Television Is Brainwashing Me

Part of this post is inspired by my virtual slave-driver, Kelly (aka 1979 Semi-Finalist). The other part is inspired by FlashForward, the new TV series on ABC. You see, Hulu was kind enough to post the first 18 minutes of FlashForward. And based on that I bought the book. And another copy to give away. Even though I know the book and TV show differ. I'm sure I'm missing a show or two, but without further ado, here's what I plan on (or already am) watching.

Sunday

Defying Gravity - Ron Livingston isn't the funny guy from Office Space anymore, but he's still a good actor. And the "5 years earlier" flashbacks help build the characters. The "uber-secret" payload is kind of lackluster right now, but it is nice to see the crew has finally seen it.

Monday

Jon & Kate Plus 8 - Yes, I watch this show and no I don't care what you think. I've watched the show for some time now and I like it.

Castle - An awesome idea with great chemistry. I've considered watching Bones to see if the chemistry is as good as it is here. This season had a bumpy start. The comedic timing felt a little off and there wasn't much of a "bridge" between seasons. Beyond that, I loved it.

Tuesday

NCIS - Another show I've watched for years. While Mark Harmon is okay as an actor, I actually enjoy the rest of the cast more. They make a good group.

NCIS: Los Angeles - I'll be trying this because of NCIS and will hope it is just as good.

Wednesday

Mythbusters - Somewhere out there is a new episode of this great show. Sometimes the show has a few too many explosions, but it is still education (who knew you only needed a few things to make a column of bubbles burst into flames).

Thursday

CSI - I think I've watched this since it first started. I'm not sure how many twists and turns they have left to throw our way, but I still enjoy it.

FlashForward - One of the best advertised shows I've seen yet. And like I said before, I've bought the book and already started reading it despite knowing they differ widely.

Community - The first episode was good but since it conflicts with CSI, I'll probably catch it on Hulu. More on Hulu later.

Friday

Monk - I was late to the Monk party, but this show is very much about me. If I could stand to wear a suit and tie everyday, this show would indeed be about me. Instead, it's about someone very much like me.

Psych - More great chemistry, but this time between two straight guys. And another great idea that, so far, has been awesomely executed.

Saturday

Cops - I watch it when I can and have stuck to that for years. Since my college background is in criminal justice, I've always been drawn to the show.

Everything Else

V - Another ABC show due to arrive soon. I'm hoping they don't mangle the old 80s show, but hey, it can't be worse, right?

LOST - If you've never seen LOST, then you'll be lost on why this is such an awesome show. The is the ONLY show I have entirely on BluRay. In fact, this show is the REASON I got BluRay.
Warehouse 13 - An okay series that's a bit campy. It's no biggie if I miss it, but Hulu let's me watch anything I've missed.

Wipeout - My wife turned me on to this show with big balls. And I like big balls, I cannot lie, you other brothers can't deny, this show makes me laugh out loud every week.

Late Night with Conan O'Brien - Thanks to Hulu, I can watch this show. So far I haven't missed an episode since he took over and I've enjoyed most of them. I tend to skip the musical guest at the end, but I feel a little more "hip" now that I can hear all about TWITTER TRACKER TWITTER TRACKER TWITTER TRACKER TWITTER TRACKER TWITTER TRACKER!!!!!

Stargate Universe - I'm kind of on the fence on this one. I lost interest in Stargate Atlantis, but was a die-hard Stargate SG-1 fan. I'm hoping it's good enough to keep me hooked.

Survivorman - Les Stroud is a great survivalist that actually teaches you something about surviving. And while I hope I never have to survive, I'd like to think I've learned enough from him to make it a day or two on my own.

Deadliest Catch - Another show that's not on right now but I enjoy. I love crab, love seafood, but rarely get to eat it. Watching how much people put on the line to catch the damn things makes me appreciate it that much more.

Woodwright's Shop - I know, sounds corny, but I've always enjoyed seeing how things were made "the old fashioned way."

