on how old all you people are :)
But…I don’t drink, don’t like being in crowds of drinkers, not much for crowds period, really…and my cat is not a fan of firecrackers, of which there will be many many going off in my neighborhood, so I would not want to leave her alone. Thus, it’s home with her for my NYE, and going to search through On Demand for something to watch until 11:59.
I’m kind of glad I’m old enough not to give a fuck. It’s refreshing.
PurpleGirl - December 31, 2010 | 10:14 pm · Link
I was not so much concerned about meeting the stars as being around other people with the same hobby, but the nicest of the stars was DeForest Kelley, followed by Jimmy Doohan. And Mark Lenard was also very nice. I told him that I remembered him as Aaron Stample on Here Comes the Brides and he smiled so wide at the idea that I remembered that show.
Dee Loralei - December 31, 2010 | 10:15 pm · Link
Ball of Fire, Holiday and Father Goose all on netflix instant. You could have a marathon of screwball comedies in one evening. Seriously Ross, do Holiday tomorrow or Sunday also. If you like Grant/ K Hepburn, you’ll really like it.
MTiffany - December 31, 2010 | 10:18 pm · Link
@Alison:
Don’t think of it as being old enough to not give a fuck, think of it as being wise enough to only give a fuck about things worth giving a fuck about.
spudvol - December 31, 2010 | 10:20 pm · Link
I need an impartial jury. Watch this video (:35 second mark) and tell me whether or not these players helmets make contact. Thank you and Happy New Year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NP8y8OaGNo
Jules - December 31, 2010 | 10:21 pm · Link
Netflix On Demand is the tits, but there is just not enough BBC available.
and for God’s sake will The Thick of It ever be out on a DVD that can be played in the US? I don’t think I am asking for too much here.
We grilled rib eyes tonight.
Hubby is already in bed due to early work in the am.
Happy New Year….
Tim - December 31, 2010 | 10:24 pm · Link
You have given it the good fight, JC. Time to give yourself a break and put Rosie up for adoption.
Anne Laurie - December 31, 2010 | 10:24 pm · Link
@CaseyL:
I think it’s more like we’re precocious middle-schoolers who’ve realized it probably isn’t a really good idea to try flying an F-14 until we’re at least mature enough to qualify for a driving license. It’ll still happen, probably not in my lifetime (this time around), but it’ll happen. The hard part for our species is realizing that we have to deal with the mess we’re making right here before we’ll have the maturity, politically as well as scientifically, to achieve human extraplanetary exploration in any organized fashion. “Giving up on ourselves” because we’re not getting the shiny colony ships of our childhood dreams would only prove that we really aren’t ready to leave the nursery, yes?
Yutsano - December 31, 2010 | 10:24 pm · Link
@spudvol: Yes. Rather unequivocally.
@burnspbesq: Is the young’un out with the new other half? His first New Year’s kiss is kinda special.
J. Michael Neal - December 31, 2010 | 10:24 pm · Link
Am I the only one who thinks that any player who keeps struggling for the ball in a fumble pile once the ref blows the whistle should get an automatic penalty?
MTiffany - December 31, 2010 | 10:25 pm · Link
@Gin & Tonic: This guy gives a pretty good performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKElehLTQBg
burnspbesq - December 31, 2010 | 10:25 pm · Link
There’s a standing rib roast and potatoes in the oven, and green beans waiting to be steamed. Listening to music and reading “All the Devils Are Here,” Bethany MacLean and Joe Nocera’s book about the financial crisis. The shit that went down in the markets was so crazy, I just shake my head in amazement.
freelancer - December 31, 2010 | 10:25 pm · Link
@Jules:
No fucking shit. It almost makes me want to buy a region 2 DVD player and get the show from Amazon.co.uk. Fuckity-bye.
