Our local paper ran this AP Story yesterday about the 50th anniversary of the fire that killed several students and teachers at the Our Lady of Angels School in Chicago's West Side.

Why did this story make me stop and read it? It has close family ties. Years ago (1996 to be precise) my mother gave me a Christmas present. A book called To Sleep with the Angels by David Cowan and John Kuenster.

And while nobody in our family died in that fire, my grandfather (my mom's dad) knew many of the firefighters involved in fighting the blaze. You see, my grandfather was a photographer for the fire department. And while I never knew him (he died when my mom was a kid), I feel proud that he was such a friend and asset to the department.

So, if you have kids in school, say a little prayer today for those that lost there lives 50 years ago today. If it weren't for their sacrifice, we wouldn't have such high standards for fire protection and prevention in our schools.

Did Heroes Jump the Shark?

I've been a big Heroes fan since it started. I know a lot of people last season were loosing faith in the show but I hung around and enjoyed it. Granted, it wasn't as good as the first season, but I expected that. Think of all those great trilogy movies out there. The first and third movies are usually the better ones.

Anyway, I've grown disappointed in Heroes this season. I'm expecting a greater show, better plots, better acting and all I get is crap. Of last night's episode, the only part I truly enjoyed was Hiro, Ando, and the African painter. Seriously. That's it. Maybe a little of Daphne and Parkman. But just a little.

Nikki's twin sister? As boring as Nikki.
Nathan? I liked him better when he was dead.
Peter? Lost his power? Now I don't care about him.
Sylar? Growing a conscience? BORING!
Mama Petrelli? You mean she's not dead yet? Damn.
Mohinder? Give me a can of Raid and I'll take care of him.

Seriously, please, just get back to the writing of the first season. Put down all those X-Men comics you've been using for your research. You can do a better plot line, trust me.

Only in Shebby

Only in Shebby (aka Shelby, NC - where we used to live) would you see a headline like this: Police: Man bites woman's ear; dog bites man

Sometimes I miss the place. Sometimes I don't.

And Google appears to have partnered with a former employer (Books-A-Million) to include a new widget on their site, aka Google Preview (which doesn't work for me right now).

Oh, and Heroes was on last night. It was good, but I don't have anything major to say at the moment. Give it time.

The Predictor - 11 Heroes Predictions

Yvonne and I have a bit of a running joke that she's the "Predictor" of the house. It's a bit of a play on words from the TV show Pretender we'd watch in college. She got the reputation of being able to predict most of the "surprise" endings for shows we'd watch and thus, the name stuck.

Well, I stumbled upon one of my previous posts with predictions I made about Heroes. And since I'm short on material to write about today, so begins the discussion.

Prediction 1: Hiro will travel back in time to get his katana (sword) from ancient Japan. Think of the old Seven Samurai movie by Kurosawa.

Looks like I was right on this one. 10/10

Prediction 2: He [Matt] will confront Horn Rim Glasses Guy (HRGG) and get the information he needs. But it won't be pretty, the confrontation or the information.

Pretty much right on this one too. 9/10

Prediction 3: Claire now realizes what her father (HRGG) has done (or can do) and will run-away from home. I'm sure she'll end up in New York City, but will hitch a ride with either Hiro or someone else to get there. In NYC, she will use her power to heal Peter Petrelli of the combustible power he absorbed.

Almost right? She was going to run away and kind of did, but in the end I think she'll stay with the family. 7/10

Prediction 4: Micah helps dismantle a bomb. Don't ask where that came from, just a guess.

Well, he nearly got burned up in an arson, which exploded kind of like a bomb. 5/10

Prediction 5: The Haitian will "rescue" HRGG from The Cop. But he will give him the same treatment as Claire.

The Haitian rescues HRG from the Company, not Matt. And he did turn out to be nice. 6/10

Prediction 6: Isaac (the artist) - Continues to sketch and paint without being high and will provide Hiro with more clues as to the destiny of the group.

Way off base on Isaac. With his head sporting a new flip top lid, I doubt he'll be painting much. 0/10

Prediction 7: Simone - Her story line is pretty much dead.

Thankfully dead on with this one. 10/10

Prediction 8: Nathan Petrelli - He wins the election and turns out to be a typical politician, evil. Until he hurts his wife and decides to use his power for good.