Hulu

Hulu has become my drug. I've watched several movies and TV shows on Hulu and love it. I've seen Buffy (seasons 1-3), Angel (season 1), tried to watch The Time Tunnel (didn't like it), and just saw a great classic movie, Gotcha! In the end, Hulu is my crutch. I can use it as a backup-DVR of sorts if any conflicts arise.

Accomplishments and Book News

Accomplishments:

So this weekend was very productive for us. Here's the short version of what we did.

• washed my car and Yvonne's van
• vacuumed my car Yvonne's van
• vacuumed most of the house (just didn't get to the living room/toy room)
• dusted our bedroom and William's room
• cleaned our bathroom
• watched Stargate SG1: Continuum
• watched Monk
• watched Psyche (last week's episode was waaay better, but I'm never disappointed with this show)
• finished The Cipher
• started The Tower of Shadows (Elizabeth picked this book because it had "horses on the front")
• I got new shoes and William got new clothes
• I got a new pillow (feather and it's awesome)
• there's more but I forgot it all!

Books arriving in September:

• Dark Curse by Christine Feehan (Berkley, $24.95). 250,000 copies
• Walt Disney's Alice in Wonderland by Jon Scieszka, illus. by Mary Blair (Disney, $16.99). 100,000 copies.
• Gingerbread Friends by Jan Brett (Putnam, $17.99). 300,000 copies
• The Other Queen by Philippa Gregory (Touchstone, $25.95). 300,000 copies.
• Paul of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (Tor, $27.95). 250,000 copies.
• Star Wars: Order 66 by Karen Traviss (Del Rey, $27). 150,000 copies.
• The Forever War by Dexter Filkins (Knopf, $25). 150,000 copies.
• Brisingr by Christopher Paolini (Knopf, $27.50). 2.5 million copies.
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Special Anniversary Edition by J.K. Rowling, illus. by Mary GrandPré (Scholastic/Levine, $30). 180,000 copies.
• Tsar by Ted Bell (Atria, $26.95). 175,000 copies.
• Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech (HarperCollins/Cotler, $15.99). 125,000 copies.
• Planet Google: How One Company's All-Encompassing Vision Is Transforming Our Lives by Randall Stross (Free Press, $26). 100,000 copies.
• If You Give a Cat a Cupcake by Laura Numeroff, illus. by Felicia Bond (HarperCollins/Geringer, $16.99). 1 million copies.
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, illus. by Dave McKean (HarperCollins, $17.99). 250,000 copies.
• Jon Scieszka's Trucktown: Snow Trucking! by Jon Scieszka, illus. by David Gordon, Loren Long and David Shannon (S&S/Aladdin, $3.99 paper). 100,000 copies.

So there's a nice long list for you to look at.

Star Wars Redux

A very talented artist by the name of Sillof has done wonders with Star Wars characters. Check out his Steampunk version and WWII version. Pretty freaking cool.



Oh, and Stargate Continuum comes out in July.

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?

Who would you call in an emergency?

This pretty much says it all and is completely in line with my thinking. I follow this site on a regular basis and was lucky enough to get a copy of Kate's book through the guys at Fantasy Book Spot. She was great to talk to and is always on top of any RDA news.

Oh, and my mom comes tomorrow. Yeah!

First review of the year

My first review of the year is an exclusive for Fantasy Book Spot (FBS). The guys over there have been great in letting me review, leave and still feel welcome, and come back to review again. For years I have been a member of the RASalvatore site and board and felt like an active member. Things changed with time and I began to become a member that sat there and did nothing. And being a non-productive member in society isn't fun.

So when I got the invite to write for FBS, I jumped on it. Limited time and lack of creative writing skills didn't stop me, but the rights to exclusive publication did. So FBS and TK42ONE parted ways in that sense, but I was still a member, just not a reviewer.

Damon contacted me a few months back to do a Star Wars review and, well, the rest is history. I'm now a "special reviewer" of sorts, but probably more like the chief Star Wars nut.

Anyway, here's the link to the review of The Stargate SG-1 Ultimate Visual Guide. Enjoy!