Happy 2010, Everyone!

It's a new decade, time to take stock, plan for the future, and make lists! I've seen some "Best of the 2000s" (or whatever we are calling these ten years just past) and I decided to do my own list my favorite shows from the teevee.

A couple notes, for clarity's sake I decided to only include scripted programs. This eliminated a few wild cards like The Soup, but was done mainly to spare me the dilemma of that to do about The Daily Show. (This also meant no reality shows, but that was a given, trust me). Also, if a show was a carry over from the 90s I only considered the post-2000 shows for this list. This was a significant for me when you consider that the X-Files technically ran until 2002, and while I do not loathe seasons 8&9 to the extent that others do, they would not rate here.

As I said up front, I've seen these lists pop up in other places, and nearly all of them rank two shows at or near the top of the list. One is The Wire, which has been at the top of my NetFlix queue for a while now, but keeps getting bumped back for sexier fare like The Tudors and True Blood. So, maybe a couple months from now I'll be back saying "OMFG NEVER MIND WHAT I SAID BEFORE THE WIRE IS THE BEST THING EVER, *KEYSMASH*". As for right now...nope, never seen it. Then there's The Sopranos, which I have seen, and it just doesn't do it for me. Sorry, Sopranos. It's not you, it's me. Don't Stop Believin'.

Honorable Mentions: I really really REALLY wanted to include these, but they didn't quite make the cut. I really agonized over these...Gilmore Girls, 30 Rock, 24, Doctor Who (!!), House, Burn Notice, Six Feet Under...if I made this list last week, or tomorrow, any one of these might have been on it.

Aaaand...I've tried to be careful, but there may be spoilers below the cut for already aired episodes of any and all shows discussed. Proceed with caution!


( Top 10 TV Shows of 2000-2009 (according to Me!) )

So, this was fun to do. I learned that I like ensemble shows with good writing and a strong sense of place. Especially if there's crime solving involved. A moody leading man doesn't hurt, either *g*. Now, I would love to hear all about all the great shows I neglected to mention. What were your favorites?

Don't you love those moments of unexpected sweetness? When the last person you might think gives you a reason to say "Awwwwwww".

Part of my job involves supervising a warehouse/dock operation. It's a tough, macho environment. Lots of noise, and trash talk, and heavy lifting. Not a lot of people sharing their feelings, so much. So. Tonight I was talking to a coworker who is a huge baseball fan. He frequently takes a weekend to visit Chicago and watch the Cubs play at Wrigley Field. I'm planning a visit there myself, so I was asking about transportation, where to stay, how to get around there. Dry, factual stuff. Guy stuff. Imagine my surprise when out of the blue he asked me, "Have you ever seen the movie While You Were Sleeping?" I was in professional mode, so I suppressed my fangirl glee at the mention of my all time favorite Rom-com and replied with a nonchalant "Uh, yes." Then he told me a cute story about how the last time he and his wife were in Chicago they went for a walk along the river, just like in the movie, and he said to her "Tonight we can be Jack and Lucy." Even typing this hours later I just find that the most adorable sentiment. :)

Also tonight, a (different) guy doing a crossword puzzle asked me for the answer to the clue, "Harry Potter's messenger". I don't know what to make of the fact that he thought I would know this. Well, in fact I DID know it, but still. Maybe they're on to me. Should I be worried?

In summary: 1. the biggest lug can be a closet romantic, and 2. everyone should go watch "While You Were Sleeping" immediately.

On this week's Mad Men!


I have to say...( Spoilers for Mad Men 3x10 )

Hey guys!

I'm at the RV park in Mile City, MT, on the first leg of my road trip to sunny Oregon!

Pics and much more l8r, but I had to share this message my house sitting daughter left me on facebook...

hey some homeless crack addicts just stopped by. it's ok to let them sleep in your room right? oh also i adopted an epileptic iguana off of craigslist, i'm setting up its terrarium in our bathtub.

brb, gotta give our social security numbers to this publisher's clearinghouse sweepstakes guy that just showed up. he's going to send us a check for $500,000! :)

LOL. She's so funny. It's a joke. I'm pretty certain. Ummmm...

Dear USA Network,

How can you call your Burn Notice marathon "Hot Bodies", and not include either of the episodes featuring crazy hot body Silas Weir Mitchell? BRB writing angry letter. LOL.



Vacation countdown: Seven days! I.Can't.Wait.

Just yesterday, I was driving in to work when "Never Can Say Goodbye" by the Jackson 5 came up on the iPod. I like to sing and dance in my seat while I'm driving, and because I hadn't heard the song for a while I was struck by the beauty of it. The miracle of that boy's voice, the way it swooped up and hit the high notes...there was no way a child of that age had ever experienced the emotions that his voice expressed. This is the Michael I'll always remember and treasure, more so even than Thriller, and this is the sweet lovely child I fell in love with.