Luci - December 31, 2010 | 10:25 pm · Link
I’m just back from going out to eat with friends, driving slowly home on ice that fell as freezing rain when we were out, and being totally glad to be in the house and safe. It’s an early night to bed for me, and that’s great! JC, if you wanted to, I think you could try being grateful Rosie brings such variety and excitement into your life. I mean, it’s the aggravating stuff that we learn the most from, and then you have Lily to love you and soothe you from all that learning. Also, I’m sure Rosie is totally grateful she has someone who tolerates her and even loves her, as it is at least possible she was abandoned. On my good days, that’s the kind of thing I tell myself about the annoying cat I have who is forever pestering me and not nearly as nice as the one who is more civilized. I’m trying to learn patience with the pesky one. With both stuff like this and getting older, it’s all in how you look at what you have and what you can learn from it. Happy New Year to everyone!
Shadow's Mom - December 31, 2010 | 10:26 pm · Link
Online for the first time in several days. Pretty much went Galt since Monday. What did I do instead? Powered through the entirety of Dollhouse and Firefly (and Serenity) via Netflix streaming. Never caught either series when they were on. It’s been a very relaxing few days.
Monday morning, it’s back to work and school.
Happy New Year to all, I’ll probably be asleep before midnight.
burnspbesq - December 31, 2010 | 10:27 pm · Link
If you are at all an opera buff and you haven’t seen the DVD of the Met production of “Carmen” from last season, you really owe it to yourself. Alina Garanca is un. fucking. believable.
madmommy - December 31, 2010 | 10:31 pm · Link
@spudvol:
Not only was it helmet-to-helmet contact, it was a hit that, in the NFL, would have resulted in a whopping big fine. Clearly leading with the helmet on a defenseless opponent. It was damn lucky that both of them walked away.
MikeJ - December 31, 2010 | 10:31 pm · Link
@Shadow’s Mom:
Our own Tattoosydney is already 14.5 hours into the new year. Don’t worry about imaginary lines.
Anne Laurie - December 31, 2010 | 10:32 pm · Link
@Yutsano:
Yup, Krazy Glue doesn’t work on the resin they use for eyeglasses. You want a silicon expoxy. Short-term fix, tomorrow afternoon, if you don’t have a hardware store available, get some “Mack’s ear plugs” from the drugstore. They’re balls of silicon “putty” intended to keep water out of your eardrums, but you can also pull a tiny bit off and “gum” the break together until a more permanent fix is available. The heat of your skin will eventually melt the silicone, but one plug is enough for multiple ‘fixes’ and obviously it’s skin-safe. (This is the same stuff that’s sold, at a much higher markup, as “museum putty” or “earthquake hold”.)
Gin & Tonic - December 31, 2010 | 10:33 pm · Link
@MTiffany: Found it. Kid’s name was Bobby Arnell. He was 17 at the time. Lousy Real Audio format, but it’s here.
YellowJournalism - December 31, 2010 | 10:36 pm · Link
Junk food, cheap movie rentals, and cold medicine. And maybe a little snuggling on the couch as the new year rolls in. That is, if the little ones don’t wake up. Then it’s falling asleep in chair with a kid on my shoulder.
Happy new year, everyone. Let’s hope this one isn’t too fucked up. At least not beyond enjoyment!
Anne Laurie - December 31, 2010 | 10:36 pm · Link
@M. Bouffant:
Have you seen A Touch of Frost? Rather more urban and grittier than Midsomer, but I do love David Jason as D.I. William “Jack” Frost.
(Also as Rincewind, but that’s a whole ‘nother Diskworld!)
spudvol - December 31, 2010 | 10:37 pm · Link
@Yutsano: @madmommy:
Thanks! I’ve been arguing all afternoon with other vol fans who are saying there was no helmet to helmet contact.
emily - December 31, 2010 | 10:37 pm · Link
Sheesh, that’s all? I have one dog that wants to kill my other dog and have to keep them separated in a very small house and yard.
If you don’t have bite marks on both of your elbows from one of your dogs, you are just not trying.
Dee Loralei - December 31, 2010 | 10:38 pm · Link
Ugggh and S.Carolina just scored again, I really can’t stand Steve Spurrier.
Freelancer, sorry your Huskers lost, I was rooting for them. Big12 has sucked this year in post-season. I think they’re 1-4. Hopefully my beloved Sooners can win tomorrow.
