i'm taking half a day off, so i won't have the time to write that Enterprise review that i wanted. instead, here's a short one: less V'ulvan B'abe nipples, more hunky guys in spandex. more "oh! how cute! they don't even have tractor beams yet!" less sanctimonious Vulcans ("You must learn to objectify other cultures!" vs. "You haven't embraced our logic and become like us! You are not ready!" pointy-eared bitch). boo theme song. yay title sequence. yay Captain Beckett [did anyone giggle hysterically when the Capt was beamed off the Suliban ship and reappeared on the Enterprise and looked around a bit confusedly, just like he'd just Leaped (Lept?)?]! should i complain that Broken Bow, Oklahoma doesn't really look all that flat?

other things: syndiBuffy! "Teacher's Pet." i'd like to see more of the ClawVamp, but that's off topic. not a bad episode. starting to see more of the Giles-to-come, though he is still a bit too stodgy. the one thing about Buffy that irritates me about early Buffy is that she hasn't quite completely dropped the Valley Girl thing, and Valley Girls are worthy of nothing but loathing. thankfully, SMG really gets comfortable with the character quickly, so the VG thing fades away soon enough. Xander and Willow have the buddy chemistry going, and Bitchgod Cordelia was beautiful to behold in her all too brief glory. did anyone else think that Buglady resembled Jenny Calendar a bit?

oh sad week. one of the best story and character driven games, Wraith: the Oblivion, is dead. White Wolf has decided not to print any more.

the coffee tastes funny. someone's been brewing hazelnut-raspberry or something, and now every pot of regular nasty-tasting coffee has that terrible flavor in it. it seems that no amount of creamer of sugar substitute will cover it. yuck.

too much work to do today. didn't get to review Enterprise (i know you've been holding your breath for it). i'll try to get it written tomorrow. in the meantime, if you're really interested in seeing what others thought, there are a bajillion forums talking about it right now, though i'll bet most of the conversation is about V'ulcan B'abes nipples.

got to get home. tonight is the first of the syndiBuffies i haven't seen before. yay!

from the BBC's Dr. Who news: "The Master" has been named as the international criminal behind the theft of an Enigma machine from Bletchley Park.
[via feeling listless]

here's a review for "Heartthrob" (Monday night's Angel ep).

aww yeah!

"The Encore cable network has commissioned a feature-length documentary chronicling the history of kung-fu movies, from the silent films produced in Shanghai in the 1920s to the recent Matrix and Mission: Impossible II, Variety reported." [from SciFi Wire]

now they only need a documentary on the history of swords in film and i could die a happy man.

trying to decide on the perfect gift to give on the Anniversary of the Crowning of Queen Elizabeth I? here's a suggestion:

on 1/15 (finally!) Buffy The Vampire Slayer fans will be rewarded for their patience. After much delays, Fox unleashes Buffy The Vampire Slayer: The Complete First Season. Presented in full frame with English and French 2.0 surround tracks, extras include a full length audio commentary on "Welcome to Hellmouth" by Joss Whedon, three "Joss Whedon Talks" interviews on six episodes ("Welcome To Hellmouth," "The Harvest," "Witch," "Never Kill A Boy On the First Date," "Angel" and "Puppet Show"), an additional interview with Whedon and actor David Boreanaz, a Buffy trailer, the original pilot script, a photo gallery, biographies and DVD-ROM weblinks. Retail is $39.95 for the three-disc set. [source: DVD File]

let's hope this one sticks (buy it for me, and i'll love you forever).

movie channels are showing Silence of the Lambs back-to-back with Hannibal, and i'm asking the important questions: who'd win in a fight, Jodie Foster-as-Clarice Starling or Julianne Moore-as-Clarice Starling?

answer: Jodie would soooo kick Julianne's ass. anyone disagree?

it's been 4 months since the season 5 finale of Buffy. i've been patiently waiting for the beginning of season six, and i've had no trouble with it. i'm not the type who asks to open one on Christmas eve. i don't even have the urge to know early. but now that we're within 6 days of the season 6 premiere of Buffy, i can't stand it. whenever i see an advertisement for it, i get all glassy eyed and googly and i hop up and down a lot, point and whisper "Buffy..." i don't know how i'm going to handle the next few days (especially when, everytime i see the advertisements, i catch a glimpse of a scene that looks like the Scoobies are at the airport, saying goodbye to Giles. i think 'no! he can't leave before she comes back! someone stop him!').

time to head home for some more syndiBuffy, followed by Enterprise.

after that, i get to go meet VSG's mom. joy of joys.

when did they change over from just patting each other on the ass? maybe i should start watching baseball again.

ok, i was a little premature in question VSG's devotion to Buffy. i let him hang out at my place today, so i stopped by at lunch and caught him watching the season three Buffy box set. he said he'd already finished all the others, he was on "Graduation Day part one" when i walked in.

i'm liking this dude.