His voice was an incredible gift, and he paid for it with a terrible, tragic life.

RIP Michael Jackson.

Did you miss Big Bang Theory this week? Me too. Every week, actually. But in this particular episode the geek humor and unbearable laugh track was made more tolerable by a guest appearance by our girl Jodi Lyn O'Keefe. Check it out...she's hilarious!

ETA Oops, no more video. Dang. *kicks YouTube*

Wow. It is NICE OUTSIDE. Oh, Sunshine. I missed you so much.

Spring is here, and that means summer can't be far off! We're busy planning our trip to a family reunion in Oregon this July, and it inspired to post some photos of our last major road trip, to California, five years ago.

Oh, and these pictures all feature Beaker, from The Muppet Show. Why ask why?

Heading out...this is posed BTW. We didn't really let Beaker drive the RV.


( more )

So, Pacific Northwesterners, what are the must see stops we should be planning?

Got this one from spoiled_andrea

1. Reply to this post, and I will pick six of your icons.
2. Make a post (including the meme info) and talk about the icons I chose.
3. Other people can then comment to you and make their own posts.
4. This will create a never-ending cycle of icon glee.

Her choices are under the cut!

( Read more... )

A bit of good news on the Prison Break front, in case you haven't seen it (I hadn't!),

Fox announced that they WILL be showing the two hour series finale on May 15,

http://news-briefs.ew.com/2009/04/prison-break-fi.html

I believe this is the first time FOX has committed to showing the "extra" episodes.

Oh, and don't click on the link if you're spoiler-free *g*

EDIT: Ugh. According to people more "in the know" than me, this does NOT say what I thought it did. The finale mentioned in the article is just episodes 21 & 22. The special movie finale is still DVD only, for now. Gah! This written in such a misleading way *grumps*

So sorry to get people's hopes up ;(.

Okay, I've got so many things I should be doing, but I flicked on the telly, and what should be on but Gilmore Girls. Not just ANY GG, but the last 15 minutes of Last Week Fights, This Week Tights. Yes, that would be just as Lorelai and Luke are at the wedding, and Luke asks her to dance, and it starts out so awkward with them far apart, but then they dance, and they get closer and closer...and I. am. Dead.

Now here's what I'm not going to do...spend the next hour on YouTube looking at the kiss from the next episode.
*Sigh*
Nah, I lied. That's exactly what I'm going to do. I am weak. WEAK!

Happy birthday to rdg1983, movie geek extraordinaire!

No peeking, now...

Hey, everybody! I’ve been missing teh_LJ these past couple weeks; I’ve been busy with really fun real life activities (/sarcasm). Dental work and a busted water heater featured prominently in my recent life; it’s so nice when you can combine spending large amounts of money with personal discomfort and backbreaking labor. Ok, /sarcasm NOW, LOL.

But Wait! I was able to sneak in some good TV watching, including catching up with these two old friends from PB, only in different roles,

Robert Knepper in Carnivàle

I just finished Season 1 of Carnivàle and I’m very much in the WTF? stage about the series in general, but one of the real highlights has been watching Robert Knepper in a recurring role. He plays Tommy Dolan, a smooth talking host of a nationalwide radio program (the show is set in the 1930s) The chacter is a total departure from T-bag, completely different in looks, speech, demeanor. I keep watching for signs of Bagwell and there just aren’t any. Carnivàle ran from 2003-2005 on HBO, so it’s probably the last thing RK did before signing on for Prison Break. He's terrific! Carnivàle, though? Eh, jury's still out on this one. Probably only for those who find the Scylla mythology too clear cut and simplistic, LOL.


Silas Weir Mitchell on Burn Notice

OK, Silas Weir Mitchell is no Robert Knepper. He’s pretty much a one-note actor; he always plays the craaaazy unstable guy. He does it in comedy (My Name is Earl), drama (24), and when he's at his best he straddles the silly and the tragic, as he did as Haywire on Prison Break. About THAT, well, if anyone wishes to discuss Haywire and you have a few hours free just let me know, LOL. I think he was a fascinating, underappreciated character, especially as a counterpart to Scofield. BUT...this is a post about his role as Seymour the Arms Dealer on Burn Notice, and I would love this performance even if we didn't go way back. Playing Seymour spotlights what Silas Weir Mitchell does best; Part fanboy, part psychopath, he’s funny and needy, he could be very dangerous. Mitchell is a character actor, and he seems to have no vanity; he uses his less-than-attractive physical features, his gawky frame, long stringy hair (complete with bald spot) and of course those eyes that don’t quite align, as part of the total performance. He's funny, and Burn Notice is addictive fun, too.

