Friday
I don’t know who turned Utah’s thermostat down, but they need to stop playing with it. The rain wasn’t so bad, but when it’s the third day of September – and still very much in the midst of “summer” – and I had to break out a turtleneck this morning, there’s something amiss.

I didn’t do much during the early part of the day. I spent a good portion of it awaiting two phone calls; I received neither of them.

The evening brought coffee and conversation – something to which I look forward at the end of each week. Tonight’s gathering was a good one. I saw a friend whom I haven’t seen in… four or five months, at least.

And, it looks as though Perry and Max and I have a “play date” tomorrow.

NPR and Other News
Morning Edition: Bali Bomber’s Coffee Break
Morning Edition: E.T., Write Home
Talk of the Nation – Science Friday: Rethinking Full-body CT Scans
Day to Day: Gay Bishop Ordination Still Rocking Episcopal Church
All Things Considered: A New Take on Stephen Foster’s Music
(I wasn’t aware of the overtly racist themes in some of his songs; but according to this report, he “later wrote songs sympathetic to African-Americans in slavery.”)

BBC News: Body and Brain of Gamers Probed

NewScientist.com: U.S. Plans Portable Nuclear Power Plants

USA Today: 10 Great Places to Stop for Subway Art
USA Today: Study: Atkins’ Side Effects Could Hurt in the Future
USA Today: Reality TV, ‘toons mark fall cable
Some of the… um… “highlights” of the coming season include:

  • In Search of the Partridge Family (VH1, Sunday, 9 p.m. ET/PT, Sept. 5) Can there ever really be another Danny Bonaduce? Should there be?
  • Caught (Court TV, Tuesday, 10:30 p.m. ET/PT, Sept. 28) Asks the question, “At what point do people decide to break the rules?”
  • He’s a Lady (TBS, Tuesday, 10 p.m. ET/PT, Oct. 12) A dozen macho men get the ultimate makeover.
  • I Hate My Job (Spike, Tuesday, 9 p.m. ET/PT, Oct. 12) Al Sharpton gives career counseling to eight men who quit their jobs to pursue their dreams.
  • The Real Gilligan’s Island (TBS, Tuesday, time TBD, Nov. 30) A real skipper, first mate, millionaire couple, movie star, Kansas farm girl and professor try to escape from a deserted island.

First up, we have American Idol meets The Monkees. And I like The Monkees, both the show and the band. I’m not really sure what to make of Caught yet. And, aside from Tootsie, Mrs. Doubtfire and The Birdcage, no movie that I can recall about crossdressing men has done well. A TV show..? As a “reality TV” show, I already hold out little hope for it; with it’s premise, I think that it’s more than one foot in the grave. Next: Al Sharpton?! Career counsellor? Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?! And, do I really need to say anything about “Real World: Gilligan’s Island?” I think not.

Stray Toasters

  • sent me this, which made me laugh:

  • The twins are apparently feeling MUCH better. Before heading to coffee, I went to fill their food and water dish. I had barely started pouring the food when Presto, followed shortly by Lightning, came racing down the steps.
  • I think that I’ve sussed out 95% or more of the bassline to Maroon 5’s This Love.
  • The releases of the Batman: TAS and Superman: TAS DVDs have been pushed back until January 2005. *BAH*
  • From the Comics2Film DCG: Elish Cuthbert (from 24) as Emma Frost

Quote of the Day
From the Stargate SG-1 episode “Politics,” in which an influential senator holds an inquiry into whether or not the Stargate program should be maintained:

Gen. Hammond: After reading you mission reports and being fully briefed by Colonel Samuels, the senator decided that the SGC will receive no further funding from the Treasury.
Col. O’Neill: That effectively shuts us down, sir.
Gen. Hammond: Very effectively. *looks around* Costs nearly a billion dollars just to turn the lights on around here.
Col. O’Neill: How about a bake sale? Yard sale? Garage…?
Gen. Hammond: This is what I look like when I’m not laughing, Colonel.
Col. O’Neill: Car wash…?
Gen. Hammond: *laugh*
Col. O’Neill: I’m sorry, sir.

I may… “MAY”… have to give the movie another chance.
And with that, goodnight.

Namaste.