I walked the dogs early to save the female, Maggie from the nasty fireworks. And we got rained on, so I’m hoping no fireworks tonight. ( She’s a timid, terrified dog and I’ve had her since she was 6 weeks old. So I think it’s more personality than anything learned.) Her brother (litter mates.) is the most laid back dog evar. And oddly, she’s the alpha of the two.
I think I’m gonna go plop on the couch and watch the rest of the game and maybe some of Season 3 of Chuck I got from Netflix today. I’ve got folks coming for brunch at 11AM,( Baked ham, black-eyed peas, cheese danish, fruit salad and and egg and sausage casserole.)... A killer sinus infection and another fucking toothache. And then football, football, football all day tomorrow.
May you all have a wondrous New Year. And can I please find a good and decent dentist soon? I’ve fired 3 1/2 in the last two years…..
burnspbesq - December 31, 2010 | 10:38 pm · Link
@madmommy:
Hey, madmom, long time no see. How y’all be?
Woodrowfan - December 31, 2010 | 10:38 pm · Link
was sitting with my wife watching Ken Burn’s “Baseball” on MLB cover the period post 1970, but we got tired of ads every 7 minutes. Besides, she grew up cheering the Red Sox and I’m a lifelong Reds fan, so we already saw the parts we were most interested in watching.
We both remember watching Fisk win Game 6 in 1975. She was babysitting in NH and was so excited that she jumped up and dropped the baby! Little did she know her future husband was back in Ohio dying of a heart attack at age 16!
Happy New Year to you all, and big hugs to the pets…
MTiffany - December 31, 2010 | 10:40 pm · Link
@Gin & Tonic: While we’re at it…
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the Muppets (well, Beeker at least) doing ‘Ode To Joy’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpcUxwpOQ_A
Mike Kay (True Grit) - December 31, 2010 | 10:40 pm · Link
@hamletta: he looks like a young Angus Young, with similar guitar mannerisms.
being straight, I’m terrible at these things, but was Angus gorgeous?
http://images2.fanpop.com/imag.....43-459.jpg
Alison - December 31, 2010 | 10:40 pm · Link
@MTiffany:
Okay, now I have a resolution – learn to knit so I can get that shit on a pillow, stat. :)
It is some truth.
Dick Woodcock - December 31, 2010 | 10:40 pm · Link
Jack Russell Terrorists are a pain. We got rid of ours because he couldn’t seem to survive more than 3 seconds without some sort of attention from a human. And don’t get me started on his spazzitude.
I’ll stick with cats & rats.
Happy New Year to everyone!
Anne Laurie - December 31, 2010 | 10:41 pm · Link
@Ross Hershberger: Why I commented. Balloon Juice, your full service blogging home!
magisterludi - December 31, 2010 | 10:45 pm · Link
About Rosie- give it time (she said tritely).
I’ve had a few terrier rescue types. Either they calmed down or I adapted to their antics or both, but eventually things smooth out.
I always think, when they have me at wits end, “But who else would love these little heathens and keep them safe (from themselves) if not me?”. So you do what you gotta do… and you’ll be glad you did the right thing in the long run.
Of course, this is coming from someone who sleeps with five dogs and two to four cats every night. Maybe I’m tetched from all the pet hair I’ve inhaled over the years.
Oh, and Happy New Year!
Dee Loralei - December 31, 2010 | 10:46 pm · Link
@spudvol: Oh I saw that, that was ugly as hell and if I had been in charge he would have been ejected from the game and some of next season too!
I live in TN, believe me, Vols fans are irrational and not very nice. Not all Vols fans, but some of the most vociferous are fucking Ugly Americans.
wonkie - December 31, 2010 | 10:47 pm · Link
I’m in b ed with a head cold. I plan to stay here until the cold leaves.
freelancer - December 31, 2010 | 10:49 pm · Link
@Anne Laurie:
You should par back to 1-2 discs. Especially when you find out about a couple of websites.
http://instantwatcher.com/
http://www.streamingsoon.com/
looking at the second site, there’s a shit ton of movies available as of tomorrow.
madmommy - December 31, 2010 | 10:54 pm · Link
@burnspbesq:
Working like a dog, and everyone in my house has got the funk. It’s freezing cold, then warm, then cold again. I can’t imagine why our sinuses would go berserk! Other than that, it’s all good. Everything fine in your world?
