Galactica is officially the best show ever. Resistance moving up. Adama's back. Decoy Battlestars. Raptors and vipers. GALACTICA JUMPING INTO NEW CAPRICA'S ATMOSPHERE AND JUMPING OUT. VIPERS IN ATMO. The Pegasus, oh god, the pegasus. The fleet and humanity reunited.
Best. Episode. Ever.
Major squee.
Kinda how I'm feeling today - slow, not really tired, but unmotivated. One class was cancelled, I skipped my next one to catch up on some work and to eat lunch. Class this afternoon was short, and I got my work in.
It's dreary out today, and it's been raining out all day, and I went back out in the field with George like I did last week to help him with some of his river studies. However, it meant that we both got completely soaked taking water samples. My cast is soaked, as are my books and jeans, and it's going to be forever before they're dry.
Universal and Fox have both withdrawn their financial support for the upcoming Halo movie. That means no money for a movie that was already financed at $135 million dollars, heavy on CGI, costuming, and with Peter Jackson as an Executive Producer and a relatively new director. According to the SciFi Wire, the studios were trying to get Microsoft to get a lower profit for the movie, and it didn't work.
This hasn't killed the movie, and while they're still continuing preproduction on it, there's no one to pay the bills until Microsoft finds someone who will and can. Come on Bill Gates, give us a hand here, it's not like you'd notice $200 million missing anywhere in your daily life...
On top of that, NBC has announced that they're going into cost cutting measures by eliminating 700 jobs within the company, as well as cutting back on Scripted Dramas. That means more reality TV, because they're cheaper and apparently people like those better. GOD - Why is the American Public so stupid and easy to please in this area? NBC hauled out some of the finest shows of the season - Studio 60, Heroes, Battlestar Galactica and others. I really hope that this'll not hurt the other shows in the future. Especially Galactica.
It was about 6:30 or so when it hit me; one of those moments when all the energy just seems to evaporate from you and you want nothing more but to collapse and sleep for twelve hours. Unfortunently, at 6:30, I was in the middle of putting a number of Borders issued classics into overstock, with the store telephone ringing and several customers milling around.
Yeah.
Today was one of those days. I was actually awake for most of my two classes, making some points in American Short Stories, got some paperwork signed by a teacher so the Tactical Club will have a staff advisor and trying to stay awake during the movie Dracula, which after the book was a bit of a letdown. To top it off, I still don't have a bike helmet, which adds on another 5-8 minutes to my commute. Also had my student for geology tutoring not show up, which gave me another mile to walk unnecessarily.
LOST isn't working on the ABC website for some reason, so I've seen the first couple minutes. Supernatural will be on later and I've got Jericho on inbetween homework breaks. On top of that, Facebook isn't working, so I can't message various people about meetings and what have you.
And Eye in the Sky is saying that the first snow is expected in the higher elevations. Finally! I think that this time of the year, as well as early spring, after the leaves have gone, and before everything turns green, when it's grey out, is the more interesting. Something about driving along the highway watching the scenery like that.
Editl: Supernatural - I think it had Summer Glau in it this episode, but I'm not sure.
Probably one of the best commercials I've seen, a cranberry farmer claiming that Cranberries are the 'Ninja Fruit'. Unfortunently, I can't seem to find it online, but if I do, I'll throw up a link.
The Berlin Mall is definently an odd place. There's a number of interesting people that I've seen, ranging from redneck mall rats to the random guy who walks back and forth - for my entire 6 hour shift in the calander kiosk. There's a number of regulars that I see, and usually at clockwork. The people in Citizen Bank leave at about 5:30, and LenseCrafters closes pretty close to 7. And the people at Walmart are scary, not just some of the employees, but some of the people shopping there.
While on break, we had a truck pull up to take back some returns from our outlet. I helped the driver load some boxes after finishing my sandwhich. He mentioned some of his routes and 12 hour trips that he takes every week. I don't know how drivers do that. After 4-5 hours, I'm starting to go crazy.
I was able to finish Matriarch today and man, right up to the end, some surprises. Spoilers: The Isinj are at civil war, Shan and Ade, although sterilized, somehow became pregnant and which Shan aborted with a grenade (yikes), Ryhat is still annoying although starting to be a reasonable character, the Ben'zari are Nazis and now infected with Cha'naat , Vissiji blew himself to pieces, and Lindsay is a bitch. And transparent, literally. (Sarah, correct me on the names, because I can't remember them for anything.) Makes me really wish that the next book (5/6) will be coming out soon. Also got a huge chunk out of Dracula after I finished Matriarch. We discussed it in class, as being the root for a lot of the modern horror/supernatural stories, and it's really proving to be so. I'm liking it a lot, more so than Frankenstein and Dr. Jeckle / Mr. Hyde.
