Oh please get lost “Lost.”

I’m one of those folk that never understood what all the fuss was about the TV series “Lost.” I suppose I’m in a minority but I’m hoping that 2010 will actually turn out to be the LAST season of Lost. The recent commercial blitz says it will be the last of the shows but… well I don’t know whether to believe them. Will they start and stop the show in spurts to drag it out? Who knows.
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As far as I could see it was the most talked about show (probably because it was so damned confusing) with the least episodes that were spread out over the most time possible to still be called “an ongoing show.” I really can’t think of any others quite like it.
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Hopefully this will be the last vestige of the “let’s get together and watch Lost parties” because I’ve always wanted Lost to get lost… now please flashback or forward (I’ve lost track) to whichever timeframe the end is finally near!

Whether their experiences are real or imagined, in an alternative dimension, heaven, hell or purgatory, in someone’s vivid dream, or on another planet it too shall finally end. Come to a halt. Finish. Maybe they’re all stuck in “The Matrix.” I don’t care since the only rescue I want is from the show Lost and it’s current resurrection. People talk about Lost as if it’s some bizarre soap opera, and maybe that’s really all it is. Admittedly, I just don’t get it.
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Now I’m going to nestle in and watch President Obama’s State of the Union Address, which, by the way, is far more important than the premiere episode of the previously lost series of “Lost.” But hey by all means postpone the Lost premiere to another week because who cares about that when the country is… oh… wait… they moved the address instead so it didn’t conflict with Lost. Or did they?

Sigh, only in America.

If I don’t hear at least some name calling and fire and brimstone in this address I’ll be disappointed… yea, I know, I probably won’t hear that, but I can dream can’t I?

Sorry for the absence I was away for a few days and then came back and promptly got sick.
G’night for now.

Laura

The Late Night Talk Show Food Fight

Steve Allen and then Jack Paar came first in talk show history. For my money Johnny Carson defined The Tonight Show for about 30 years. He more than earned the title of “The Mighty Carson, King of Late Night.” Johnny let it be known that his choice to carry his Tonight Show torch was David Letterman who had the show directly following him on NBC. The heads of NBC made different plans.

Jay Leno wanted The Tonight Show, steals gets it, stays for 17 years, retires, comes back, 10pm time slot tanks and now he wants to come to 11:35 for 1/2 hour show. Typically NBC makes huge mess. Jay sits in the closet, making phone calls and muttering his motto: “All’s fair in love and war. TeeHee.” Some think Karma is finally coming back around. Jay throws sour grapes all over everything just like he did the first time.

Conan O’Brien throws a noble and tasty apple pie back stating “My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of The Tonight Show. But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction.” His threat is to walk out like Letterman did when he left NBC to go over to CBS. Rumors fly about FOX network.

Late Night NBC

Jimmy Fallon doesn’t say or do much of anything. If Conan leaves he could be moved up earlier to 12:05. At the very least he would get to keep his “precious.” If Conan stayed he’d get bumped to later at around 1:35. Jimmy doesn’t throw any food. He stays in corner strumming guitar and serenading himself by imitating the voices of all the key Night Show players while waiting for the dust to clear.

Carson Daly wonders what happens to his show which currently comes on at 1:35am. Spends time reading and rereading NBC contract. Shops his show around to other networks and they say Carson who? If Leno comes back, O’Brien and Fallon stays then Carson would be bumped into oblivion which is just slightly to the left of where he is right now. He throws a lot of creative food but just keeps missing everyone.

Late Night ABC

Over at Late Night ABC, Jimmy Kimmel dons a gray wig and chin and does a complete show as Jay Leno. It’s oddly amusing and disturbing at the same time. Not sure what it says about Jimmy that he did this-other than that his job is secure. Unless… Kimmel throws ice water on everyone and thoroughly enjoys doing it.

Late Night CBS

All of this fuss seems to be amusing David Letterman over at CBS. His numbers have gone up and despite his troubles he recoups the #1 spot at least for now. If he doesn’t feel vindicated now I suppose he never, ever would. David’s mother contributes many well baked pies for Dave to toss into the fray but in light of how well it’s all going for him, they decide to throw a party instead and eat all the pies.

Craig Ferguson is giddy as hell about the whole thing. Letterman’s production company “Worldwide Pants” produces his show. His job is safe at CBS, there’s excellent fodder for jokes and he loves throwing food around just like a cheerful cheeky monkey should!!! Happy bananas flying all around.

Somewhere in heaven Johnny Carson is donning that Carnac hat alongside Ed McMahon to entertain the angels. I can almost hear him saying: “and the answer is…”

Carnac The Magnificent

Johnny where ever you may be I bet you’re laughing your ass off!