Did he win? I don't remember. I'm pretty sure he did. But he turned out to be a good guy. And we never really saw much of his wife in Season 2. 3/10

Prediction 9: Mohinder - Will continue to attempt to warn those on "the list" and will garner the attention of the FBI lady and The Cop. They'll join forces to save the world.

The "List" was pretty much forgotten. So was the FBI lady. But he did join forces with Matt. 3/10

Prediction 10: Niki - Will turn herself in but escape prison to rejoin DL and Micah to do something.

She turned herself in to the Company and did rejoin DL and Micah. 6/10

Prediction 11: Peter Petrelli - Will become the combustible man but will not be the reason behind the blast in NYC.

He was the combustible man and was the reason behind the blast in NYC. But the blast never came about like we originally thought it would. 7/10

Total Score: 66/110 = 60%

Not too bad. Feel free to dispute my scoring. Or my predictions.

Ever notice how things change?

Well, no sooner than our Christmas spirit getting tossed about like a queasy landlubber in the middle of a New England gale riding a small trawler, than the clouds part and there's light ahead.

Santa called Elizabeth last night. I wish I was there to see it, but I heard about it. In fact, Elizabeth actually talked to me on the phone about it right after he called. I've never had that long of a conversation on the phone with her. She'll talk like that in person, but I've never heard her that excited on the phone.

And William's rash looks better already. He's got one more bottle of soy formula before moving to the Liquid Gold (don't ask what the name of it is, I can't remember - but it smells funny). Let's see, what else is happening. Dad bought a new toy that looks pretty nice. Hanukkah starts tonight (Happy Hanukkah for those that celebrate). We had two Mormon missionaries/elders/not sure what to call them stop by last night. I was as polite as I could be in turning down their offers. And while I respect and admire what they're doing, I'm just not religious. And my headlight blew this morning. Sarcastic "yeah." And it's supposed to snow tonight and tomorrow. Another sarcastic "yeah." And I have applesauce sitting on my desk.

Now, I need to get into my morning routine before calls start coming in. Later taters.

OOOHHHH!!!! Almost forgot. Heroes!

I totally support the writer's strike, but I'm really pissed there won't be more Heroes! Nathan dies. Meh, I'll miss him. And there's still a chance he'll survive. Nikki dies. Meh, no big deal, she wasn't doing much anyway. Hiro sticks Adam in a coffin! Woot! And did Peter absorb the virus? Is he going to be the cause of the outbreak? Sylar is BACK! YES! Micah and the Power Ranger girl need to grow in a story line now before we forget about them. And Elle is starting to be interesting. Will she turn on her father? And was HRG Nathan's shooter? I think he'll betray the company again, assuming that was really him. Couldn't the company have another shapeshifter working for them?

Heroes Rewind

- Papa Claire Bear isn't dead. Not enough blood for a head shot through the eye. He somehow turned in time. Ha! I told you.
- West, the flying boy wonder, will die. If not, I'll be pissed.
- Favorite line from tonight: "Hurts like a bitch, doesn't it?" Water and electricity don't mix, do they?
- Parkman is skirting that grey area between good and bad. Will he give in and do the wrong thing or will he play it safe?
- We now have the plot the next season or the next half of this season. The mystery woman from the photo. Victoria Pratt.
- Does Mama Claire bear have a power? Yes. The ability to not act well. Maybe she's the flying boy wonder's mother.
- Hiro meets Young Hiro. Pretty cool. And now we see Hiro grow. Finally. Some major character development.

That is all.

Programming line-up

Not to worry, there's a photo at the end of this rant.

So, here's the general list of programs I watch at any given time and how I feel about them.

Monday

Chuck

Chuck is a good action comedy. Nearly as good as Psyche or NCIS, but not quite there yet.

Heroes

Heroes is awesome. Well, last year was, this year is still working up to that status. I'm sure it will be good, but I still hate that damn kid that can fly (not Nathan, the teenager with Claire).

CSI: Miami

Horatio has a son. A bastard son. Whoopee. Let's work in a serial killer or something. And why can't we have more Speadle?

Tuesday

NCIS

Still a solid show, but needs a meta plot to mix it up a bit. Haven't seen one of those in awhile.

The Unit

A surprise addition to this year's line-up. Good enough to keep me watching. The only thing I would change is the wives. Ditch them until they start carrying guns and getting in on the missions.

Wednesday

Mythbusters

Out of season right now but still a great show.

CSI: New York

Another break-out surprise for this year. There's now an assassin on the loose and the mysterious "333" caller. Are they the same person?