I don't know if I ever mentioned it, but I won second place in the Lexia Photo Contest, 2006 for my picture 'View from St. Paul's'
Okay, and now off to bed.
I'm wet, pretty chilly and wondering why the hell the closest telephone that I have easy access to is nearly a half mile away. Worth it though.
Work was slow for the first half. The calanders are boring, although sales will probably be picking up soon with the holidays and things happening soon. Things picked up towards the end of the evening, when my supervisor came out to chat about random things and I got all but thirty pages done in Matriarch. It's a good read, and the series is amazing. Karen's one of the best modern Sci-Fi authors out there.
And, got one of the first random/weird stories out of working in a book store:
Me, to man looking at Sports Illustrated calander: "Sir, can I help you find anything?"
Man "Nope. Just looking at the sluts."
Me "..."
For other random stories, visit here: http://kempa.com/articles/bn/
Now, to catch up on some homework, reading, as well as last night's episode of Heroes, on NBC. Veronica Mars is on later tonight.
Edit: Crap! My usual source for TV show times, Yahoo says that Veronica is on at 11, but it's currently baseball, which isn't listed on there at all. Maybe it'll be pushed back a bit? Arg.
It's extremely funny when your english class turns into a running battle with the teacher over the plot of Battlestar Galactica. Turns out that my professor is a huge fan of the show (we got on the topic as we read a Ray Bradbury story in American Short Stories today) and guess who's hand was the first up (actually, the only one) when she asked if there were any Science Fiction fans in the room? Yep, me. We ended up discussing the role of science fiction and how it's used in literature, as well as the new Battlestar Galactica, touched on Stargate a bit too.
Then we go to my Gothic Lit class, where we're already talking about Vampires, and I was able to corner my professor into a discussion on Battlestar, Eureka, Supernatural and Dr. Who.
And now off to work for a longass shift. Hopefully I'll finally finish Matriarch and some school reading.
I still have my cast on. No, it wasn't taken off, like I'd hoped that it would be, but no, I have another week to go with it on. It's infuriating and I'm about ready to take the damn thing off myself, if I hadn't already been warned by someone that that's probably a bad idea.
Arg.
On top of that, nobody showed up for my geology tutoring session. Now, this is somewhat usual, I sit in the Geology lab for two or so hours, waiting for someone to show up with a question. Hell, any question would do, but nope. Two hours of my time wasted, where I didn't have to leave a meeting early or hell, even miss the latest episode of Heroes. At least I got a bit of my reading for English done, although I need to finish Dracula for Gothic Lit tomorrow. I also got another couple of chapters done in Matriarch (I'm going Sarah...). Brilliant book from Karen Traviss, the forth book after City of Pearl, Crossing the Line and The World Before.
I've been spending some down time working on the blog. New appearance, but Blogger also added a tagging option, so one can create a theme for each post, and if so inclined, someone could search for related entries. Great, but I have another 250 posts to go to finish up... some other time. Any thoughts on the new layout?
Studio 60 rocked. Go watch, if you haven't yet.
There's not a whole lot that I can talk about really. I took my sister out to dinner the other night. It was fun to hang out with her and catch up a little, because I don't see my family members as often as I did. Freaked my mom out, as we got home to find 4-5 increasingly frantic messages from her. We had a good laugh about it later, along with talk of what my asperations are for the future, time management and other random school things.
Overall, aside from the cast still being on my arm, things are going well.
Okay, despite my TV viewing habits, work load, job and late nights, AND, despite the fact that I forgot two papers, I am doing fairly well, and for the most part, staying on top of things. I'm still sane, alive and working, and actually having a good semester.
So please, stop worrying.
Guess who forgot to write/finish up two english papers? Arg!
... was bad at cancelling shows. News on the street today is that the CBS show Smith, was cancelled today after only three episodes. That gets me annoyed, because a) I was really digging Smith, b) it was a HEIST show. I love heists! c) It's three frickin' episodes! Give it a little time. At least Fox cancelled Firefly after 13. d) They're keeping Jericho with it's crappy characters, why cancel the show with fairly decent ones and a better storyline??
Arg. Tomorrow's TV Recap will be really fun to write...
