The Newsroom Returns

I am so looking forward to tomorrow night. My favorite show returns and from the looks of this clip the season will be a barn burner

Anticipation

I am so ready for this show to come back on....Maggie and Shirley -- delicious.

Currently this is my favorite commercial on TV.  The idea of adopting a Rescue Panther for home security and then seeing the panther lick its lips just cracks me up every time.


There are two commercials (really a lot more) which just drive me to drink.  The all time worst commercial on TV is the 

Verizon Commercial with the two girls crying.

I won't show you the commercial because I truly hate it. The minute it comes on (and it comes on several times an evening) my hand goes for the mute button.  I googled it and found a place where someone said they had cancelled their subscription because of it.

I used to hate the Progressive commercials but Flo has kind of grown on me so I leave them up.  Not that I plan to change my insurance. I got it through my teachers association when I still taught and they have saved me hundreds of dollars since I got it.

The other commercials that I turn off immediately are the one with the actress being told "break a leg" and the two women discussing coupons and finally the one in which the woman says she quit smoking by using such and such a medicine and then goes on for what seems like 10 minutes about how and why she quit. Oh yes and all of the warnings about drugs and the side effects that can happen if you take this medicine or any medicine drive me up the wall.  I do not understand why anyone would take any of them.

Commercials are the price we pay for television. Sometimes the price is just too high and I really appreciate the DVR which allows me to skip the damn things.

Red White & blues at the White House

I almost missed this great show.  I was skimming through Facebook to check up on the doings in the world and noticed a posting by PBS about the show.  I had seen the teaser and thought that I wanted to see it but the TV guide said that Antiques Roadshow was going to be on.  That is what my channel guide said also.  But Facebook said this was on.  So I got to see my President and his wife, enjoying the show and to see him clapping his hands (in time - Ronnie could never clap on beat) and bouncing his head (I was doing that also) to the music of some of the greatest Blues musicians including Mick Jagger.  

There is something about Mr. Obama that just makes me feel good and I will tell you this the show was too short cause the music does something spiritual to me.  I really enjoy PBS,  I may have to up my contribution.  There are some in Congress who would like to defund them and National Public Radio.  You can guess what I think of them. 

Thanks for stopping by, Hugs, j

The Dowager Countess

General Hospital

My mother got me hooked on this show and when I taught school I used to tape it and watch it to unwind after a day with the kiddies. I have continued to watch it and you know, I am not sure why. Habit I guess. God knows I don't like it much right now.

It used to be fun with the Quartermaines as the dysfunctional rich family with Robert and Anna (WOW) as the super spies who had a great chemistry together. Anna getting married in a red dress was incredible fun. Luke was also a great character in the show and Anthony Geary plays him to perfection.

Luke being married to Tracy Q is currently the only "fun" thing on the show. The character of Sonny as played by Maurice Bernard currently has no redeeming characteristics for me. A self-indulgent mobster who justifies his actions by living in a fantasy world of being right all the time and misunderstood. And Mr. Bernard is not putting his best acting into his work right now. He stumbles through his lines and you wonder if he has even thought about them or if he is just mumbling them so he can get his paycheck. I know that mobsters in our world sometimes live for years without getting caught and they may be just like Sonny but that does not make them someone I want to watch. I wish they would catch him in something and throw him in jail where he can undergo a Christian Conversion, leave the Catholic Church which turns a blind eye to his machinations. Then he can come back on the show as a religious right evangelist who molests young people... Oh wait, that only happens in real life.

The scenes when Sonny rationalizes his behavior are boring.

Then there is Carley - Great actress at times and absolutely beautiful woman but there is only one description for her character screwed up. Again another self indulgent self serving character who claims to care only about her children but who certainly shows that she is mainly thinking only about herself.

Robin and Patrick???? What gives. I suppose the writers think it is boring to have a nice loving couple with a child who has a mother who is HIV positive but who is also only thinking of herself. Patrick messed up and Robin turns out to be an unforgiving witch who is willing to throw her family away because of one lapse on her husbands part. Then she is instrumental in bringing Brenda back on the show. Another character who is not very deep - The actress who plays her is a beauty and wreaks havoc where ever she goes - she has a history with Dominic and he is not telling his girl friend about it so there is probably another break-up in the works.

I guess it is mainly the writers who are at fault. They have forgotten how to have fun with the show. We used to have big shows where the characters put on shows for charity and where couples acted like they were having fun and/or hated each other and you knew they didn't . Now all that seems to be gone and I am pretty much getting to the point were I just don't care about this show any more.

