Heroes Vol 5 Ep 10 - Thanksgiving

I'd like to start this out by saying that next week, I am going to start doing a weekly write-up of SGU in addition to my usual Heroes shindig every week. SGU is by far better, and I feel it's about time to give it even more space on this blog.

Perhaps at some point today I will write a blog entry that does not in some way involve SGU... but then again, probably not.

Anyway, back to Heroes.

New Episode of SGU Next Week "Justice"

Alrighty, folks. With the first part of Why I Love SGU out of the way, I'm going to dive into some previews. Like I said in that post, SGU will not be on tomorrow. :-( <-- sad panda face

Next week we pick up with the mid season finale, called "Justice." Somebody is murdered on board the ship. I'm pumped up about this episode already. Can't freaking wait. Check out SyFy's cool trailer below. Make sure you tune in next Friday on SyFy, 9/8c - this is going to be a can't miss episode.

Why I Love SGU, Part 1 - The Characters

I just finished watching "Time" the best so far of the young SGU series, a series that seems to get better and better with each passing week. I believe that at this point I anticipate Friday night SGU more than I even anticipate Mondays with Heroes and Lie to Me and House. This show is that good.

Better even than October Road? ... Yeah, I think so.

There are so very many things the show does right, it's hard to name them all. But let me try for a while here. I intend for this to be an absolute doozy of a read, so hang in there!

Why Do People Like Sarah Palin Again?

It seems like a legit question to me. Why do you like or support Sarah Palin? It doesn't seem like she's done much in the way of actual notable political anything. She has no foreign policy experience, and quite frankly, she seems more likely to talk about her kids and her makeup than anything of political relevance. So, why would you even start to think she'd make a good President of the United States?

Twilight Conquers The Dark Knight

I couldn't believe it when I read it. The newest episode of the Twilight Saga - New Moon - had the largest opening day gross ever. Better even than one of the greatest movies ever in The Dark Knight. How did this happen???

TV Shows in Limbo

All over the web, articles are popping up talking about suspended production on all manner of TV shows, including some shows that I happen to like a lot - funny enough, all the shows of which I think highly enough to write about in this list are all on one channel.

ABC.

Word of advice to ABC. Don't get all NBC on me and start canceling good shows. Don't do it. That would make you idiots. I promise.

Yes, This is AOL's New Logo... No, Seriously

What, you think I'm joking? I wish. For reals people, this is the new AOL logo... or perhaps I should say "Aol." With a period. Lowercase "ol." Puke.

So, on December 10th, Aol will be spun off from parent company Time Warner, and this is the result of the rebranding effort that was undertaken to coincide with the spin off.

Hilarious... and slightly disgusting.

Global Warming - A Big Fat Scam?

The big news from over the weekend was that the email systems for the University of East Anglia's Hadley Climate Research Unit were hacked. The hacker released about 61MB worth of data on the Internet - hundreds of files that detail some startling things about the global warming movement.

The file itself has spent the weekend roaring across the Internet as folks all over the world check out the content of the hundreds of leaked files.

New Moon (Yes, it's Infecting This Blog Too)

I can write about this only because everybody in my office area at work has been talking about this movie for months. It's only picked up in intensity over the last few weeks as we've approached... tonight. Well, last night actually. Last night at midnight, fans swarmed into movie theaters to witness the release of the second movie in Stephanie Meyer's ridiculously popular Twilight Saga. My thoughts...

Calling all Blog Readers - I Need Help!

Good evening, everybody.

Yes, yes, I am still working on my SGU writeup, but life has been getting in the way of sitting down to work on it. I'd like to sit down Saturday morning and watch "Life" and complete my writeup prior to heading up to the mountain country (read: BFE) to celebrate my birthday/thanksgiving with my parents. Here's my crossed fingers.

Anyway, the point of this blog is simple. Tonight on Twitter, I was introduced to a movie called Johnny Got His Gun, and I simply must watch this movie. You see, it's one of those thinking pieces, and we all know how madly in love with thinking movies I am. It also stars one Ben McKenzie of Southland fame, and we all know how great an actor he is. Problem is, I can't find this movie anywhere. Amazon, torrents, ebay, nada. It's pissing me the frick off.