Okay, doing a bit of research, Smith was getting 3.1-2.8 ratings, which is pretty bad for a show like that. The article I read, linked through TV Squad, mentioned that officials weren't calling it a cancellation, and there's a couple of episodes already finished. Maybe they'll be finishing out their 13 episode order with enough time to wrap it up nicely. That would be good. Actually, that'd probably be preferable.
The New York Times just did their review of The Nine, which starts this week, and included an interesting paragraph:
This year, suspense is the new forensics: instead of grisly crimes that are neatly wrapped up by episode’s end, many of the new dramas stretch the plot through an entire season, holding viewers’ attention by withholding a denouement and ending each episode with a cliffhanger.
Anyone with their eyes open could have told you that - it's nice to see some bigger recognition of this though. TV has gone from standalonish episodes to longer story arcs. LOST is commonly assosiated with this, but it goes further back, to Babylon 5 and to the new Battlestar Galactica. LOST, Smith, Veronica Mars, Battlestar and numerous others are taking this on. It's a good change.
In other random happenings: I found my camera, got my iPod to work, turned into a zombie at work and am now back on my bike. Wee!
I'm back on my bike, and picking my cast apart, little by little. It's getting irritating, in many ways. Doing simple things around the house is now a chore, such as buttoning up a shirt or zipping my jacket. Cans are problematic, as are keys. And typing! Such a pain now. I'm thinking that I'm going to visit the doctor to get a simple splint, so that I can continue to type.
Random other things have been going on. Picked up a couple of comics after I dropped off my paychecks and paid off part of my credit card bill. Finally, my hours at Waldenbooks will be increasing so that I'll finally be able to pay my bills and roommate. And, finally, Spiderman has come to his senses about what side of the Civil War he's on. FINALLY!
The first episode of the third season of Veronica Mars! I picked up the first two seasons of the show on DVD, and it's one of the best and brightest out there in TV world.
The past two seasons have chronicled Veronica's Junior and Senior years in high school. This year goes to college. Unlike the past two seasons, where the mysteries have been solved over an entire season, in addition to the smaller things that Veronica solves, this season will employ three seperate mysteries one at a time, one after the other.
Spoilers for the first episode:
One of the really cool things about the second season is the storylines that are carried over from the first season. Same happens with the second season and coming into the third season. When Veronica was looking for colleges, there was an episode that dealt with a rapist. This seems to be the first major storyline of the season, revealed at the end of the first episode.
It's a seamless transition between seasons and this time, networks. Some of the characters look a little different, which is fairly realistic, but the humor, darkness, camera work and tight storylines are still there. The opening credits are different, with the same song, just sounding more stripped down than in previous years. It looks and sounds great.I can't wait to see the rest of the season.Oh, and there's an awesome Battlestar Galactica reference in the episode.
Okay, I'm typing with just one hand at the moment. The good news - I'm not dead, just injured. The bad news - my right hand and wrist will be in a cast for the next four weeks. I fractured it while biking home after class today. I took a corner a bit too fast, too wide and went flying over the handlebars. My injuries:
That's it. Not too bad, and I didn't notice the wrist until about an hour later. The school infirmery refered me to the doctor's, who gave me an x-ray and cast. I have to have it on for the next four weeks.
What annoys me the most is that I can't go rock climbing for a little while, nor can I really ride my bike for that time.
The Higher Ground is a really nice concert venue here in Vermont. They attract quite a few mid-level singers and bands, and have had some incredible shows throughout the year. I've missed a couple already this year - K.T. Tunstall played earlier this year, while I was working, and Great Big Sea played the week before I returned from London.
What's awesome is that they have Carbon Leaf coming back again, on October 23rd, which is a Monday. Great, okay. But wait, I looked closer at the schedule:
10-30 - Amos Lee
10-31 - Mike Doughty
11-19 - James Hunter
12-29 - 12-31 - Grace Potter and the Nocternals.
James Hunter, I might/probably will skip. I like his music, but I've really only listened to one or two songs. Amos Lee and Mike Doughty however, both incredible artists, and back to back. Amos Lee I really, really, really want to see. And Grace Potter, well, hopefully I'll be able to see her. I love her music.
Sigh.
Where the hell is my camera?
Yay for setting my alarm on time, but at the same time, also setting the clock an hour early. Not really sure how that happened. As a result, I'm to class an hour early. Does this mean that I get to skip a day?
Also, in this day in history, the Hobbit was published in 1939, with reluctance from J.R.R. Tolkien.