@spudvol:
That is because Vol fans are generally obnoxious. Also WATB’s. And they wear ugly-ass orange uni’s.
henqiguai - December 31, 2010 | 10:55 pm · Link
@Anne Laurie (#124):
Um, no. If that were true, we’d still be back in Europe, doing a Kilkenny Cats thing. Focus outward or spiral inward and down, and currently we’re doing the death spiral thing.
The hard part for our species is to realize that not everyone is a stay-at-home-and-keep-the-hearthfires-burning type; whether physically or intellectually. And to insist that all be so is to intentionally generate destructive impulses in the society. We are a curious and adventurous species.
BGK - December 31, 2010 | 10:56 pm · Link
I guess it makes me some kind of crypto-fascist, but I’m at EPCOT with 10 friends and family, all of us +10 or more, waiting on the boffo midnight fireworks. Sharing booze we snuck in with some newfound friends in the crowd. Beautiful 65 degree evening.
Best to all of you in 2011.
Mnemosyne - December 31, 2010 | 10:59 pm · Link
@Dee Loralei:
No worries on the Cary/Gary thing—I am the ultra movie geek, so I know all of these things off the top of my head. And I luuurve Barbara Stanwyck. If you ever get a chance to catch some of her early films like Baby Face and Night Nurse, you’ll see that she was that ballsy from the get-go.
General Stuck - December 31, 2010 | 10:59 pm · Link
@jinxtigr:
Well, of course. there was only one Jimi Hendrix that came along when he did at the time he did, with the soul he did/ So I was mostly tongue in cheek with comparing this kid to that.
But speaking of Hendrix, check out the kid doing a Jimi tune.
Not half bad if you ask me.
And a Happy New Year! back atcha:)
Brachiator - December 31, 2010 | 11:00 pm · Link
@PurpleGirl:
Very cool. I stand corrected. I try to guess which Zone episode people are talking about from the guest stars, and I totally missed this one.
@hilts:
I really liked The Social Network, even though it got a lot of stuff totally wrong. I don’t think that Hollywood understands geeks or techies, and so they love to show them as social misfits because of their genius or tech skills. Zuckerberg himself has noted that the people who made the movie had to give him a phony “motivation” for creating Facebook (semi revenge for getting dumped) because they don’t understand the geek imperative of creating shit just because you can and it’s cool to be able to do it.
But much other stuff felt very right. And I really liked how the film makers understand that in our contemporary society, the worst sin is not doing evil, but in being thought to be an “asshole.”
burnspbesq - December 31, 2010 | 11:03 pm · Link
@madmommy:
Things are good here. The kid is staring to get serious about thinking about colleges. Work … IDK. On every metric other than billable hours, I hit it out of the park in 2010, but I keep hearing that billable hours is the only thing that the leadership cares about. So when headhunters call, I am taking their calls.
burnspbesq - December 31, 2010 | 11:06 pm · Link
@madmommy:
Ain’t that the truth. I couldn’t even bring myself to root for Dog Gack Orange when they were playing Carolina yesterday.
M. Bouffant - December 31, 2010 | 11:11 pm · Link
@Anne Laurie:
Yes, I remember Touch of Frost, of course Inspector Morse, & Dalziel (sp.?) & someone (? the someone had a wife who was a socialist academic) all from A&E some 15 (Hokey smokes!) yrs. ago.
Always amazed how all of those dealt w/ real issues, besides the procedural, unlike US “ripped from the headlines” shows like L&O. Maybe the 90 min. format (two hrs. in US w/ adverts) helped.
mr. whipple - December 31, 2010 | 11:11 pm · Link
Ordering some CD’s.
Kay Shawn - December 31, 2010 | 11:13 pm · Link
Cole, you became my favorite blog this year…I know, big whoop, but true.
My New Year’s Eve has been great so far…dug the car out of snowbank, saw “The Leopard,” during which I whisper-yelled at the guy next to me for texting, and he left the theatre, thai food, home to christmas tree, cat, hot choc and Sebelius.
