Initial thoughts on "Life on Mars":

IT hewed very closely to the original British pilot, even down to some of the same songs. I was glad for that part especially during a pivotal scene where Sam, the main character, makes a crucial break in the case he's working on--"Baba O'Rielly" is blasting over the action, and I love that song.

Because it followed the British original so closely, I liked this pilot too. I'm still not convinced they will be able to sustain the premise--detective gets hit by car and wakes up in the same spot in 1973, is it real, is he in a coma, is this some kind of bizarro afterlife?--over even one full season. The original lasted only 16 episodes in all, and even then there were several episodes in the middle that were pretty much all filler and no satisfaction.

Harvey Kietel: I can dig it. He doesn't bring the same sort of hulking brutishness to the character of Gene Hunt that Philip Glenister did for obvious reasons, but he could still beat you in a fight just by playing dirty.

Jason O'Mara: I neither loved nor hated him as Sam Tyler. I loved John Simm in the role, so it's hard to see someone else playing, albeit a different version, the same.

I did like Michael Imperioli as one of the other main detectives in the precinct; he was sort of the meathead who thinks he's a comedian, but it's only in his own mind. "He's crazier than a fruit bat at a cranberry convention." 'Nuff said.

Since the NBC affiliate is still out on my cable service, I'll have the time to watch this show live, which is the only way I'd see it because it's not compelling enough for me right now to carve out time later to catch it.

The economy may be in the shitter right now--thank god I won't need my IRA for another 40 years--but at least gas is getting cheaper! $2.99/gal at the Speedway near my apt.!! I don't even care that it might be politically motivated or whatever. CHEAP(er) GAS!!! Why am I so excited about this!?!?

...I remember a time when I could fill up my tank for less than $15. A time before the cable syndication landscape was littered with CSI re-runs. A time when boy bands not named the Jonas brothers reigned supreme. A time when we thought bad president = BJs in the Oval from the intern. Memories.

The funeral was yesterday. That's all I'm going to say about that.

Then I had to drive back by myself, 5+ hours including rush hour Cincinnati traffic, which was not fun.

I took today off and that was nice--caught up on missed TV, cleaned, blahblahblah.

And all I wanted to do was watch "Life" on NBC at 10 tonight, and what do I get? Fuck all! Because the corporation that owns the local NBC affiliate is in a pissing match with Time Warner about paying an extra fee to carry the station, so Time Warner was legally mandated to cease carrying it since there was no new contract or whateverthehell. GOD. I love watching TV on the internet, but sometimes I just want to watch the show when it airs and not have to wait an extra day. ARGH!!!!!!!

I've never been so pissed while watching an episode of "The Soup".

Haven't updated for a few weeks. Blah. Nothing much really was going on for me, and that's how I like it.

...so yeah, I guess I'll just say it: my grandpa died last night. He had leukemia for a long time and my grandma called late last night and said he died in his sleep. The thing of it is, I'm not especially saddened by his actual death. It's not because I'm a heartless bitch-monster, it's that he was 89 and lived a good life with his family always there and we've known for a good long time that he wasn't going to get any better. I'm more sad/worried about my grandma, dad and his sister because they've gone through so much with this already, and now they are down in TN helping my grandma get things squared away. We don't know anything about the memorial service yet, but there will likely be something middle/late next week.

Every time I saw my grandpa, from as far back as I can remember until now when I'm an adult... he always hugged me tight when I stepped through the door, clapped me on the back--hard--and said "I'm mighty proud of you, mighty proud." And I'm mighty proud of him too. Always have been, always will be.


~Sam C. Winfree (1919-2008)~

You know how you go to YouTube to watch one video and end up watching, like, a shitload? You know, like it starts out all "I'm just killing some time until blah de blah" and then you look at the clock and it's's and hour and a half later? Yeah, that was me. At 12:30. Watching 90210 clips. Not just any old clips, but vintage Brenda-years clips. Just wanted to put that out there.

I've dealt with my fair share of noisy neighbors, but this is just...weird.

The people/person either next to me or above me is LOUDLY playing the opening music to Mad Men:



And I thought "band practice" at 2am in the dorm was questionable. ;) Also: Mad Men is awesome and ought to get more viewers than it does, but who am I to dictate TV tastes? No one, because I spent my Sunday morning getting sucked back into Beverly Hills, 90210--Kelly was addicted to cocaine, what will the gang do to help her?! God bless you, SoapNet programming people. I mean it. Seriously.