And, the trailer for Frank Miller's 300 was released on some random website today. 300 is a graphic novel that Miller (Who also wrote the brilliant Sin City and the Dark Knight Returns comics) about the 300 Spartan warriors at the battle of Thermopylae, where they held off an entire Persian army of thousands. I learned about the story in 3 Democracies in High School, and I got such chills hearing some of the lines in the trailer. "We shall fight in the shade."
See the trailer here.
Last year, and earlier this year, I posted up a series of essays on television's increase in quality, as well as the changing role of television programmes and the internet. iTunes has increased it's number of television shows from just a couple of ABC shows to two-hundred twenty. They've also picked up shows such as Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, Prison Break, Law and Order, CSI, The Office, and have added a feature called a Season Pass, which will allow you to purchase the entire season ahead of time, all that you have to do is download the episode when it's put online. In addition to the huge number of shows that have been added online, Apple Corp. has just revamped the iPod and iTunes. The new iPods have a better screen and longer battery life, aimed specifically at being able to watch videos on the devices. They're not the full screen iPods as had been rumoured, but iTunes has become more visual. CD Cover art is more prominant, and the video quality has gone up. Towards the end of the typical TV seasons earlier this spring, where ABC put several of their shows online free, streaming, with limited ads. FOX and CBS have followed suit with some of their shows thus far. Fox put up four of the first episodes of Prison Break, Vanished, and has followed with a couple of other shows. CBS has placed their new show Smith, CSI: Miami, and the Unit online. I'm sure that several other networks (Please, please, please, CW, put up Supernatural and Veronica Mars online).
So what does this mean? Television is breaking further into the internet. NBC, SciFi, ABC, CW, and CBS have all added online video hubs. These hubs offer a number of different options, ranging from the full episodes of television episodes to behind the scenes and promos for upcoming episodes. I don't think that it needs to be said, but TV is here on the internet to stay.
There's a couple of reasons for content being provided online. The technology is here, with broadband connections becoming ever more powerful. I, for the first time, have Cable internet, and as a result, I've been watching Prison Break, Battlestar Galactica, and currently, Smith, streaming. It's a cool thing.
I'm also extremely pleased with it because I can now watch the episode a day or so after it airs, which is very nice because my job will be taking me away from the tube, and for shows with content that relied heavily on the story aspect, it's nice to have the option to be able to catch up without waiting half the year for a re-run.
There are, with all good thing, some drawbacks. iTunes music files are fairly large, ranging from 396 megabytes to 912 megabytes. These are huge files, and they have the potential to really eat up your hard drive in huge bites. No pun intended. But currently, I'm down to about 7 free gigabytes on my own hard drive. In addition, the streaming shows are just that, streaming. The quality level on the full screen settings are pretty weak, and if your connection is spotty, you're likely to have trouble.
Security is another drawback. with sites like Youtube, Google Video and Myspace videos gaining in popularity, it'll be a matter of time before there will be some news about television networks and their programs ending up on these sites. I know that House has made an appearance as a six part upload, as I'm sure that several other shows have done. Warner Brothers has signed a deal with Youtube for their content, while another has condemned the site.
Finally, not all shows are online. Fox, much to my annoyance, hasn't put up House for download on iTunes, nor streaming. So, if there's really one show that you have your heart set on, it might be hit or miss whether it'll be online for viewing or not. Well, there's always the DVDs, or you know, making sure that you'll be able to make the TV date.
I generally get around that little problem by watching the episodes while I'm doing other things, like writing, talking with other people, and with it in a small corner of my screen.
Things are likely to improve. Image quality has a little ways to go, but I'm betting that we'll see some slower progress, as with higher quality episodes, we'll have bigger megabyte sizes. Bigger sizes mean longer download times and more space taken up on your computer.
Next up: Lost Clones, the TV/Movie Barrier and high quality storylines.
Four weeks into school, riding my bike and I've had my first accident. Nothing serious, but I banged up my knee and palm of my hand. I should go slower around corners where cars might also be coming around. Having to suddenly decrease your turn radius isn't fun, especially with a backback on. I also had the fun pleasure of digging all the crap out of my hand, then finding some bandages.
Of course, my luck would have it that I probably need to replace my rear shifter, as it's no longer working, and I'm not well versed enough in bicycle repair to attempt it myself.
This is a job for Bicycle repair man!
Update: Kudos to Bicycle Express of Northfield, for taking one look at my bike and fixing it and then not charging me. I'll probably go to them when I need to get my bike tuned up for the year.
three more from on high
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