So now I want to know, who did you discover from PB, and enjoyed as a different (or not-so-different) character? It can be new role or old, awe inspiring or awful. Have you come to see Went, Dom, Sarah, Bill, Amaury, the best actor in the world! Paul Adelstein, et al, in a new light by discovering their other work? Maybe keep it real Season 1 style with Peter Stormare, Robin Tunney or (gulp) Rockmund Dunbar? How long will Marshall Allman be playing 16 year olds? And let's not forget the JLOK love. Do not forget that.

Hey, these actors are ALL going to be back job hunting soon. Let's see who's got the goods. Share recs, ideas, discoveries in comments? Videos if you’ve got 'em, eh?.

Wishing lauratnz the happiest of birthdays!



Thanks for the laughs, thinky thoughts and positive vibes all year!

Okay, I LOOOOVE these, so here's my entry into that movie trivia contest thingy. Doing this made me aware that, 1. It's very hard to limit oneself to 12 movies, 2. Although I, by choice, almost never swear, I seem to very much favor movies with dialogue containing every imaginable curse word. I DID try to keep this relatively clean. I even left off one of my very favorite films, Reservoir Dogs, due to not being able to find a single non-offensive quote for it *g*.

Guess the movie! As always, extra points for identifying character and actor. Have fun!

1. Everywhere I travel, tiny life. Single-serving sugar, single-serving cream, single pat of butter. The microwave Cordon Bleu hobby kit. Shampoo-conditioner combos, sample-packaged mouthwash, tiny bars of soap. The people I meet on each flight? They're single-serving friends.
Fight Club, guessed by rdg1983, who also got the character "Narrator" played by Edward Norton.

2. You know, several, you know, dozens of people spontaneously combust each year. It's just not really widely reported.
This is Spinal Tap, spoken by David St. Hubbins (Michael McKeon), guessed by msgenevieve

3. There was me, that is Alex, and my three droogs, that is Pete, Georgie, and Dim, and we sat in the Korova Milkbar trying to make up our rassoodocks what to do with the evening. The Korova milkbar sold milk-plus, milk plus vellocet or synthemesc or drencrom, which is what we were drinking. This would sharpen you up and make you ready for a bit of the old ultra-violence.
A Clockwork Orange, guessed by rdg1983, character, Alex, portrayed by Malcolm McDowell.


4. Hey, I'm not the smartest guy in the world, but I'm certainly not the dumbest. I mean, I've read books like "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" and "Love in the Time of Cholera", and I think I've understood them. They're about girls, right? Just kidding. But I have to say my all-time favorite book is Johnny Cash's autobiography "Cash" by Johnny Cash.
High Fidelity, guessed by rdg1983, Dreamy John Cusack as Rob Gordon.

5. In my philosophy, Mr. Benn, a man cannot call himself well-contented until he has done all he can to be of service to his employer. Of course, this assumes that one's employer is a superior person, not only in rank, or wealth, but in moral stature.
The Remains of the Day, actor Anthony Hopkins, guessed by domfangirl


6. Haku, listen. I just remembered something from a long time ago, I think it may help you. Once, when I was little, I dropped my shoe into a river. When I tried to get it back I fell in. I thought I'd drown but the water carried me to shore. It finally came back to me. The river's name was the Kahaku river. I think that was you, and your real name is Kahaku river.
Spirited Away, Chihiro, guessed by rdg1983

7. It's SHITE being Scottish! We're the lowest of the low. The scum of the fucking Earth! The most wretched, miserable, servile, pathetic trash that was ever shat into civilization. Some hate the English. I don't. They're just wankers. We, on the other hand, are COLONIZED by wankers. Can't even find a decent culture to be colonized BY. We're ruled by effete assholes. It's a SHITE state of affairs to be in, Tommy, and ALL the fresh air in the world won't make any fucking difference!
Trainspotting, guessed by rdg1983, Mark Renton played by Ewan "Yes, he is" McGregor

8. Well I guess it all started the first time I went through the second grade. I caught my reflection in a spoon while I was eating my cereal, and I remember thinking "wow, you're ridiculously good looking, maybe you could do that for a career."
Zoolander, Derek Zoolander, guessed by scribblecat

9. Character #1: We've become a race of Peeping Toms. What people ought to do is get outside their own house and look in for a change. Yes sir. How's that for a bit of homespun philosophy?
Character #2: Readers Digest, April 1939.
Character #1: Well, I only quote from the best.
Rear Window, #1 Stella, #2 Jeff, guessed by msgenevieve