Let’s hope the GOP completely loses their shit this year; it’s our only hope. Happy 2011.
Brachiator - December 31, 2010 | 11:14 pm · Link
@JGabriel: RE: something about [True Grit] left me more admiring than moved …
It’s funny. I don’t care much whether a movie is faithful to the novel, or whether a movie is inspired by “true events,” although both movies I saw are examples of each category.
I was catching up on some movie review podcasts, and one reviewer noted that one of the actors in the new version of The Tempest had trouble with Shakespearean language. The characters in True Grit all speak in a kind of period diction, and I think this actually makes it harder for them to act, to fully inhabit their characters.
And although I try not to compare a movie I’m watching to others in the same genre, at times I couldn’t help thinking about “Unforgiven,” “Lonesome Dove,” and “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance,” which dealt with the wages of revenge and other themes more deeply than does “True Grit.”
Still, I was glad that I saw the movie. There were other things that bothered me, but the film is still new to the theaters and I don’t want to say too much about it, and spoil others’ viewing experience. And note that I really liked much of Jeff Bridges and Hailee Steinfeld, who plays Mattie Ross. Matt Damon was also very good, and shows again that he is not only a good actor, but often knows how to pick interesting roles.
kdaug - December 31, 2010 | 11:15 pm · Link
Found this via the NYT, of all places:
Enjoy, my friends, and I’ll see you in the new year.
Steeplejack - December 31, 2010 | 11:16 pm · Link
@freelancer:
Last March I got this Philips DVD player for about $50 that will play all regions and both NTSC and PAL. I see it is less widely available now than it was then, but my point is that it’s surprisingly easy to find a multi-region, multi-format player for not much money. You just have to dig a little, because most of the sellers don’t promote the PAL angle.
If you just want multi-region, most current DVD players have double-secret codes (discoverable on line) that unlock them to read all regions.
Steeplejack - December 31, 2010 | 11:19 pm · Link
@Shadow’s Mom:
Since it’s all presumably fresh in your mind, what’s the difference between Firefly and Serenity? I know the first was a series and the second was a movie, but do I need to see Firefly before I see Serenity? Occasionally I see the latter listed on TV, but I’m a little leery of watching it, in case it might spoil Firefly for me, if I ever get around to watching that.
Direct me, please.
madmommy - December 31, 2010 | 11:20 pm · Link
@burnspbesq:
You could always hang out a shingle and go it alone. Billable hours are the holy grail in the lawyer game, or so I’m told :) It puts the dollars in the partner’s bank accounts. Kinda makes me glad I didn’t go to law school.
Not even thinking as far as college, the big kid is in 4th, the little guy in 1st. My baby will be 10 in a couple of weeks. I cannot even wrap my brain around it!
Jules - December 31, 2010 | 11:24 pm · Link
@Brachiator:
I liked that.
But it also made me feel sad again that Deadwood was never finished properly…..Milch you bastard.
shakes my fist
and to whoever responded to my anger at my inability to satisfy my need for British TV on DVDs that will play on US region players, we will actually need to replace our player soon and I think I might be able to talk hubby into one that plays all regions.
Jules - December 31, 2010 | 11:27 pm · Link
@Steeplejack:
You will enjoy Serenity more if you have already
covered yourself in the awesome hotness of Cap. Mal Reynoldswatched Firefly.J. Michael Neal - December 31, 2010 | 11:27 pm · Link
@CaseyL:
Whether or not humanity as a whole has lost interest isn’t the big problem. Until we have some idea how to deal with the fact that human beings don’t deal well with zero gravity, we aren’t going anywhere. A working fusion power plant would also be damned useful.
Shadow's Mom - December 31, 2010 | 11:28 pm · Link
@Steeplejack: You might miss a lot of the references in Serenity if you watch it without having first seen the Firefly series.
That being said, I think you could watch Serenity as a stand-alone movie and not feel that you would have needed the series first. Not so much, if you watched the series and never saw the movie. Basically, Serenity was a TV movie sequel that connected and closed the major story line from the series season.