So, if anybody owns a copy or knows where to obtain one, I'm all ears. Shoot me an email or drop it in the comments. Thanks ahead of time!

NOTE: There were two versions of this film made, one in 1971, and one in 2008. I'm looking for the latter.

A Quickie About SGU

Ok, folks, for reals this time. I just finished watching the newest episode of SGU, called "Time." I believe it is probably the best episode of anything ever. As one guy on Twitter put it: "All right, I'm converted- this latest SGU? Rocked my socks off, blew my mind & possibly cured cancer- it was that brilliant"

It really was that brilliant.

Anybody even remotely interested in anything Sci-Fi needs to watch this show. It's already great, it's getting better, and it's very quickly becoming my favorite show on TV.

I'm working on a write-up of SGU thusfar, which I hope to have published later this weekend. Check back, it's gonna be a long one.

Water on the Moon?

It's true, it's true. NASA has confirmed that they have found good ol' H2O on the moon. What does this mean for the future of space exploration? Probably nothing, at least for a good, long while... but, you know, it's there.

An LOL For Your Day

Today, I am bored. As a remedy for anybody else who shares in my boredom, I give you this:


see more Lol Celebs

Clash of the Titans Remake Coming 2010

The next movie up in the Hollywood remake-athon is Clash of the Titans. This only crosses my radar because I happen to be a sucker for Greek mythology, and this is squarely in line with that. the tale follows the myth of Perseus, who is on a typically Greek-epic quest to save Princess Andromeda. Along the way, he must battle the likes of Medusa and the Kraken. Should be a fittingly explosive effects bonanza.

But who to play the lead role of Perseus?

Wait, is that...?

Why, yes it is! That's Sam Worthington, man of both Avatar and Terminator fame. Given that he was the only reason Terminator wasn't a complete waste of time, I'm excited to see he's got the lead role in this one (and doesn't spend all his time playing a CGI blue dude).

Count me in. Check out the trailer!

Southland, Ahoy!

Thanks to Twitter, I've discovered that there's an entire community that has been in existence fighting to save the coolest cop show around. It's kind of refreshing to know that I wasn't the only one on the planet who thought the show was TV equivalent of a double-decker sundae topped with yummy strawberries. And whipped cream. On a hot day in the dead of summer. Now I'm just making myself hungry.

In any case, Ben McKenzie, the man behind Ben Sherman (my favorite character from the show), did an interview with Twitter's @TVShowGirl where he discusses what it was like transitioning between stations, what's coming up in future episodes, and even dressing up like Jay Leno for Halloween (no, really... it even includes a bloody hands joke!).

Check it out. Good stuff (and mostly hilarious too).

Stargate Universe Revisited

As I mentioned in my last post, I have recently become quite addicted to the shows in the world of Stargate. I still have yet to test the waters in Atlantis, but I'm making strong headway into the original SG-1, and I've completely caught myself up on the current episodes from SG-U. I must say, as much as I love SG-1, There is something remarkable about SG-U that has me quite literally hopping up and down in anticipation of the next episode.

Here's why: We can officially add this to the very short list of shows with characters I truly love. Very few times can I say that I was sitting here watching the show shouting at the screen (it's like what most people do with football) or that I had to get up and pace because the show was making me nervous.

Though I still have a little over 7 seasons to go in SG-1, I do feel pretty comfortable saying that I'm going to like SG-U better... much better. See, while there are some pretty awesome characters in SG-1, a truly memorable lot, SG-U seems to be almost entirely focused on the characters. We get back stories, we get relationships, rivalries, and camaraderie.

All this on the backdrop of being stuck on a spaceship that seems capable of taking care of the people on the ship without allowing them to leave or get home. And this is where the show succeeds in my opinion - the stuff about the Stargates is really just a backdrop for the characters and their interactions. It reminds me of The Mist, in that the people can survive, so the story becomes one about the people and their natures. My favorite kind of story.