I was also not pleased with the decisions to bring back Jonathan Jackson as Lucky. Or with replacing the actor who played Michael. Just not any real reason to do so and Jackson was/is not as good as the actor he replaced. He is not Anthony Geary but they are giving him a chance to play like he is. He went to Ireland and developed a crummy Irish accent and a girl friend who also has a crummy accent. Just not very good ones.

Enough. Feel free to disagree. Perhaps it is just the mood I am in.

New TV Season

Yeah, I know Don, I shouldn't be interested in TV but I am and there is at least one new show I like. It is called FlashForward. It stars Joseph Fiennes and it is good drama. The entire premise is that the entire world (except for one person, subject Zero) flashes forward for about 2 minutes and 17 seconds.
This puzzling incident befalls all conscious citizens of the planet Earth. “Flash Forward” is based on a novel by the same name by Canadian Sci-Fi writer Robert J. Sawyer and describes the mayhem that ensues when several billion people suddenly go unconscious simultaneously for 2 minutes and have a vision of what they will be doing 6 months in the future. “Flash Forward” also stars Courtney Vance and John Cho (sulu!) More here.

Thanks to the magic of TiVo I was able to watch the show this afternoon when I finally finished my book. Yes I know I should have been writing three sets of minutes and processing dues checks but today was MY day. And I needed it.

Desparate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters started tonight. They are two of my favorites. I also sort of watched some of the comedy shows Cougar Town is kind of fun (Addendum: -it wasn't Cougar Town I had watched but another one of the same premise Older woman younger man - I just watched Cougar Town and the only thing it has going for it is that one of the actors from "my" soap is on it.) and I am really glad that the Big Bang Theory has returned. I hope they all have "staying power" - I won't be watching the "reality" shows they are too unreal. It is going to be interesting to see which shows make it and which don't. I kind of like "The Good Wife" but it is another "wronged wife struggling to make it with everybody against her and her husband trying to manipulate things from prison." Not sure it is going to make it or not. I most likely will go back to reading more and watching less. NCSI is back on and they now have a spin off set in LA. Not sure I am going to watch either of them. NCIS is going a bit off the wall for me and I am not sure I will care to watch it much more.

Perhaps it is just me, I am also getting tired of reading the Blogs, especially the political ones. It seems as if politicians make promises and then break them. Doesn't matter which party. Also I am getting turned off from some of the religious ones. There are some who are great and I never get tired of them but there are a few who seem to think that ... well I am not going to go there. I think perhaps that I need a blogbreak, But then I wonder what my blog friends have to say so I go read...and I enjoy it. Perhaps it is just time to let the political blogs go. I have been delisting some -one in particular, Oh I know what I need. I need to go to see a movie and eat some pop corn... Sometimes (Mr. Antrobus) you just have to go out to a movie... But there is only one of those coming up that I really want to see - November 20- The Blind Side. Enough grousing... I'm just babbling anyway. Thanks for stopping by ARTYAL, Hugs, j

The Kennedy Center Honors

There are one or two nights I watch TV and I don't answer the phone or do anything (except during commercials) One of those nights is the Tony Awards. The other is the Kennedy Center Honors. I sort of watch the Oscars but the Emmy's are a tape and fast forward show. Tonight the Kennedy Center Honored five more artists (really six) - My impressions and some links about tonight's ceremony.
Click on the picture to go th the Web Site to access biography information about the Honorees.


Morgan Freeman – “I look for Characters that express the human heart and glorify the human experience.”

I love this actor. I first became aware of him in Driving Miss Daisy. He has a dignity and presence unequaled by any other actor. They had some blues singers honoring him and B. B. King.
Check his movie data base here.

Twyla Tharp - She’s thinking “I could make a dance our of this” She said. {Being a star} “wasn’t enough I want to be a galaxy.”

Dance to me is the ultimate expression of humanity. I have always loved it and am really sorry that the Arts and Entertainment Network has degenerated to the point where the Arts aren't shown as much as they used to.

Pete Townshend & Roger Daltrey - Brothers in song – Musical warriors who fought for the fire of life.

George Jones
Still Country, still King. = Jones is in fact “the personification of cool,”

Barbara Streisand

“I wanted to stretch myself as a human being.”