Thursday

CSI

CSI is still the top show, but it's going to lose Gil's girl soon and might not be as exciting. And how can you top the miniature killer from last year?

Friday

Monk

Psyche

Both are off the air until January and both are hilariously funny. Monk is very much like me (or vice versa) and Psyche has one of the best casts I've seen in ages. Like M*A*S*H in its later years, but not as many people.

Stargate Atlantis

Another show that's still in my line-up and still plugging along, but it may not survive. Right now I have no other sci-fi show to replace it with so it stays.

Survivorman

Off air at the moment, but by far the best non-fiction show out there. Even better than Mythbusters.

Saturday

Cops

Off air until the World Series is over but I'll watch it if I think about it or if there's nothing else on.

Sunday

Steelers Football

After last week's loss, I'm not to happy. Hopeful we'll win the game against the Bengals.

And as a reward for hanging in there, here's another photo from the family archives. This is Arthur and Loyd Piester in 1916, standing in front of their parent's new car. Can anyone identify the item on the left? And what's on the right?

Wow, a late night post!

And during Heroes too (sacrilege I know!).

Weekend Report
Anyway, here's the weekend report. I didn't get to accomplish everything on my list (which consisted of emptying the gas can into my car and raking leaves). But I did get the leaves raked. Well, some for them anyway. There's a statewide burn ban, so I couldn't do anything with them except put them in a box and leave in the back by the shed. Elizabeth also got a surprise from one of Yvonne's friends. A new playhouse! She was so excited when we got home from getting groceries, she made me run outside and put it together. What a nut.

And of course there was the standard grocery run to Wal-Mart. Yuck. But I did pick up a new Fiskars rake at Lowe's. It has a small head to get in between plants in the flower bed. Works great.

And the Steelers lost Sunday night. El Sucko. And we discovered that something is leaking under the sink. Major El Sucko. And a good friend found out he may be out of a job in two weeks. Colonel El Sucko.

But, the good news on my end....Saturday evening. It was one of those things that you experience that is so hard to describe. I was actually nearly brought to tears. The sky was clear except for a few puffy, white clouds. It was such a vibrant blue it almost hurt to look at. The leaves on the trees were turning shades of brown and orange and red. Some were lightly falling in the breeze like snowflakes. The breeze was gently blowing making those leaves still holding on rustle about.

Anyway, it was nice. I just wish I could bottle it up and keep it like that so I could sit on the porch everyday and read.

Heroes
So what the heck does Parkman's dad know? Oh, he's evil. Locking them in the dream room. And what's up with the new girl chasing Peter? And I do like the new girl who learns things from TV. She's much better than the teenage boy who flys. Not very original there. And I miss DL. Can't beat walking through walls!

Everything Else
School is progressing along at the moment. Chuck is still a good show, I just wish I could watch it more. CSI is going south. Miami is boring watching Horatio's son. Vegas is boring with Sara on swing shift. Only New York is interesting with the 333 caller. NCIS started good, but I'm not sure where it will end up. I tried to make some salsa (with the help of my mother-in-law's recipe) and ended up making something with way too much cilantro and way too little tomatoes. Hopefully the next batch will be better. I'd really like to buy a pick-up or SUV. I've decided (awhile ago) that any car we buy will be used. After two sets of brand new cars, I've learned that they do nothing but lose value. Not a good use of your money when you're still paying for it. I'd like to get something that takes E85, despite the fact that there are no E85 stations around here.

Well, that's all for now. I still have Heroes and CSI Miami to watch and some more of A Meeting at Corvallis to read.

Heroes and Lyle Lovett

Such diversity in topics, I know. Let's start with Heroes....

Last week we saw Micah's family now includes Ohura. And Sulu was killed. Is this show turning out to be a Star Trek reunion? Will Spock be next to show or Kirk? Too bad it won't be Scotty. But I like his cousin, the girl that learns things from TV.

The flying kid, not too hot about him.

The Spanish brother and sister, I'm actually kind of glad they picked up Sylar (or is it Gabriel now?). I'm hoping he kills them. Just not too interested in them. But what's up with the roaches?

Parkman and the Nathan? Now that's an interesting story. Who is the mother protecting? Will Parkman's dad really be evil? What about Bob? Haha, I made a joke and didn't even realize it.

And this has to be one of the weirdest comics from them yet.

Now, on to Lyle Lovett. Today's paper had an article about him buying back his family's farm. Lyle, if you're out there, I'd like to buy my family's farm before it's sold. If you can cover $250,000 (half of the farm's value), I'm sure I can squeeze the rest out of the family.