In any case, my favorite character of the bunch remains Lt. Scott. His arc even in the first 6 episodes is just fascinating and a pleasure to watch. The character has a lot of back story that can be built upon and expanded, and I positively can't wait. Also, Dr. Rush continues to get ever more complicated. His motives are questionable, but his ends seems to work for the benefit of everybody on the crew. Like Scott, I cannot wait to see how his character evolves.

One character that I didn't mention in my first post on the show was Colonel Young, and shame on me, because he is the gravity and the maturity that really keeps the show level. He's obviously a seasoned soldier, and the weight he lends the pieces of the story on board the ship really makes it all seem so... plausible. His back story, though, is what really got me on his bandwagon. It's kind of heartbreaking, and they really dig into it in the episode entitled "Earth." This also happens to be the basis for the biggest OMG moment I've had watching TV in quite a while. It was the cliffhanger ending of the show, and it had me staring slack-jawed at the screen for many a minute after the credits had concluded.

In any case, This show has definitely been added to the weekly must-watch list - right up there with House, Heroes, Cougar Town, and V (and Southland in January :-). Check it out if you get the chance.

Southland Coming in January

Some positive news for your evening.

We're slowly getting details about Southland's return on TNT. Here's what I know so far.

Southland will be returning in January on TNT. They will be airing the entire series so far (season 1, which we saw on NBC, and the episodes that were filmed for season 2 prior to the cancellation) before moving into new episodes. So, for those of you who are new to the show, tune in and find out why it's easily the best cop show on TV. One of the best shows in general, actually.

Mark it down folks, Tuesday January 12, 10/9c. And while you're at it, check out TNT's new website for the show. There's nothing up quite yet, but I bet there'll be some cool stuff soon.

And, there's a fan club too for you to feast your eyes on. Slash on over.

Health Care Reform Passes in House

I know I've written a couple of times about how the Obama administration with majorities in both the House and Senate has accomplished nothing... but I rather liked it that way. I disagree with pretty much everything that's come out of that man's mouth, from his policy rhetoric to his ego-inflating "self-deprecating" humor. It was a private source of amusement for me that nothing was getting done, but I was quite hoping that nothing would continue to get done.

Then, low and behold, the House has passed it's version of the health care reform bill. The sarcasm of my excitement would know no bounds were I to bother writing about it, but frankly, I'm too pissed to bother at the moment.

Consumerist has a nifty breakdown of what this version of the bill means for us common folk, so click on over there to get some details written in non-political verbiage.

EDIT: Check out this fascinating article I found over on The Knight Shift this evening for even more information on this "wonderful" new bill. Hip-hip hooray for our idiotic government. This outlines how the new bill "provides that an individual (or a husband and wife in the case of a joint return) who does not, at any time during the taxable year, maintain acceptable health insurance coverage for himself or herself and each of his or her qualifying children is subject to an additional tax."

How about this one:

If the government determines that the taxpayer’s unpaid tax liability results from willful behavior, the following penalties could apply…

Criminal penalties

Prosecution is authorized under the Code for a variety of offenses. Depending on the level of the noncompliance, the following penalties could apply to an individual:

Section 7203 – misdemeanor willful failure to pay is punishable by a fine of up to $25,000 and/or imprisonment of up to one year.

Section 7201 – felony willful evasion is punishable by a fine of up to $250,000 and/or imprisonment of up to five years.

What's more, according to said article, the Congressional Budget Office has said that the lowest cost family plan under this bill will cost $15,000 in 2016. I don't know about you, but I don't have an extra 15 grand just layin' around.

Oh boy, let me tell you how positively exciting this news is. Pay us more money because paying the health care tax is mandatory, and keeping an acceptable level of health insurance is mandatory and if you don't, we'll slap you with outrageous fines and send you to prison. Because the Constitution says we can do that. Um... yeah.

Socialism much?

Remember, Remember

Happy November 5th, everybody. It's not an official holiday, per se, but it is a day that reminds me of one of my favorite principles, something that is true now, perhaps more than ever.

Remember, remember the 5th of November
the gunpowder treason and plot.
I see no reason the gunpowder treason
should ever be forgot

A few years ago, a movie came out called V for Vendetta. It was a movie about one man who stood up to a corrupt and overly powerful government in the name of individual liberty and freedom. It has come and gone from the popular culture, but it's message rings with a particular truth.



