Geek @ Heart

I've realized that I'm a geek. I don't know why this comes as a surprise to me, but it does. I should have known this. I've always been a fan of sci-fi - movies, books, t.v., you name it.

A regular reader asked where I've been all week. The answer is that I began watching Farscape which aired on the Sci-fi Channel in the early 00s. I've watched three seasons in less than a week (and that's in addition to going to work). It's really well written and acted, even by the puppets from Jim Henson's studio. Yes, that's right. Puppets. Two of the main characters are actually played by puppets.

It's filled with action and intrigue and there have been some really interesting plot lines about prejudice and what it means to serve others. I still have a season and a made for t.v. movie to go. I understand that it was cancelled unexpectedly and the movie is to tie up loose ends. At least it got that much which is more than I can say for Deadwood, Pushing Daisies, or any one of numerous other shows.

True Blood, you problem child...

What do you do with a show that you want to like but has major problems, most notably that you aren't really interested in the main characters? It's unfortunate, but I have almost no interest in Sookie and Bill except that they are the price we pay to have Eric, Pam, Jessica and Lafayette on the screen.

I also thought that seasons 1 and 2 flirted with too many storylines but season 3 is ri-donk-u-lus. I've said it before and I'll say it again because I think it bears repeating: I wish it was The Eric and Pam Show featuring Lafayette and introducing Baby Jessica with special appearances by Alcide and Jesus.

For the record, a friend of mine does a much more coherent review and expression of her thoughts here.

An early morning adventure

After a horrendous bout of insomnia (thanks a million, t.p.t.b.), I was still up at 6 a.m. this morning. I decided that I needed to do something. Anything.

I took a mini-road trip across Baton Rouge to see the actual facility of a funeral home that I work with on a regular basis. It's not in an area of town I've ever really spent much time in and I was curious.

I figured there wouldn't be much, if any, traffic at 6 a.m. and it was already light outside, so I got in the car and drove. Right on South Acadian, right on Government, right on South 22nd Street, past Sacred Heart Catholic Church, over I-110 and continued on to Plank Road.

I've always considered my apartment two blocks south of Baton Rouge General to be on the edge of ghetto. Today I realized it's not even close.

As I drove further and further into North Baton Rouge, the more it looked like a bomb had gone off. People were wandering aimlessly on foot or literally sleeping (I choose to believe they were sleeping anyway) in doorways or by the side of the road.

Buildings were in such poor repair that roofs were missing (in part or in whole), siding was gone leaving what insulation there was exposed to the elements, you get the idea. I lost count of how many little liquor stores, bars, beauty salons and bail bond establishments I passed. It went on mile after heartbreaking mile.

I knew things were bad in North Baton Rouge; people have talked about the problems in NBR my entire life. Now, having seen it for myself as an adult, I feel the need to do something to help. What, I don't know. Have any ideas? It's such a big problem with multiple layers that I don't really know where to start.

By the way, I never did make it all the way out to the funeral home. By that time traffic was picking up and I decided to head back to my apartment.

Rump Shaker at the Nursing Home

As you know by now, I worked for a year and a half at a nursing home in Winnfield as an activity director. As part of my job, I'd go from room to room providing residents with activities in room or inviting them to join group activities.

I realized over time that when I went in many of the rooms that the t.v.'s were always turned on BET or some other station playing videos of women doing some rather scandalous dances in even more scandalous clothing. I (wrongly as it turned out) figured that the nursing aids were putting the t.v.'s on those stations while they worked in the room and just didn't change the channel when they left.

Gradually, I came to the realization that it was only happening in the rooms where men were living. And that, boys and girls, is when I realized that the phrase "dirty old man" did, in fact, have basis in truth, lol.

It does make me wonder, though. When people's personalities change drastically as they age, is it a sign of their true self coming out, of their social filters failing? Or is it just that they are now essentially a different person with different interests?

An honest, unflinching look at a tough choice

I know almost no one watches Friday Night Lights. It's unfortunate - this past Friday's episode, I Can't, was probably the most honest portrayal I've ever seen on television of a young girl with some tough choices to make.

It was honest and unflinching, and didn't take the easy way out.

