Friday Five

1. Raise your hands if you watched Torchwood: Children of the Earth on BBC America? Alexis? Very gripping television. And dark. I'm talking Battlestar Galactica and The Wire dark, possibly darker. Gotta love British television. It's available on DVD, so if you have similar taste to me, I encourage you check it out. But be prepared for it to sucker punch you. I thought this quote from a British TV critic described it quite well. "Anyone who had been watching Torchwood Friday as the prelude to a “big night out” would have silently taken off their stilettos around 9.30pm and sat silently on the sofa with a large vodka, crying." Probably not the best sales pitch. :-)
   
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3. Seriously, what is with the Birthers? Love Obama or hate him, refusing to believe something despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary astounds me. And yet, their viewpoint keeps gaining ground. I'm writing about it! Did anyone else see the crazy lady on the Colbert Report. Check it out.
   
   

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4. I know the Emmy nominations were announced weeks ago, but I just can't let it go. No Kyle Chandler or Connie Briton from Friday Night Lights? No Mary McDonnell from Battlestar Galactica? And as much as I love 30 Rock, it was nominated for all but one of the slots for comedy writing. Seems a little extreme.
   
   
5. So a few weeks ago I hinted that I might have exciting news to report. And I do. I am moving to Dallas! I am staying with the American Cancer Society, just moving to the North Texas Region. I'm super excited. My new jobs starts in month, so I have lots of packing, moving and apartment locating to do.
   

Friday Five

1. After traveling three straight weekends, I used last week to be lazy, which is why I didn't blog. I slept in, read books, watched DVDs and relaxed. I'm traveling again this weekend, so it was much-needed.
   
2. After reading the biography of the Duchess of Devonshire, I'm ever-so happy I don't live in the 17th or 18th centuries. Women were completely dependent on their fathers or husbands. Even giving birth to a female was not greeted with enthusiasm. The Duchess' influence in political matters was unheard of and amazing.
   
3. Even though I've been in Central Texas since December, I'm still shocked when I walk outside and instantly start sweating because of the humidity. Crazy.
   
4. What exactly is the point of Supreme Court confirmation hearings? The candidates never say anything new, at least Roberts and Sotomayor didn't. Senators just get to grandstand, which is nothing new.
   
5. Overall, underwhelmed by the new Harry Potter movie. It felt like a teenage love story with a little Fighting Evil thrown in.

Friday Five

1. Don't see the movie "The Happening" by M. Night Shyamalan. Awful. The dialogue is cheesy, cliche and unrealistic. The acting was bad. I like Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel, but both were horrible. They didn't have much to work with in terms of character development and dialogue, but they were painful to watch. Shyamalan has officially lost the benefit of the doubt. I didn't see "Lady in the Water" but I heard from several people that it wasn't as bad as the reviews. Now I don't want to give it a chance.
   
   
2. So glad "30 Rock" is back on TV! With Tina Fey's popularity this Fall, I can't believe NBC didn't capitalize on that buzz and launch the show earlier this month and try to build a larger audience. Wasted opportunity. SNL didn't need Thursday specials to drive traffic to their show during this election season. The episode wasn't one of the best, but it's still good. Loved the facial expressions in this episode. If you aren't watching this show, you need to be! If you missed this episode, try watching it on the NBC website. I wrote this Monday night after watching it online.
   
   
3. I voted, and I hope you have to. I love early voting. If you haven't voted yet, don't forget to cast your vote for President on Tuesday! The only time I remember not voting for a major office was the 2002 gubernatorial race. I did all sorts of research to determine who I was going to vote for, and then the night before the election, I found out I was registered to vote in Abilene and not Grand Prairie. I could have driven 300 miles round trip to vote, but I didn't. I've talked to several people the last few weeks that don't plan on voting, and I don't understand that. We live in a democracy, where our voice is our vote. Why choose to be voiceless? Next time you are at your grocery store, pick up the Voters Guide or click here for the Texas edition. You can take it in to the voter's booth.
   
   
4. The Vietnam Ministry of Health has recommended banning small-chested people from riding motorbikes! Why? To improve driver safety of course. I guess their thinking is that larger drivers are less likely to suffer serious injuries if they are involved in an accident. What will we think of next?
   