Video Store Guy called me Monday night after Angel (i'd already warned not to bother calling before 9pm) and invited me over. "Bring some of your Buffy tapes," he said. "I'd better find out what your obsession is all about." i took the B/A Chronicles with me. we watched some, but he didn't seem particularly impressed.

yesterday evening, he came over. after dinner, he asked "You recorded Buffy tonight, right? Let's watch it." i explained that last night's ep was actually the second part of the two part pilot. "OK, cool. We'll watch both."

after "The Harvest" ended, i looked over at him. he didn't seem too keen. i thought i should explain that, while not bad episodes, you can tell they're the kick-off for the series and that it gets progressively better. i also began having these flashbacks to Mikey, who didn't care for the supernatural aspects of the show, and thought i should tell VSG that, as the show progresses, the supernatural becomes the backdrop, not the focus of the show, and that it's considered a supernatural *drama* for a reason.

i was about to explain when he turned to me and asked "Do you have any more?"

i sat silently for a moment before i laughed "dude, i've got the first, second, and third season boxed sets, most of the fifth season, plus a scattering of downloaded episodes on the computer. You wanna watch Buffy all night, we can watch Buffy all night."

"Oh. Well, let's watch the newer ones then, the fifth season."

so we did. we watched seven episodes, stopping only when i, bleary-eyed, said that i had to get some sleep. he was still ready for more. i thought he was just humoring me (in a this-is-what-he-likes-so-i'll-say-i-like-it-too kind of way), but he was asking questions: What happened to Oz? Why's Giles not the librarian anymore? When did Buffy's mom find out? Isn't that the blue one that Willow was looking for? So why aren't Spike and Dru together? When did Buffy get a sister? and on and on and on. and on. i'm still not sure if he's getting hooked or just really perceptive, but he seemed to be genuinely interested in the answers. it looks like i may have a Buffy buddy to watch with.

ya know, i expected to get negative emails concerning what i implied about SC Justice Scalia, but i didn't. instead, i get a couple calling me many bad names because i said Rehnquist is actually dead.

i'm sorry folks, but he is dead. if you can get a peek under his robes, you'll see that they have a tube coming out of his backside to relieve any pressure from the build up of decomposition gases. it wouldn't do to have the Chief Justice bloat up and explode during oral arguments.

this template i've been using lately is evil. i tried to adjust the size of the text, and nothing happened. i tried using the <b> tags in my posts, and they're ignored. not good. maybe i should have used that avocado template i liked so much.

ok, so now that i have a little time (i.e., i'm goofing off again), it's time to write a little about Angel: [may be SPOILERS ahead!]

i was very pleased with this episode. except for a couple of minor things (Wesley's hair during his first scene: what the hell was that?!?), it was, all in all, a worthy episode. i had two big concerns about this episode (and this season, by extension): first, would Buffy's death be ignored or glossed over? second, how is Fred going to fit into the group?

i was happy with the way they handled the aftershocks of Buffy's death. Angel had to go away for a while, and just returned at the beginning of this episode. Wesley, Gunn and Cordelia made mention of it a few times through the episode, and Cordy showed and expressed a great deal of concern for how Angel was dealing with it. it wasn't mentioned off-handedly, and i think it was VERY appropriate (and maybe some hints for future developments?) for Angel and Cordy to be the ones discussing how it affected Angel, especially after the things James said to Angel about (paraphrased) 'you didn't love her, because, had you, you wouldn't be able to live.' handled very well, i think.