And to all a good Late Night.

Laura

It’s complicated, isn’t as complicated as extremely funny!

If you haven’t seen “It’s Complicated” and you like comedies go see it! I wasn’t expecting a movie about a divorced couple to be all that funny. I certainly wasn’t expecting it to be funny almost all the way through since I haven’t seen a movie in a long, long time that produced such wholehearted laughs. I’ve seen many movies that had a few funny parts to them that fell far short of the term comedy but this one doesn’t.

It's Complicated

I looked forward to seeing it because in my opinion Meryl Streep is the best actress out there. She played her part well as always. The movie started out a little bittersweet and if you thought too much about anything beneath the surface of the movie, you’d realize that it glosses over a lot of the pain involved with divorce for families BUT if any of that was more than hinted at it wouldn’t have been a comedy would it? It rapidly became a laugh fest for me… and most of the audience. The group I saw the movie with did consist of more women than men but it seemed that the men there laughed also.
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The flaw of the story is that both the main characters are wealthy enough to live on their own. Neither is straining to make ends meet, no horrible inequities that we can see. It definitely pokes fun at male/female stereotypes and divorce cliches.
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Alec Baldwin cast as her ex-husband is great, though I almost felt that the part wasn’t exactly a huge stretch for him. Streep is wonderful. The supporting cast is good. I didn’t like Steve Martin at first but he rapidly grew on me.
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I’m not sure how someone going through a painful divorce would view this movie, it’s a bit glib and I suspect it would be funnier if you’re further away from an unpleasant split. I realized at a few points in the story that title “It’s Complicated” is an understatement for most folk’s divorce experience. The added part to the title “Divorced…with benefits” is mildly annoying to me not sure why. Only Streep’s character is actually divorced, Baldwin’s isn’t.
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I enjoyed it completely. It’s hilarious at some points. Meryl plays the way women feel sensitive about the way they look very well. Though I have to say that being “a woman of a certain age” myself and watching her, I wondered how she could possibly feel uncomfortable about her looks. It made me feel more like I was laughing at my frumpy appearance… Meryl, um, not that much. Oh well, water under, over and around the bridge I suppose. ; )

There’s a scene where Baldwin surprises Streep that involves Martin later on in the movie that is absolutely hysterical (before it creates problems for her.) It does carry a “R” rating because of adult sexuality themes and a pot smoking scene but it’s likely that the mature (and not so mature) adult crowd can easily handle it.

Verdict: I really liked it, laughing freely and often!

G’night,

Laura

Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes… Oh you betcha!

Old Sherlock Holmes he ain’t what he used to be… or at least he certainly ain’t the Sherlock your mother (or grandmother) remembers. He’s updated. This Sherlock is a meaner, leaner, fighter. A brilliant, more physical version and, oh golly, did I forget to mention a far sexier version of Holmes? I don’t remember any other Sherlock having such a fantastic, um… smile as this one. And ladies: Watson ain’t gonna hurt your eyes either.

I enjoyed this movie. Actually I may have enjoyed this movie a little too much. It was fun! It was smart! It was surprisingly entertaining! Seems Mr. Downey, Jr. is having himself a pretty good run these days and a terrific start to this new decade! Come the spring “Iron Man 2″ should be yet another blockbuster for him. Nice.

This is not the Basil Rathbone, Matt Frewer, or Jeremy Brett’s portrayal of the Grand Master of Observation by a long shot. This is a far more visual, interactive, brilliant but flawed version of the character.
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There have been so many different Sherlock/Watson combinations over the years that it’s amazing. Legions of actors created very good (if somewhat nuanced) portrayals of the world’s most renowned detective and his friend Dr. Watson on screen and stage. Of course there were also some not so memorable versions. I’ll leave it to everyone else to argue who is their epitome of the all the Sherlocks. I liked a number of them. It’s like the Connery/Moore/Brosnan/Craig as James Bond debate. I don’t care all that much. I know which movies I liked and which I didn’t… some of the stories were certainly better than others. This Sherlock Holmes movie’s plot isn’t that bad at all and the actors were good.

No nudity thanks to a crucial pillow… which is either a good or bad thing depending on how you want to look at it. ; )

Brett and Hardwick

Rathbone and Bruce

Frewer and Welsh

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If you already like Jude Law, Rachel McAdams or Robert Downey, Jr. don’t hesitate to go right out and see this movie!
If you prefer only the older more pristine version of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Holmes, then you might not like this Sherlock or Watson nearly as much, but give it a shot anyway!!! It’s still a fun show and comes in at a touch over 2 hours. The PG-13 rating is perhaps because of violence and a drug reference but most 13+ folk will have no trouble handling it.