Heroes returns

Well, the show is over for now, but we can still keep ourselves busy with the comics, right?


Here's a peek at the latest.

Heroes - Season 1

So Heroes nears the end of Season 1. Next week will be the season finale and I'm glad to hear it's been renewed for next year. But I'm a bit skeptical that it will spawn a spin-off called Heroes: Origins. Spin-offs don't always work, and this may be too soon.


So last night's episode brought about the death of the bad guy (who's name escapes me), Linderman (the healer), Ted (radioactive man), and D.L. (walk-through-walls guy) was left with a belly wound. Sylar is on the loose, Petrelli won by a landslide, and the "Walker" system of tracking the Heroes is a little girl. And let's not forget that Hiro is on his way to save Ando.


Quite a nice, tidy package. I'm very glad to see things are getting cleaned up.


And let's not forget the back-story NBC has going with their graphic novels. The latest of which had some interesting plugs.


The Corinthian:




Vote Petrelli:




And the Helix:

Vote Petrelli

Just got a bizarre marketing call from Nathan Petrelli (aka NBC). Caller ID came up as (660) 833-4191 (a Google search brought up this thread). I won't re-hash what they said over there, so check it out to see what the message said.

Which makes this a pointless thread.

Except I followed the advice of Mr. Petrelli and checked out his website (http://www.votepetrelli.com/). Turns out Hana Gitelman (aka Wireless) "hacked" the mainpage to look like this:

Sulu steps off the bridge to visit Earth

It appears the makers of Heroes have a sense of humor (and are Star Trek fans). Hiro's father, played by George Takei (aka Sulu), was on the show and apparently had quite the personalized license plate:

via FanTent.com

More Heroes in Jericho

While I'm not much of a fan of gimmicks, I've fallen for the Heroes 360 and the Jericho Countdown.

I've fallen for the Heroes show big time, so it was no surprise when I found the Primatech Paper site. From there, I discovered their "hidden" screens, complete with logins and passwords. Inside you find "extra" information about some of the characters (see image below of Wireless). Nothing too terribly exciting, and nowhere near the intensity of the graphic novel.

Oh, if you want to skip ahead on the extra info on Primatech, just go here.

On the flip side of Heroes is Jericho. I was pretty much a hard-core NBC watcher until CSI arrived. Since then, I've been migrating to an almost exclusive CBS TV schedule.

And I've now brought Jericho into the fold. One of their "gimmicks" is the Countdown series of Webisodes. Again, nothing too exciting, but you get a bit of a scientific perspective on nuclear blasts and the resulting chaos. Added to this is the presumption that Hawkins is a hunted man. Of course you can't see him, but it's implied. Here's a collection of Countdown episodes available.

The big thing for me about Jericho, aside for it being a pretty decent show, is the availability to watch it on the web (that's lean-forward viewing). I was able to find all 11 episodes on YouTube (obviously a copyright violation, but I don't care) and the quality is so-so. But the CBS site has a great stream and good quality.

Oh, and check the profile of this guy for the full episodes on YouTube.

Important Heroes Message

Well, not really, but it said it was.

Important Message from Primatech Paper

Thank you for your interest in Primatech Paper and taking the time to complete our employee application.

As our company continues to grow, we are always on the lookout for sharp-minded people to help pave the way for the future.

Please retain this email for your records. A Primatech Paper representative will be contacting you in a few weeks with the next steps.

Important Heroes Message

Well, not really, but it said it was.

Important Message from Primatech Paper

Thank you for your interest in Primatech Paper and taking the time to complete our employee application.

As our company continues to grow, we are always on the lookout for sharp-minded people to help pave the way for the future.

Please retain this email for your records. A Primatech Paper representative will be contacting you in a few weeks with the next steps.

Where are you Asha?

Asha Degree went missing February 14, 2000 from Shelby, North Carolina. Yvonne and I had the unfortunate chance of living in Shelby at the time. Very scary stuff when something like this happens so close to home.


(age 10, around the time of her disappearance)









Yvonne taught at the school Asha attended and one of her good friends was Asha’s teacher. She took it hard. Real hard. And I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Yvonne gets a call in the next 2 or 3 weeks from her friend.




(age 14, after age progression)









What really upsets me about this case are two particular things, the night she disappeared and the media.