@Jules: I do agree with this assessment. Much better to watch the series and then the movie, but with no knowledge of the series storyline, movie could be stand-alone.
Netflix streaming rules, although I’ve dropped my discs from 3 to 2 with their coming rate increase.
M. Bouffant - December 31, 2010 | 11:29 pm · Link
@Steeplejack:
Essentially, Serenity is the last episode(s) of Firefly, which resolves the whole thing, & does have a spoiler of sorts.
So, yes, watch Firefly before Serenity.
And if I may add: “SERENITY NOW!!”
Svensker - December 31, 2010 | 11:29 pm · Link
Had beans and rice (a BIG treat in a lo-carb household) with a nice red wine, then watched The Forgotten on DVD and are now watching the extended version of The Forgotten, accompanied by rum and eggnog. We’re exciting folks!
Bringing Up Baby may be best comedy ever made.
Has anyone heard from Suzanne lately? Hope she’s doing OK with the new baby.
Happy New Year y’all. Peace and comfort for the tough stuff for all of us, and a whole lot less tough stuff is wished for.
J. Michael Neal - December 31, 2010 | 11:29 pm · Link
@Jules: I enjoyed Serenity a lot, but it also made me sad to realize just how much more awesome it would have been played out over a whole season, rather than the equivalent of three episodes.
M. Bouffant - December 31, 2010 | 11:34 pm · Link
@J. Michael Neal:
Ain’t that the truth. And not just the micro-gravity environment (So much more pretentious than “zero-gee,” I love it!) but cosmic radiation & so on. Much as I’d love to see it happen/get off this planet, it seems there may not be any way to leave the solar system & get somewhere else while still alive.
But we really should be heading toward Mars & back to the moon.
Steeplejack - December 31, 2010 | 11:35 pm · Link
@Jules:
Okay, then. Problem solved. I have to admit that Castle is a guilty pleasure, mostly because of Fillion.
. . . Holy shnikeys! I just IMDB’d him and see that he has guested on both Robot Chicken and The Venture Brothers. Awesome.
Shadow's Mom - December 31, 2010 | 11:36 pm · Link
@freelancer: Cool sites. Nice to have another resource for checking out Netflix Streaming options.
hilts - December 31, 2010 | 11:39 pm · Link
@Anne Laurie and @CaseyL
EARTH’S 10 COMMANDMENTS by Ernest Callenbach
Thou shalt love and honor the Earth for it blesses thy life and governs thy survival.
Thou shalt keep each day sacred to the Earth and celebrate the turning of its seasons.
Thou shalt not hold thyself above other living things nor drive them to extinction.
Thou shalt give thanks for thy food to the creatures and plants that nourish thee.
Thou shalt limit thy offspring for multitudes of people are a burden unto the Earth.
Thou shalt not kill nor waste Earth’s riches upon weapons of war.
Thou shalt not pursue profit at the Earth’s expense but strive to restore its damaged majesty.
Thou shalt not hide from thyself or others the consequences of thy actions upon the Earth.
Thou shalt not steal from future generations by impoverishing or poisoning the Earth.
Thou shalt consume material goods in moderation so all may share Earth’s bounty.
@Brachiator – I loved The Social Network. What did you think of TCM’s series Moguls and Movie Stars?
CaseyL - December 31, 2010 | 11:42 pm · Link
@PurpleGirl:
I don’t know if you ever read the Trek tie-in novels (some are quite good), but even if not you might be interested in knowing that Barbara Hambly wrote one called “Ishmael,” in which Spock winds up in mid-19th C. Western United States. Mostly in Seattle, with the Bolt Brothers, Aaron Stemple, and the rest of the HCTB characters; but there’s also a wonderful side trip to San Francisco where they encounter characters from other TV Westerns of the 1960s.
A very fun, very well written little book.
burnspbesq - December 31, 2010 | 11:46 pm · Link
@J. Michael Neal:
Union 3, Minnesota 2
What was that you were saying about the ECAC?
PurpleGirl - December 31, 2010 | 11:49 pm · Link
@CaseyL: I’ve read a few of them but I don’t remember reading that one.