Personally I truly hope they make a few more installments in this franchise. Looks like a big hit to me.
(Guy Ritchie are you listening?)

G’night,

Laura

Emily Deschanel on Electronic Payments for FOX’s Green it. Mean it.

Right now the latest fixation is to “go green” and prove one’s environmental sensitivities. FOX network has a series of blurbs on the things you can do to help save the environment. Most of these nuggets of wisdom are around 15 seconds in length and feature various actors such as Kelsey Grammer, Tamara Taylor, Omar Epps, Kris Allen, Emily Deschanel, and others. They are part of FOX’s “Green it. Mean it.” campaign.

Here Kelsey Grammer talks of “what you shouldn’t put down the drain.” Yes, he’s right. It’s informative and one of the better blips.

more about "News Corp. Global Energy Initiative -…", posted with vodpod

Then there’s this one by Emily Deschanel of the FOX show Bones.

more about "News Corp. Global Energy Initiative -…", posted with vodpod

The script for Emily’s 15 seconds is ridiculous.
I get what they’re saying but…
On the surface it’s true. Electronic bill paying is good. No envelopes=no paper=no killing trees. That’s definitely good for the environment. But she’s not talking about that she’s talking about… postage? Okay, no stamps means: you save a little money. I’m not sure how the US Postal Service feels about it.

“Worried about your credit card bills?” she asks.
Why yes I am Emily funny you should mention that. Do go on.

“Pay them electronically and we could save almost 2 billion dollars in postage costs”
Um, okay, I already do that and I save about, no exactly, 44 cents x 3 a month, so that’s a $1.32 total. Yay. Keep going there must be more…

“Enough to wipe out credit card debt for 250,000 people. Change your ways. Change the planet.”
Hmm. That’s it?

I thought maybe saving the paper for all the bills, checks and envelopes would be the point.
Saving the unnecessary death of so many TREES.
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And by the way Emily, I’m still worried about my credit card bills because none of that postage money saved is erasing any of my debt, nor is it making a dent in anyone elses.
Two hundred and fifty thousand people’s debt indeed.
Hokey nonsense.

You go FOX Network’s Corp. You be green. You be mean.

Sigh.
And G’night.

Laura

Avatar: Begrudgingly I liked it, but see it in 3D Imax if possible, it’s worth it…

All right, all right, I did go see Avatar even though I wasn’t going to. I know what you’re thinking but when I say I wasn’t going to I mean it. I’m one of the few people left on earth that hasn’t seen Titanic, Forrest Gump or Brokeback Mountain…
I decided that the only way I’d go to “Avatar” would be if I could see it in 3D Imax so that’s what we did.

There was breathtaking rainforest scenery (real and imagined) interesting characters, lots of action and even Sigourney Weaver. I was pleasantly surprised. With the Oversized screen you’re drawn into the action a lot more than the average movie. Very worth going to see, it’s pretty incredible, especially in Imax 3D. Sigourney as a 9 foot tall blue woman with pointy ears, well, what more could you realistically ask of any movie? It was definitely an experience.

The story: well that was my complaint from the beginning. Been there, seen that. Not a particularly new plot line, it’s been done many times in many different forms. Oddly the one that most mirrors Avatar in my mind was the 1992 children’s movie “Fern Gully: The Last Rainforest.” Seriously. I know it was a simple movie, with a simple plot but well… Avatar isn’t terribly complicated.
Avatar does address moral dilemmas and ethical issues and of course “human” rights.
These issues reflect along the line of the American Indian’s plight and we all know how well that went for the Indians.

Now how could you not enjoy a movie with so much action, 3D floating tree seeds and people flying around on creatures a la Dragonriders of Pern? I guess someone out there didn’t like it, I thought I’d be one of the few that didn’t but… I’m really fussy about movies and I really did like it. I won’t see it again for a while despite the fact that the family is already planning to go again. Definitely won’t see it 20 times.

Verdict: I’m glad I went. It was very unusual, fun and long enough (2 1/2 hours) to really appreciate the effects. Not all that sure that I would have been as impressed if I saw it on a small multiplex screen.

Hat’s off to James Cameron for the great special effects, innovative technology and the directing he did on this movie. Wish the plot was a little better but still a great night out!
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Good thing I don’t have four little kids anymore. I can only imagine what all the various blue Avatar figures strewn around the house would be like!!!

So go out and see it if you haven’t but I’m sure most of you out there have already gone!