Fred is going to take longer to decide upon. it was right that she be reclusive during Angel's absence. she hid out alone for so long on Pylea, Angel was the one who rescued her and took her away from her Cave of Solitude, and she's a couple of digits short of making a collect call. it was good that she not be out interacting with the Cordy, Wes and Gunn, but it still hasn't answered any of the questions about how she's going to fit in with the others. in fact, at the end of the episode, Angel and Co. walked out, on their way to whereever, and no one gave a thought to "Hey, are we sure Fred's going to be ok here alone in a place where an enemy had just invaded and attacked?" we'll have to give her some more time, but i do agree with Jean: she's got to get rid of that annoying accent.

other little things about the episode that i liked: Angel jumping out of the dorm window to do some roof top hopping, hopping, hopping in pursuit of the baddies; Dennis hasn't been forgotten! Cordy's post-vision breakdowns are still getting worse, though she's trying to keep the others from seeing it; the Host singing!

things that bugged me: the shakey camera thing during fight scenes, along with that strange edit-at-the-moment-the-blow-lands during the James/Angel fight scene. both of them irritated me. i hope they don't become regular parts of the show.

good quotes: Cordy, after receiving a pendant from Angel-- "Look how it brings out my breasts!"
Cordy-- "I'm Cordelia. I don't think. I know."

memorable lines that cracked me up but weren't meant the way i took them: Gunn to Angel - "Thanks for the head, bro."

fight scenes: Angel vs. Demon Monks was ok, but the Angel vs James fight was pretty kick ass. James turned out to be a tougher opponent than he looked, and i liked the way he snatched the Cordelia-tossed stake out of the air and took to Angel with it. too bad James died spontaneously.

WTF?? scenes: Darla. is. pregnant.

it's the return of "On This Day In US Supreme Court History"!

on this day in 1981, Sandra Day O'Connor was sworn in as an associate justice.

on this day in 1986, Antonin Scalia was commissioned as associate justice (soon after completion of his semi-autobiographical novel, which was later turned into a popular Scorsese movie staring Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, and Joe Pesci).

on this day in 1986, William Rehnquist died. within minutes, he was propped in his chair by a group of law clerks and commissioned as Chief Justice. due to his extreme advanced age at the time of his death, he is technically considered a well preserved mummy. he still sits in his chair to this day, dead, and held up by a combination of dow rods and a complex weaving of bent and twisted wire coat hangers.

for more "On This Day in SCOTUS History," try the Oyez Project.

it's time for me to go save my state from it's own shortsightedness. i'm off to vote (as if my vote weighed more than another's).

until i get the chance to talk about Angel, why not go read a review of "Welcome to the Hellmouth," the first (and last night's) episode of syndi-Buffy.

have i mentioned that my now-not-so-new boss is a hot little muscly man with closely cropped hair and a penchant for tight Levis?

it can be really distracting sometimes.

everyone *did* watch Angel last night, right? i'll talk about it a bit later (busy morning at work). if you need to know a little know, head over to Jean's for a taste (beware: spoilers)

want to see some trailers for Lord of the Rings?

good lord! the only way this could be scarier is for it to be a clown instead.
[things that shouldn't exist found by Stuff and Stuff]

this found there too.

oops. Angel airs at 8pm. i've corrected the earlier post.

coolness: Angel will air in widescreen this season.

coolness buried within coolness: "The network and New Line Cinema also confirmed an earlier report that a new trailer for the first of Peter Jackson's upcoming Lord of the Rings films would debut during the [premiere] episode."
[again, via SciFi Wire]

there's an online petition asking that Aaliyah's role not be recast and that the scenes she'd filmed already not be cut and reshot. sounds great, unless there are more scenes with her character that haven't been shot yet. what should the director do? corpses just aren't very animated ('cept in voodoo country) and can be difficult to work with.
[via SciFi Wire]

everyone (in the US) remember: the season premiere of Angel is tonight on the WB at 8pm CDT. tune in for the further adventures of Joss' answer to Batman.

and syndicated Buffy begins at 6pm on FX (the Buffy movie started at 4:00).

i saw The Mummy Returns this weekend with Video Store Guy. i figured out why they gave it that title. i didn't know the shaven headed guy was back. i thought the whole thing featured the Rock, and i kind of expected a Smackdown feel to the movie, but i'm glad for Imhotep. i thought he was nice.

i'd had many people tell me that this sequel was better than the first. the only reason it was better is the swords. the swordplay can make or break an otherwise dull and predictable movie. ooh! and the chick fights too! those were cool.

anyone ever have the desire to watch Nosferatu in surround sound?

Click here for my petition to end discrimination against gays giving their sperm to spermbanks. — from the very last line of Mathieu's Diary.

we all have to have our Causes, i suppose (except me. i'm too apathetic. don't care about anything. eh). i'm not interested in promoting the Cause so much as wanting to thank Closetboy for posting the link. grrrr! something to put me in a good mood this morning.