Tuesday, August 19, 2008

All the news thats fit to print....


I don't usually write about T.V. shows that i watch or want to watch, but i thought this warranted some attention. I am excited about TrueBlood. I already have my DVR programed to record it.

From HBO.com
Thanks to a Japanese scientist's invention of synthetic blood, vampires have progressed from legendary monsters to fellow citizens overnight. And while humans have been safely removed from the menu, many remain apprehensive about these creatures "coming out of the coffin." Religious leaders and government officials around the world have chosen their sides, but in the small Louisiana town of Bon Temps, the jury is still out.

Local waitress Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), however, knows how it feels to be an outcast. "Cursed" with the ability to listen in on people's thoughts, she's also open-minded about the integration of vampires — particularly when it comes to Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer), a handsome 173-year-old living up the road. But as Sookie is drawn into a series of mysteries surrounding Bill's arrival in Bon Temps, that tolerance will be put to the test.

A sexy, scary new drama from 'Six Feet Under' creator Alan Ball, 'True Blood' delves into the meticulously-crafted world of novelist Charlaine Harris. Described by the Emmy®-winning Ball as "popcorn for smart people" and featuring a colorful cast of local misfits, 'True Blood' promises an intense ride.

Now i don't know about you guys, but the thought of vampires and 173 year old people, well it just creeps me out just enough to absolutely want to check out this show! Alan Ball, the creator of Six Feet Under certainly has what it takes to create another hit for HBO. "popcorn for smart people" Fuck yeah! Can't wait for this one!

Upward and onward...
Not sure if you noticed, but i have been forced to put the comment moderation feature on ON!! I will not go into the reasons why, but just know that whoever is a regular commenter on my blog will not have a problem. Please don't hesitate to comment because i love to hear from you all and it makes blogging that much more interesting and fun.

To my anonymous friends out there, keep them coming. I welcome your comments. Just know this, i find it very cowardly not to reveal who you are. If you have something to say to me, wouldn't you rather that i know who you are? Or are you ashamed that if you reveal yourself i will think less of you? Nope, in fact i would think you are brave and wonderful and honest. But, of course it is your call. If you would rather post as anonymous, that is fine with me.

I just want to update everybody on my running streak! I am on day 23 of consecutive days running at least 5 miles or more! It's really amazing that i seem to have the stamina to do this. A few days ago, Sunday i think, i had a really hard run. I almost thought to give up my streak, but that is so not me. I set a goal and always follow through. It's as if something is propelling me forward. I intend to have a big celebration on Labor Day September 1st. A day off. One day at least.

















Believing you can! Isn't that an amazing sort of mantra to live by? Believing you can results in knowing you can and knowing you can gets you to the finish line. I don't only mean the race finish line, i mean anything in your life, that you want to do, accomplish, write, travel to, read, just anything really. It's all doable. There is no such thing as "i can't", or "i won't" but there is "i'd rather not" or "i think i want to do it this way".... Right?

Let's talk raw. There is absolutely no right or wrong way to eat raw. My goodness, there is high raw, 75-80% raw is high raw?? I have no clue really. There is 80/20 again no clue. Superfoods, cacao, nuts, dulse, zucchini pasta, nut pates...again you can eat all of these foods or none! You can do green smoothies and be done with it. The one and only thing i agree with or think is very important is getting the greens in every single day!! Fruit too. I can easily live on lots and lots of fruit but i choose not to. I am a runner afterall.













I really feel i have to talk just a bit about this man! Mr. Michael Phelps. Michael is 23 years old and a hero to most of us. He is an accomplished swimmer and has set a new world record by winning 8 gold medals. So, he now holds the record for the most gold medals won at a single Olympics, surpassing Mark Spitz! This has never happened before and i am quite certain it may never happen again. It's just amazing to me the discipline and determination this young man has. He is my hero. He is the man!! Thank you Michael for making these summer olympics one to remember!!














If you're not watching Mad Men, you're crazy.
There. How's that for a post title?

Put simply, it is, by far, the most adult, most stylish, best written show on television at the moment. And I say "adult" in the sense that it's subtle and complex, not in the "there's a lot of sex" sense (although there's plenty of sex).

Set in early '60s Manhattan, the show is centered around ad agency Sterling Cooper, the men who run it, and the women behind the men. That's what it's "about," but what it's really about is social change; the things that lead up to it, the people who are going to be affected by it, and the way it sneaks up on you without you realizing it. It's the only show I've ever seen that makes me want to go out and pick up a copy of The Feminine Mystique. Not that the show's about feminism, but the spectre of its arrival looms large over everything. But let's put that aside for a moment and discuss other things.

The look of the show - if you're a fan of mid-century modern design - is like a series of eye orgasms. Everything and everybody looks fantastic. And not just fantastic, but dead on for the period.

And setting the show in an ad agency is brilliant, not only because being an ad man on Madison Avenue was one of the most glamorous jobs you could have at the time (think Darrin Stevens), but it's perfectly suited for discussing social change. Like it or not, advertisements are powerful indicators of who we are and what we consider important.

Breaking it down to its basics, it's a soap opera, with the usual soap opera subplots of secret pregnancies, hidden pasts, adultery, and backstabbing business dealings. But the sum is so much greater than its parts. The style of the show and the way it tells its stories is so low-key that at first glance it might come across boring, but again, that's of a piece with what the show's trying to say. Events sneak up on people and they don't always have easily read reactions. When I first started watching season 1, my initial reaction was "Nothing happens." When I got to about episode 5 I looked back and realized that a lot had happened. It's just that the writing and the directing was so subtle - and so not the normal television method of spelling everything out for the viewer - that it took a while for things to register.


The main character of the show is Don Draper as portrayed by the so-handsome-it-hurts Jon Hamm. If there's anyone who can bring back smoking, drinking and cheating on your wife as glamorous, it's him.

I'm not going to list all the characters here but i would like to talk about Christina Hendricks as Sterling Cooper office manager Joan Holloway. She is FABULOUS. With a body straight out of a pinup calendar and the ability to deliver a bitchy line that would make Bette Davis jealous ("You're the new girl and you're not much, so you might as well enjoy it."), she is drop-dead gorgeous, fascinating and MUCH smarter than the people around her realize. To be honest, she's probably my favorite character. Beautiful, stylish and bitchy. How could I not love her?

I urge you to rent Season 1 from Netflix and catch up on Season 2 on Sunday nights on AMC at 10pm.

Oh, and if you're trying to quit smoking, stock up on gum and carrot sticks ahead of time.















Let's just enjoy it while we can!!!

Now I am quietly waiting
for the catastrophe of my personality
to seem beautiful again,
and interesting, and modern.
The country is grey and
brown and white in trees,
snows and skies of laughter
always diminishing, less funny
not just darker, not just grey.
It may be the coldest day of
the year, what does he think of
that? I mean, what do I? And if I do,
perhaps I am myself again.
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