G’night,

Laura

Robin Williams December ‘09 HBO Special

I watched the recent Robin William’s HBO Comedy special and it was really funny, a bit off color as always, but still had me laughing. He’s calmed down a bit as he got older, no longer jumping around spitting out jokes faster than an auctioneer on cocaine. This is actually a good thing for me because my brain never worked at lightning speed when trying to follow along. The time it took to laugh heartily at something he said made me miss something I needed to have heard for his next comic blip!
There were many good topics and jokes in this show.
I enjoy the current events and political material the best of all… can’t get enough of it.

My favorite joke was:
“But there’s one guy that treated W with respect and kindness and that man was Tony Blair.
Tony Blair and W was like the United Nations production of ‘Rain Man.’ It was wonderful.”
(Followed by numerous Rain Man jokes with George W as Raymond and Blair as Charlie.)
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My second favorite joke:
“So what is ‘W’ doing now? He’s a motivational speaker. Kinda cool.
It’s kinda like having Lindsay Lohan as a guidance counselor…”

Yup!

One New Year’s resolution I plan to keep:
Write, write and write even more…
That includes here of course too.
I have hundreds of pages I really have to get back to on two computers and (ugh) edit!

G’night

Laura

Snowy New Year’s Eve! Welcome 2010 and a new decade!

Well, 2010 is finally here. I hope it’s a good one for everyone. This past year wasn’t my greatest so here’s to improvement, not terribly sorry to see it go at all. I looked outside this morning and found it had begun to snow. I had absolutely no idea that it was going to snow. Must have missed that weather memo. Didn’t snow all that much but it made for crummy driving most of the day.
I’m hoping 2010 is the start of a better decade personally, professionally, financially and in general for everyone. I wasn’t very impressed by the first decade in the 2000’s… I guess I’ll hit reset and try again this one.
Watched the ball go down on Times Square on TV by myself for the second year in a row. Yea.

Happy New Year everyone! Happy 2010!

Good Night, or good morning depending on how you see it!

Laura

Holiday Boredom sets in… Jesse Stone to the rescue?

Christmas was nice, small reasonably quiet family gathering at our house.
First year not at grandma’s. A little odd and to my credit I only burst into tears 4 times, three of which no one saw and once on my youngest son’s shoulders. I know it’s been about 6 months now but I still really miss my mom.
Mostly it seemed that folk left me alone a bit, either I wasn’t joining in or they didn’t know what to do with me. Don’t really know.

Anyway after the dust cleared and everyone went back home, or to work and friends-
I found myself sitting here seriously and incredibly bored. Happens a little almost every year, but always had mom to talk to. Didn’t know what to do with myself this year. I know I’m not the only one that gets discouraged just after Christmas and into the beginning of the New Year.

So I watched the entire series of Tom Selleck’s Jesse Stone movies on my computer. I’ve never watched them before.

First up: Stone Cold. Never saw it and it wasn’t bad. The imperfect hero.
Second: Night Passage. Decided I liked the character of Chief Stone.
Third: Death in Paradise. Not bad at all, I was addicted and not quite as bored.
Fourth: Sea Change. Odd but pretty good, always liked Magnum PI don’t know why I never watched these.
Fifth: Thin Ice. I liked this Jesse Stone entry. I hope they do a few more at some point.

Basically if you like a very toned down Magnum PI with a drinking problem in a really small town… you’ll like Jesse Stone. Oh and yes, of course the ladies just love him.

Unfortunately now I’m back to being bored. It’s snowing outside so I think I’m going to take a walk, that should help.
At some point people will show up around here again today.
I’m hoping to go out for New Year’s Eve for a change. We’ll see.

Happy Holidays!
Happy New Year’s Eve!

Laura

Merry MX-5mas to all…

My MX-5 doesn’t like the snow all that much. Have over 11,000 miles on it since July. This was the first snow driving for the winter season so I’ll have to get used to the way it likes to move about. Little lower than my Corolla Sport was but it did okay. Coulda been better but coulda been a lot worse. Fun in a large parking lot though, not so much with oncoming traffic. Not really meant as a winter snow car I suppose… we don’t get all that much here so I don’t worry too much about it.

Obviously this was taken before the snow storm that hit Long Island this weekend.
I still LOVE my car!

Not having a lot of car luck right now. Son’s car quit (looks serious) and needs major work. The van is currently lodged in a snow drift thanks to same son and has to be pulled out which is scheduled for tomorrow. Sigh.
Also need to find a car for second son that just got his license.
Has to be automatic tranny for he won’t drive manual though all the rest of us do. (There’s one in every family I suppose.) Money is an issue too, so hopefully we’ll find something adequate in the New Year, just can’t worry about it now.
Took me 25 or so years to be able to get the MX-5 and even then I almost didn’t.

Supposedly patience is a virtue… now if only I could convince two under 21 boy creatures. Ha.

Any how all of the above aside:
Hope everyone has a terrific Holiday Season!

Laura