10. So that was Mrs. Lundegaard on the floor in there. And I guess that was your accomplice in the wood chipper. And those three people in Brainerd. And for what? For a little bit of money. There's more to life than a little money, you know. Don'tcha know that? And here ya are, and it's a beautiful day. Well. I just don't understand it.
Fargo, guessed by scribblecat. Marge Gunderson, played by Frances McDormand identified by sierra_foxx

11. When I first came here, this was all swamp. Everyone said I was daft to build a castle on a swamp, but I built in all the same, just to show them. It sank into the swamp. So I built a second one. That sank into the swamp. So I built a third. That burned down, fell over, then sank into the swamp. But the fourth one stayed up. And that's what you're going to get, Lad, the strongest castle in all of England.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail, guessed by georgiaclaire

12. Back when I was picking beans in Guatemala, we used to make fresh coffee, right off the trees I mean. That was good. This is shit but, hey, I'm in a police station.
The Usual Suspects, guessed by rdg1983. Kevin Spacey played *shifty eyes* Verbal Kint.

Happy birthday to a wonderful LJ friend, rosie_spleen. You make every day a little bit better with your breathtaking talent, your humo(u)r and your unflagging honesty and insights, and loads of fun and laffs.

Lady of silences
Calm and distressed
Torn and most whole
Rose of memory
Rose of forgetfulness
Exhausted and life-giving
Worried reposeful
The single Rose
Is now the Garden
Where all loves end
Terminate torment
Of love unsatisfied
The greater torment
Of love satisfied
End of the endless
Journey to no end
Conclusion of all that
Is inconclusible
Speech without word and
Word of no speech
Grace to the Mother
For the Garden
Where all love ends.

T.S. Eliot

Internet hugs to you, Rosie. I cherish our friendship all year long.

Hey guys,

I saw this over at house_cuddy and it made my afternoon. Great for anyone who enjoys House, charming banter between attractive co-stars, or unexpected!WTF!Ozzy Osbourne appearances (about two minutes in).

It discusses upcoming events on the show, but in a non-spoilery way,


ALSO--guess which actor Hugh Laurie wants to play his biological father on the show?

Hint: rosie_spleen thought of this months ago

• Shock or Disbelief
WTF? Nooooo!

• Denial
I KNEW this was going to happen, but...I didn't KNOW. It's for the best, isn't it? I can't think about this anymore...la la la la la

• Bargaining
Oh, PTB? Bringing back Kellerman for the final episode would really be a good way to go out on a high note…hint, hint

• Guilt
I wasn't always the best fangirl. Maybe If I’d watched live rather than downloading? I was kind of cranky about that whole Season 3 thing...? I'm sorry :(

• Anger
Crappy sitcoms get renewed for zillionth season and MY SHOW gets the axe? Grrrr! *Hulk!Linc Smash*

• Depression
Meh. Just meh.

• Acceptance and Hope
Man, that was a fun ride. And, now Went and Sarah can make that string of zany romantic comedies together!

I’m still kind of stuck between #1 and #2.

*Hugs everyone*

OK, This was nerve wracking. But here it is...

I’ve changed my user name from parrot_sketch to chapter_stork. My reasons for doing this are detailed in this post , but the short version is simply that I want an online identity that is unique to me, and nicking the name of a very famous Monty Python skit wasn’t the way to go about that.

This shouldn’t affect my flist at all, LJ promises *crosses fingers*.

New Year, New Name…same old me, though. :)

Here is THE “parrot sketch”, for old time’s sake. The funniest five minutes of television EVA…

While I do think LJ is going to stick around a while, it never hurts to have a Plan B, so I have blindly (and cheerfully!) followed many of you flisters in registering an account at InsaneJournal.

My user name at IJ is chapter_stork. About that. I do adore the name parrot_sketch. I've been using it since I went online, starting with Neopets back in 2000, and as most of you know it's from the famous Monty Python sketch about, well, a parrot. An ex-parrot. It's a great bit and I love it, but it's also loved by thousands of other people, many of whom are also on the internetz. For instance, my email account is parrotsketch, but when I joined LJ I had to add the underscore because someone else had already claimed the other spelling. It's also not available at places like Yahoo, MSN, etc., etc.

Another factor is the association with a particular fandom...I have been a Monty Python fan for decades now, and I don't think I'll stop anytime soon, but it is still limiting. So, I am taking this opportunity to try out the new name, and when the OMG!layoffs scare blows over, as I'm sure it will, I'm thinking I'll change my username here at LJ as well.

So, why chapter_stork?

1. I will have an identity which is unique to me, and not associated with anything fannish, no matter how awesome,

2. It evokes my love for both books and awkward, long-legged birds,

3. chapter_stork is an anagram of parrot_sketch.

Hope to see you guys soon, here, there and everywhere :)