I've been debating with myself about what to say and then I found this blog by James Poniewozick of Time Magazine and this blog by Alan Sepinwall of Hitfix.com. Both manage to critique the episode with out delving into the right or wrong, or the politics, of such a decision.

All I can say is that I hope I would be one tenth as caring and empathetic as Tami Taylor was when faced with some hard questions from someone she didn't even know.

I Can't is available here on Hulu.

Emmy Nominations 2010

So, the Emmy nominations were announced very early this morning. I'm not going to list what they were, but here is a link to the major nominations.

Mo Ryan of The Chicago Tribune has an excellent take on the nominations here.

I've included some of my initial thoughts below. I may add some more as I stew about the nominations....

On the plus side:

I could not be more thrilled that Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton have finally (FINALLY!) been recognized for their work on Friday Night Lights. I've always thought they deserved to be recognized but Britton really blew me away with her performance over the course of FNL's fourth season, whether she was dealing with funeral home directors or scheming boosters, or counseling teens that don't even attend her school. I almost wish there was a category for acting duo because Coach and Mrs. Coach are the most realistically portrayed happily married couple that I've ever seen on t.v.

Modern Family absolutely deserves all of its nominations. I would've cried if Eric Stonestreet hadn't been nominated. His work on Modern Family was the real stand out to me - well, his and Rico Rodriguez's work as Manny. As the season went on, I literally find myself smiling the whole time those two were on screen, just because they were there.

On the minus side:

I would've felt a lot better about the 19 nominations for Glee if we hadn't already seen the last half of the season. Not that it wasn't entertaining, it just wasn't as strong as the first half. I'm not criticizing any of the acting nominations, those folks did some great work. I'm more concerned about the best comedy nomination. The writing was so uneven and they didn't seem able to keep track of plot lines very well, to say nothing of the fact that characters would routinely do about-faces with little or no reason. Don't get me wrong, I like Glee; I look forward to it. I just think its current host of nominations is do more to popularity than actual quality. Maybe I'm just suffering from Glee-out, though - I mean those kids have been everywhere!

30 Rock again? Really? Community or Party Down are far more deserving of those spots. 30 Rock has been hilarious in the past but this was not its best season and there were so many more comedies to choose from this.

I'm so mad that Katey Sagal got shut out of the best actress in a drama category. It is literally a crime - I'm not sure what law was broken but surely one was. Her work on Sons of Anarchy this year was brilliant and breathtaking. I'm afraid that people look at it as "that biker show" and don't give it a chance. The whole show is amazing with strong performances by all of the actors, lead and supporting.

The day Clay blew my mind... Musing about music

So... The other day my cousin Clay posted an idea on his Facebook page which immediately caused him to lose his favored cousin status. It was something along the lines of "Let's destroy all music created before 1990."

That blew my mind. My first thought was what about The Beatles? closely followed by U2? Mozart? Beethoven? Beastie Boys? Carole King? James Taylor? "Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones? Aretha Franklin? Heart? The list goes on... you get the idea.

Clay later explained that he feels that we often get to stuck in the past when it comes to music, that we often keep listening to the same old things - because that is what we feel comfortable with - rather than giving new music a try.

I sort of understand where he's coming from. I do find myself enjoying music that I grew up with at home (The Beatles, Chicago (pre-Peter Cetera), Doobie Brothers, Eagles, James Taylor, Carole King... thanks, Dad)and from my teens and early 20s more than most of the new releases I hear today. But I find myself sticking to "music for Generation X" stations more than pop music stations or KLSU. And, I think my heart would break if I didn't get to hear "The Ode to Joy" on occasion.

Maybe I'm not giving music made in this new decade and century enough of a chance. I do like some new music - after hearing my sibling rave about them and then seeing them as an opening act for U2, I find I do like Muse quite a bit. I think Jack White is a genius and am willing to give any of his projects a try whether it's The White Stripes, The Raconteurs or The Dead Weather. On the other hand, Ke$ha is complete crap and I'm not that crazy about Lady Gaga (don't stone me, okay?).

What do you think? Should music have an expiration date? Should I (we) be more open to new music?