Yutsano - December 31, 2010 | 11:50 pm · Link
@Svensker:
She popped on yesterday morning I think. All is well, kid is a cutie!
Andy K - December 31, 2010 | 11:52 pm · Link
@Brachiator:
Seems to me that it’s more of a character piece than anything about morals. Seems to me that Maddie went in looking for revenge and was satisfied with what vengeance she got. The film was about the journey, not the destination.
ETA: I liked the vernacular. The same thing approach to the dialogue was used in Gettysburg.
J. Michael Neal - December 31, 2010 | 11:53 pm · Link
@burnspbesq: That you’ll have to go to overtime to beat a team floundering around the brink of not hosting a 1st round WCHA playoff series.
Edit: The Gopher men’s team just isn’t very good this year. They can be when they play hard, as Michigan and Minnesota-Duluth learned, but I’d say they’ve put in a really good effort only about five times all season.
abscam - December 31, 2010 | 11:55 pm · Link
@M. Bouffant: Dalziel and Pascoe, starring the inestimable Warren Clarke. Oh, how I wish I could get that on Netflix!
Steeplejack - December 31, 2010 | 11:58 pm · Link
Just synchronized my Casio watch with an Internet time server and set the chime to beep at exactly midnight. I am aquiver with anticipation. Which is ridiculous, because I am home alone and have nothing planned except pouring another glass of champers and maybe having a Dove dark chocolate. Yee-haw.
Happy New Year, Juicers!
Yutsano - January 1, 2011 | 12:00 am · Link
@Steeplejack: I’d offer to kiss you but, well, that might spark rumors. Plus they may be a slightly jealous Marine to contend with. Also.
TooManyJens - January 1, 2011 | 12:00 am · Link
@cathyx:
Deep Space Nine didn’t have likable characters?
I have no idea how to respond to that.
Steeplejack - January 1, 2011 | 12:01 am · Link
@Yutsano:
Will settle for an intimate but manly hug.
Gordon, The Big Express Engine - January 1, 2011 | 12:03 am · Link
some band on versus is doing a not half bad Beatles cover.
52 minutes til new years in houston
Yutsano - January 1, 2011 | 12:03 am · Link
@TooManyJens: Dax. Nuff said.
@Steeplejack: I think that will do as an acceptable compromise.
Lesley - January 1, 2011 | 12:03 am · Link
JOHN COLE, I HAVE THE PERFECT SOLUTION FOR YOUR ROSIE PROBLEM.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PcL6-mjRNk
PurpleGirl - January 1, 2011 | 12:04 am · Link
Happy New Year to all BJers.
Shadow's Mom - January 1, 2011 | 12:05 am · Link
@abscam: Dalziel and Pascoe Season 1 and Season 2 are available on DVD from Netflix. Were you hoping for streaming?
Brachiator - January 1, 2011 | 12:11 am · Link
@Andy K:
That’s just it. The film, for me, let the characters down. There was not much of a journey.
It’s not that I didn’t like the vernacular. Sometimes actors try so hard with diction or an accent that it gets in the way of the acting. After a while, many of the characters sounded the same. And sometimes soulless. I just do not believe that people, in any time period, would flatly say stuff like “You have shot me, and I am surely dying now” when they were shot or stabbed. And almost all the characters are this way, without variation.
By contrast, Christian Bale not only sounds like someone from Lowell, Mass, in “The Fighter,” he sounds like an excitable crackhead stuck in a reverie of his one moment of near greatness.
@hilts:
Unfortunately, I never saw this. Sounds interesting, though.
mr. whipple - January 1, 2011 | 12:18 am · Link
Happy New Year
Who are all these bullshit bands? GET THE FUCK OFF MY LAWN!
cckids - January 1, 2011 | 12:24 am · Link
Happy New Year to you all. Still have 2 + hours to wait here on Pacific time, but it is a laid-back evening with animals & family. Homemade chicken soup & ciabatta bread. (We all just got done with the above-mentioned stomach bug). A bit of brandy anyway.
May everyone’s 2011 live up to their wishes & hopes. Peace.
schrodinger's cat - January 1, 2011 | 12:25 am · Link
@TooManyJens: I just watched The Visitor, one of my favorite DS9 episodes.