In an effort to post more regularly, I decided to do a thing where all I'll make myself do is post one link to a thing I found and my initial thoughts. I know it sounds lame, but trust me; the amount of downtime I've had at work lately is staggering and that usually leads to me finding things on the internet such as:

Drank.

I first heard about this on a podcast I listen to called The 404. Apparently, this was developed in response to the plethora of energy drinks on the market--Red Bull, Full Throttle, Crunk Juice, Pimp Juice et al. The tag line on the can says it all: Slow Your Roll. Finally! Lo these many years I have been searching for the perfect way to unwind after a long day at work, and here it is in a purple 16 oz. can! So what if it's essentially carbonated Dimetapp? At least it's legal, which is more than you can say for a lot of other relaxation methods.

So, would you drink Drank?

...across town to my new apartment.

It was stressful for me--even though I'm only 10 mins. away from my parents' house and I still see them a lot, but the whole moving out and really, like, for real living on my own was something that simultaneously excited and petrified me. Of course a lot of this is because I detest change and this whole process is nothing but not having a new routine and not knowing where you put everything and forgetting things and having to buy even more new things than you ever knew you needed. But I've been in my apartment for a week now, and things are starting to settle down--except for the fact that the person above me apparently has done serious water damage to their floor and now my bathroom ceiling is leaking right over my toilet and they haven't been able to repair it yet...3 days and counting...

And now for some pics:

( Click for extreme pic spammage )

This makes me the happiest girl in the world at this very second! AD is my most favorite show--I've probably watched my DVDs a dozen or more times now. Hooray!!!!

In other exciting news, I may be moving into my own place soon-ish if my application gets approved. I'm dropping it off tomorrow with the security deposit. Changes! Fun/scary.

I just downloaded Firefox 3 and I already love it! It's so much faster and prettier and just generally 100% more awesome. Yet another reason to live online and become a pasty-skinned, obese computer geek. :)

I'm only semi-serious about that...

( Seriously, do not click this link unless you have seen the BSG mid-season finale. I AM SERIOUS--SPOILERS AHOY! )

----------------
Now playing: Bear McCreary - Roslin And Adama
http://foxytunes.com/artist/bear+mccreary/track/roslin+and+adama

That is a sliver plated mouse. That someone paid actual money for. And used, presumably. Or maybe not. Maybe someone else bought it as a gift--likely for the corporate d-bag who has everything and getting hookers and blow would be in poor form or whatever. And that d-bag maybe never used it and it gathered dust in the basement until he dropped it off at the Cincinnati Computer Coop with a box of other useless ancient computer equipment. Still, someone paid actual money for this thing. And then it ended up at my mother's work (where they take in used computer equipment to re-purpose). Where, she informed me, she found it today and intends to give it to her boss as a gag birthday gift. And so the circle of crap is complete.

Manbabies.

On the one hand some of these pics display mad Photoshop skillz. On the other hand....manbabies. It confuses me; I must know what others think of this meme!

Instead of talking about what's going on in my life (work, eat, sleep, repeat), I direct you to this gem. It's not that I don't like Ewan McGregor, because I do...come on, look at the title of this post!

On Torchwood for turning me into a blubbering mess. More details to follow when I can see the screen better through my tears and I watch BSG.

J/K, but this post will probably only be of interest to celestedeloeste since it's about the latest ep. of Torchwood.

( Cut for comments on Torchwood 2.11 - Adrift )

And this LJ strike thingy is making me nervous about my Torchwood fix on Friday--what will I do if I have to wait until Saturday?!

Visiting celestedeloeste was fun--we spent a couple of days in the cities doing, like, stuff. Going to MoA, wandering around on Nicollet Mall, and of course going to see Missy Higgins. It was a good concert, even though she didn't play my favorite song, "The Special Two". Then we went to Shakopee where we pretty much watched TV (on her laptop and the old-fashioned way). I know, it' doesn't sound especially exciting, but it was nice to just hang out with a friend for a few days and to just be back in Minnesota. I didn't realize how much
I missed it until I had to leave on Tuesday. :/

( Concert pics and video under the cut )

"Daydreamer" by Adele

If you like pretty music, and I know some of you do, then download this song and prepare to love it. Adele is only, like, 20, but her voice is amazing. And this song is just her and her guitar. So beautiful and catchy. Love it!