   
5. So did anyone watch the Obama "infomercial" on Wednesday? I was traveling and missed it. It's an interesting tactic, especially since McCain can't afford to buy the same airtime. I'm curious about the response/backlash and the ratings, although as you read this on Friday, you've probably formed your own opinion after watching it or already know how well it went over.
   

Friday Five

1. Political Rant of the Week: The Presidential Debate. I don't know how many times McCain said "I don't think Obama understands..." during the debate, but every time he said it, he made me angry. If you listen to Obama, he's obviously educated and knowledgeable, even if you disagree with his policies. He also called Obama or his policies naive several times. Piggybacking on my rant about sexism and politics two weeks ago, can you imagine the response if Biden had said either of those things about Palin? Uproar. If it's OK for McCain, it's OK for Biden; if it's unacceptable for Biden, it's unacceptable for McCain. The same standard should apply. (I wrote this BEFORE the VP debate.)
   
   
2. Blog Discovery of the Week: Foreign Policy Passport. If you are interested in affairs outside the United States, check out this blog by Foreign Policy Magazine. I just started subscribing toit, but I already like it. When I was living abroad, I continued my subscription to Newsweek, and I received the English-language international edition. I like it better because it includes major stories and issues in the United States, but doesn't leave out the rest of the world. Unfortunately, it feels like you have to seek out that international perspective more here in the States than you do elsewhere. And I seek it out. I enjoy the "Morning Brief" post that provides an overview of the top news stories here and abroad. Check it out.
   
   
3. Embarrassing Moment of the Week: Crying at TV shows. Most people that watch TV and find themselves emotionally invested in a show or fictional characters have probably experienced this before. My embarrassment doesn't come from the act of crying but from the TV show that brought me to tears. The O.C. Yep. I'd always heard that the show was good, at least in the beginning, but never checked in out. Then I found out that Warner Brothers was launching thewb.com to stream episodes of their shows. I figured I'd try the show because it wouldn't cost me money. Last night I watched the season one finale and cried. So much pain and separation. I'm still surprised at my reaction.
   
   
4. I'm Art Walking Friday night, Racing for the Cure Saturday morning and dying of happiness at my first ever Dallas Cowboys football game at Texas Stadium Sunday afternoon.
   
   
5. I'm out of things to write about.
   

Weather

I cannot believe it is 90 degrees outside in November! We are supposed to experience a cool front with a 20-25 degree drop in temperatures tomorrow. That still makes the high 65-70, which is too warm for two weeks before Thanksgiving. Crazy.

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Elisa commented that judging the Biggest Loser competition by weight loss only might not be fair. I agree with her. I've been running, spinning and toning. I have not lost any weight, possibly gained a half pound, but I am thinner. Probably not noticeable to many people but apparent to me. Most of it is in my upper body and torso, but today when I put on my Capri pants I haven't worn since the summer, they were noticably looser. But when I weigh Monday at the conclusion of the Biggest Loser competition, I probably won't notice a difference. It doesn't help my team out, but it's still good news.

Several people have asked to extent the Challenge another eight weeks to get us through the holidays; I think our office is going to continue participating. My spinning class will be over, but I'll just increase the frequency, intensity and distance of my runs.

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I was surprised that Donald Rumsfield resigned.

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If you missed the Daily Show/Colbert Report LIVE Midterm Midtacular, you missed one of the signature Colbert rants that makes his show worth watching. I've already rewatched it several times. Gotta love TiVo. Colbert's delivery is half the reason his show is so funny, but here is the text.

"Tomorrow you're all going to wake up in a Brave New World, a world where the constitution gets trampled by an army of terrorist clones created in a stem cell research lab run by homosexual doctors who sterilize their instruments over burning American flags. Where Tax and Spend Democrats take all your hard-earned money and use it to buy electric cars for National Public Radio and teach evolution to illegal immigrants. Oh, and everybody's higigh! Whoo!"

Stephen Colbert was my favorite correspondent on the Daily Show. One of these days I am going to get a copy of the "wrath of God" segment that made me love him. I'll settle for the Colbert Report until then.