So, remember the 5th of November as a day where can remind ourselves that people should not be afraid of their government, a government should be afraid of its people.

Bonus! I've been looking for an excuse to post a Tool video here, so here we go. On the think for yourself theme, I present a song that is the very definition of how I try to live my life. Enjoy!



Happy 5th everybody!

Heroes Vol 5 Ep 7 - Once Upon a Time in Texas

Welcome back to Texas. When we last left Hiro two episodes ago, he had gone back in time to save the one person he'd found in the world to love: Charlie, the girl from the diner with the encyclopedic fountain of knowledge in her head - which turned out to be a power. If you recall, she was killed by Sylar once he figured out she had a power.

In this episode, we pick up with Hiro as he arrives just in time to see Sylar enter the diner. He ends up saving her from Sylar only to have her start to succumb to her aneurysm. He makes a deal with Sylar - save Charlie, and Hiro will tell Sylar all about how he dies. Sylar saves Charlie by removing the aneurysm and Hiro tells Sylar that he will kill many people, but he will ultimately die alone; no one will mourn his passing.

So, Charlie is saved, but she's mad because she thinks it was selfish of Hiro to save her and risk the lives of thousands of other people.

I should mention that along the way, he meets both his past-self and Ando (it was nice to see Ando again). Both humorously commented upon his lack of a sword, a great throwback to those of us who've been watching since season 1.

The other big story was involving Noah. At this point in season 1's arc, he was investigating the future-painter who had drawn pictures of Claire's murder. We all know that part of the story, but what we didn't know was that during his investigation, he was being tempted by his partner. She was in love with him and wanted him to have an affair. We see him struggle throughout the episode with his devotion to his family and his obvious care for his partner - the biggest factor of that was that he didn't have to lie to her the same way he did with his family. In the end, he does the noble thing and declines her offer. Out of respect to his decision, she has the Hatian wipe the feelings and memories from her mind. This tale was particularly poignant in that we know what ultimately happens to Noah's family, and his blind hope that they can have a normal life here is uncomfortably sad.

I know that many people will disagree with me, but I thought this was a great episode - really well thought-out. The way the stories of Hiro and Noah parallel each other (and even intersect briefly) was fascinating, and the stories were, in their own ways, heartbreaking. I know it wasn't a balls-to-the-wall episode like we've seen in the last few weeks, but this was a welcome rest with some truly great character development.

But... where would I be without mention of Samuel??? The pieces of his plan are very slowly starting to come together, and we are starting to see why he is this season's very bad dude.

Back in the second episode of this season, he convinced Hiro that he needed to go back in time to fix all of his mistakes. Hence this whole save Charlie thing. Samuel uses Arnold, the almost dead time-traveler who works at the carnival, to send him back in time to monitor Hiro's progress. Which leads us right to... the cliffhanger ending!!

Charlie meets Hiro at the bar (where Hiro has just had a conversation with Noah) and says she's ready to travel the world with him. She disappears outside, Hiro following moments later.... only to find Samuel standing there. He confesses to having kidnapped Charlie, angering Hiro who travels back to present day. Samuel is impressed that Hiro has regained control of his powers, but all Hiro cares about is finding Charlie. In the process of looking for her, he finds Arnold, dead. Samuel confesses to working him to death. Arnold had the same brain tumor that afflicts Hiro, and Samuel's finally caused him to give in. His last act, according to Samuel, was to trap Charlie somewhere in time. The only way Samuel will tell Hiro where to look is if Hiro helps him undo a mistake he made eight weeks ago.

We see Samuel, apologizing to somebody. The camera turns, and we who I thought might have been Samuel's dead brother Jacob. But no, that's not it. It's actually the dead body of Mohinder. And suddenly, the question is answered as to why he has yet to be in the show.

Ka-BOOM. The show just got amazing. Maybe some more answers next week?

Anyway, best and worst time.
Best: Samuel killed Mohinder?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Hey, hey hey goo-ood bye!
Worst: Where is Ando? I kinda miss that dude!
Best Line: "The course of true love never did run smooth. It's a messy business, friend" -Noah, to Hiro