The night she disappeared, there was a storm in the county. Some say she left the house because she was afraid, but that makes no sense to me. Her father last saw her in bed at 2:30 am. No big deal there. But the fact that a motorist saw her walking along the road at 4 am strikes me as disturbing. A ten year old girl, walking along the road, at 4 am. Would you not call the cops or stop yourself to see if she’s alright? She was alone and you didn’t think to say something? Does Fallston Road (aka Route 18) look like a place for a little girl to be walking alone? I’m not sure how these witnesses are sleeping these days, but I can only hope they’ve made peace with themselves and the Degree family.

The media is the other aspect of the case that disturbs me. We’ve progressed a lot since 2000 in our technology and in the reporting of missing children via Amber Alerts. But why does the media continue to focus on missing children that are white? Yes, Shelby is a rural area that some may think of as a little on the racist side. But in my experience, they didn’t really care what race you were. Whites and blacks got along just fine. The only prejudice I experienced was religious. If you weren’t a Baptist, they tended to look down on you. So I don’t see this story as being “forgotten” by the media of the area.

In fact, I remember the local paper (The Shelby Star) as covering the story quite frequently. But the national media never picked up on it much. What a shame that a white girl can go missing while on vacation at the beach in a foreign country and garners more attention that a little black girl walking down the road by herself.

I’ll end this public service announcement with a final link to the Asha Degree and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children sites. Interesting that the later has a link to Heroes star Hayden Panettiere (the cheerleader) doing a promo for Teen Online Safety site 2SMRT4U.

Major Heroes Post

So, watched Heroes this morning via old-school DVR (that's VHS). Combine that with a little research, I give you, the oddest Heroes post I've made to date.

1. The graphic novels - I keep harping about these things folks because they're good. Real good. The latest one (released today) continues with the story of the radiation guy (aka Exploding Man or Ted Sprague). We learn more about the hypo-gun (this causes the marks on the neck) and the potential of another group may be searching for the Heroes (meaning somebody besides the Horned Rim Glasses guy and his crew).

2. How many groups - We learn from yesterday's episode that there is at least two groups searching for the Heroes. Horned Rim Glasses (HRG) guy and his goons from the Agency Without Initials (AWI). Added to this group was Hiro's father (played by Mr. Sulu).

3. How many Heroes - We were introduced to Claude (the Invisible Man) and Meredith (Flaming Finger Lady) who is Claire's mother. And the previews for next week gave us a taste that Clarie's father might also have special powers.

4. Primatech Paper - Primatech (where HRG is employed) actually has a web site (operated by GE, the parent of NBC). Call the number and enter the code under the employment section. You'll get an email like this:

And they have another site. This will link you to several blogs, including Zach, Sylar, Svetlana, Nikki, Mohinder, Claude, Mr. Muggles, Isaac, Mr. Bennet, Claire, and Brody.

Yikes, quite a collection of stuff to digest there.

Enjoy!

I'm a Heroes junky

I love Heroes. I know, it's likely more a case of "teenage lust" than "adult love" but I enjoy it.

So for those that don't already know, Heroes has a graphic novel. Decently done, and available a day or so after the episode airs. Which means you can get a little extra info between episodes.

Anyway, the latest comic introduces Wireless and the Exploding Man. And I happened to stumble onto the Heroes Wiki, a great source for fans.

Fraking Heroes Texting Survivorman-edited-

I'm starting to feel like Epheros by blogging at night. Maybe I should make him read my stories to return the favor.....

-edited-

-edited-

Aside form that, a few non-related updates (pardon while my FTL drives warm up).

- BSG (that's Battle Star Galactica) begins anew this Sunday. For me as a viewer and fan, this will be the defining string of episodes. If serious progress is not made, I will be dropping this show from my Must Watch list.

- Heroes is due to start this Monday. And unlike BSG, they have a ways to go before I drop them.

- Conquistador finally got to an action sequence. Thankfully. Things were getting a bit slow there for a moment.

- You may have encountered a person in a public restroom before talking on their cell phone. Well, today I encountered something different. Text messaging. Personally, I like this better than an actual phone call because they won't be able to hear you flush. -edited-

-edited-

- I have yet to finish watching CSI from yesterday and I'm almost done with the Mythbusters Pirate special from Wednesday. Tonight is Psych, one of those shows that sneaks up on you. Subtle humor at its best.

-edited-

FTW baby!!

(Almost forgot, Les Stroud is due to release a new season of Survivorman soon. Stay tuned!)