I was jumping out of my skin a little yesterday, totally out of sorts and generally unpleasant. I figured since nothing else was working, I'd try doing some writing, which I've been unforgivably negligent on for over a month. Turned out to be just what I needed. Not that the writing itself was anything special, but it centered me and calmed me down.

I used to be convinced that I'd cursed myself back in college to never be happy unless I was writing. Of course, the curse is all in my head, but that's all it would take. So I'll try to write myself out of the crazy I'm feeling. And if it doesn't work, at least I'll make some progress on the book.

Well you already know what I did on Sunday.

On Saturday, I saw Religulous, the new smartass documentary by Bill Maher and Larry Charles that points out some of the wackier examples of religious beliefs and practices. For the most part I loved it. It was fun and frightening and Maher can be very engaging.

The only big criticism I have is that they should have just stuck with Christianity. That's where all their A material was. Jesusland and the Creationism Museum were priceless, but when they strayed into Islam it felt strained and tacked on. You could tell Bill didn't really know much about Islam, so the best he could do was make fun of it from the standpoint of an uninformed observer.

And they totally fumbled making fun of Scientology, which should have been the easiest target of the bunch. I kept wishing that instead of doing a movie, they did it as a television series, where they could focus more on specific aspects of on religions, rather than trying to cover everything with one swipe. Still, I enjoyed it and if it sounds like something you'd enjoy, you almost certainly will.

Yesterday I dove into the sky and did not die. I fell for just over a mile with all the velocity that the Earth's gravity could give me. I spun and somersaulted in the air, not purely by intent, but because I was falling. It might have been dizzying if there'd been anything but sky with which to orient myself.

Finally I was righted and facing down the rapidly approaching ground. But still I did not die. With the tug of a cord, I stopped falling seemingly completely, held aloft like some dancing marionette by yards and yards of taut nylon. From there I drifted downward another mile, blissfully slow now, amazed by all the swimming pools in the towns below me. When I worked at the McDonalds down there, somewhere, briefly back in high school, those towns had always seemed so poor, but two decades later and miles above, it was another story altogether.

As the Earth approached, things sped up, pulling guide wires spun me around fast, making turns as fast as ricochets. I started to fear the landing more and more, but in the end the Earth was kind and took me back without so much as a bruise for all that had I cheated her hardness and gravity. And then it was over, buckles undone, feet back on the ground, hand slaps and embraces, waning exhilaration, and just a lingering pressure in my ears to remind that I just fell out of the sky.

Two US versions of high concept British detective shows ran against each other last night.

Created by former Doctor Who writer Stephen Gallagher and Americanized by Jerry Bruckheimer and his CSI crew, Eleventh Hour is the story of eccentric scientist Jacob Hood and his FBI agent partner/bodyguard Rachel Young. They specialize in investigating odd crimes of a scientific nature. Rufus Sewell (Dark City) does quite well as Hood, although I'm not sure he has enough likability to score with American television viewers. That leaves a lot of the heavy lifting to relative newcomer Marley Shelton as Rachel, who just might be able to pull it off. Certainly the CSI lead-in will help. Unlike fellow X-Files descendant Fringe, which is more crime show meets mad science, Eleventh Hour looks like it's going to stick to more realistic science, something that could give them an edge with people who generally roll the eyes at sci-fi. I'll definitely watch more.

If you've never seen the original Life On Mars, it was one of the best British programs I've ever seen. Detective Sam Tyler wakes up, completely unharmed, from a car crash in 1973. The only problem: he thinks he's from our time. So either he's crazy or he accidentally traveled in time or his body is lying in a coma in the future and everything around him is just some kind of dream. Or nightmare. Now this forensic science and psychology-using, by-the-book cop has to solve crimes alongside a group of suspect-beating, thugs who rely on violence and instinct.

Life On Mars was originally Americanized by David E. Kelley (Boston Legal), but his pilot episode was terrible. So they handed it over to the crew behind October Road along with a lot of money for a big name cast. Jason O'Mara plays Sam Tyler. He's a little too action hero-looking for my tastes, but he does a decent job. Harvey Keitel plays Gene Hunt a bit differently from his predecessor, the amazing Philip Glenister. His Hunt is older and a tad kinder, still rough and violent, but not quite as much so. Michael Imperioli, Gretchen Mol, and Lisa Bonet also star. All in all, it's pretty good. The episode packed some pretty good emotional punches and didn't mess things up too badly at all. I'll watch it again.

So one of my co-workers was called by some conservative polling agency where they asked her, "Who do you plan to vote for in the presidential election? McCain/Palin or Bin Laden?" Grrrrr....

( Today's photograph is behind an LJ cut because it's an image from the new James Bond movie and therefore at least potentially spoilerish. )