DS9 in my opinion is the best Trek by far. Even recurring characters like Garak and Dukat got more character development than the main characters in TNG.
For Cardassia!
Happy New Year to fellow DS9 fans and BJers.
Ross Hershberger - January 1, 2011 | 12:25 am · Link
@Dee Loralei:
Just finished Ball of Fire. Gary Cooper is charming even when he’s playing a stiff, and Barbara Stanwyck was HOT!
We’re queuing up Holiday now. With the dog going nuts over the fireworks I doubt we’ll be sleeping soon so might as well be entertained.
Platonicspoof - January 1, 2011 | 12:28 am · Link
To CaseyL at #84:
The view of the mountain ain’t too bad from here.
I used to look up and think it was just the view from the inside of a giant colander.
Also good for anyone whose JRT gets out-smarted by his own leash.
h/t to a commenter at Backreaction.
A Worthwhile 2011 to all.
burnspbesq - January 1, 2011 | 12:34 am · Link
@schrodinger’s cat:
How many seasons did it take you to figure out that Garak was the psychopathic killer from “Dirty Harry?”
Edit: I was, and remain, a huge “Spenser: For Hire” fan. It took some getting used to the idea that Hawk was a good guy.
Anne Laurie - January 1, 2011 | 12:51 am · Link
@magisterludi:
Was not going to get into this, publicly, but: DRUGS can be your neurotic dog’s best friend.
A number of people, including my very special Dog Guru who’s been doing Border Collie / Aussie / Sheltie rescue for 25 years, have warned me about the version of “Rescuer Syndrome” where people ruin their lives & that of their families (pets but also people) trying to save a deeply damaged animal that “nobody else could love”. The vast majority of rescue animals are normal pets who just got unlucky with the humans in their lives, but some pets end up in rescue because they’re damaged. We are fortunate enough to have better tools than ever before to help give damaged animals (like damaged people) a chance at a life that doesn’t revolve around phobias / obsessions / nameless terrors—and some of those tools are chemical. Giving your OCD rescue doggie Prozac is no more a shameful “shortcut” than giving your diabetic pet insulin shots… sure, our pioneer ancestors would’ve been croggled by the very idea, but hey, we’re lucky that way.
Yoodow - January 1, 2011 | 1:04 am · Link
@Jane2:
I too could use your help with my resume.
Brachiator - January 1, 2011 | 1:13 am · Link
@Ross Hershberger:
Four words. Lubitsch. Trouble in Paradise.
That said, Holiday is one of my favorite films ever. And as for Stanwyck, hmmm, it may be time to cue up the ridiculously sublime, The Lady Eve. Henry Fonda, Barbra Stanwyck, screwball hijinks.
Oh well. Heppie Nu Yir to all.
Angry Black Lady - January 1, 2011 | 2:02 am · Link
@Steeplejack: definitely watch firefly first.
mmmm…fillion….
Ross Hershberger - January 1, 2011 | 2:11 am · Link
Just finished watching Holiday. I like Cary Grant when he’s just like that. Energetic and emphatic.
I had forgotten how back then he had a very thick neck and sloped shoulders that the tailors couldn’t camouflage. He does some tumbling in Holiday, referring back to when he was Archie Leach the acrobat and earned that build.
Yoodow - January 1, 2011 | 2:32 am · Link
@General Stuck:
The kid might be a great technician but he certainly aint NO Jimmy Hx or SRV.
Some of his licks really make me cringe.
Snarla - January 1, 2011 | 8:58 am · Link
You’re a celebrity. Ask Cesar Millan to help you with Rosie.
MaryRC - January 1, 2011 | 2:54 pm · Link
@Ross Hershberger: If you think Stanwyck was hot in Ball of Fire, take a look at her in Remember the Night. Unforgettable.
Dan - January 1, 2011 | 10:22 pm · Link
I found this today when I revisited Lisa_Nova’s Twitter Whore video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03lLlvPg8Ho
It was kind of funny after having read about Rosie. The title is “Doggy Style” but it ain’t dirty, so no fear watching it.