Barbara Striesand is from November to April younger than me. I have loved her and followed her for over 40 years. She sang at the Hollywood Bowl in 1968 and I went. She has broken every ceiling there is to break and she is a Democrat and she blogs. What more could I ask.

So once again the best night of TV has come and gone and Five (six) more individuals have had their names added to the wall of fame. Tomorrow night I go to the Symphony in Des Moines. I am excited. Thanks for stopping by. ARTYAL. Hugs - J-bear

Good TV

As far as I am concerned The Closer on TV is the best show going right now.

Congratulations to
Kyra Sedgwick on her 2008 Emmy Nomination. (ACTRESS IN A DRAMA)

The New ?? TV Season

The paper today has a listing of 32 new and returning shows which are coming on the TV for mid-season replacements.

The writer's strike is certainly affecting the TV offerings. I looked the list over and of the 32 listed there were six that I will probably check out. I, most likely, will not watch many of them.

Medium is returning. I used to watch it regularly but it really got old fast and I think that Patricia Arquette's voice is really whiny. (And her cell phone has an obnoxious ring.) The paper says that Anjelica Huston is going to be on for a six-episode arc as a guest star. It starts in 15 minutes so I will check it out tonight.

Next the Cashmere Mafia. It is called a "Sex and the City" wannabe in the paper. I watched it last night and I enjoyed the first show so I will give it another look. I like Lucy Liu.

Eli Stone (starts on Jan 31) is about a lawyer with prophetic powers. A show about a lawyer should be good. Right? It is going to be on ABC.

New Amsterdam on Fox starting Feb. 22 is about an ancient Indian spell which makes a New York City Cop immortal. The premise is interesting and Fox does some good shows. I like Bones the best on their network.

Also in February, Raquel Welch and Jeffrey Tambor star in Welcome to the Captain. Eccentric residents living in a fabled Hollywood apartment building - CBS

I will probably check out When Women Rule the World on Fox beginning in March. It doesn't really appeal to me but to be fair it should be interesting to see what writers think would happen if they ran things.

I am more excited that the Daily Show and the Colbert Report are returning tonight. Probably without their writers. I probably shouldn't watch them because that is kind of like crossing a picket line. Ethical question. Perhaps I will watch tonight to see what happens and then take my stand tomorrow. I know I will watch Dave and Craig. Anyway I usually watch with the computer on my lap or read a bock while I am watching so the TV time isn't entirely wasted.

The rest of the offerings (81%) of them do not appeal to me at all. They are either reality shows or give away (Oprah's Big Give) or the usual mindless drivel. I may stick to PBS. I notice that they are doing all of Jane Austin's novels next. I still have my books.

You can tell I didn't do much today. Jon was over last night and helped me put Christmas away. He took Max for a walk in the woods and Max has not hardly moved today. Just beat. laying around in his corner. If I move he opens his eye and looks at me. Poor old guy.

I processed some dues and paid some bills so I am feeling poor. Oh well. With the price of gas what it is I am planning on sticking fairly close to Ames. Dues paying and Christmas always make me feel poor this time of year. Winning the lottery would be nice. (Do you have to buy a ticket?)

Note the new map at the bottom of the page. If you click on it you can see where people are who are reading this blog. The map updates daily the list updates every five minutes.
Have a great week. Hugs, j

Damages/Book

Glenn Close has a new TV show. It's on fx and is called Damages. You can read about it here.

I found it to be an intriguing show and look forward to future episodes. Glenn Close is one of the absolute best actresses in our world today and she does a masterful job with this character.

I had lunch with my friend Dallas this noon and mostly caught up on things around the house. I am reading "Sworn On The Altar of God. A Religious Biography of Thomas Jefferson". I am learning a lot about this fascinating man and his religious ideas. Surprisingly some of his ideas and mine coincide. I particularly like these thoughts.

How rational could it possibly be for the God of the whole universe to reveal himself solely to one small nation in the eastern Mediterranean and to leave the rest of the world in utter ignorance of his existence? It seemed even more irrational to believe that the Supreme Being of the cosmos had "sent his only begotten son who had not offended him, to be sacrificed by men, who had offended him, that he might expiate their sins, and satisfy his own anger."

These were not Jefferson's thoughts but those of Henry St. John, Viscount Bolingbroke who had a great influence on Jefferson and the American Revolution.

There is a new poem on my Poetry Blog.  No great shakes but I wanted to write something. j
Be Loved and Love Someone - Hugs jcs