the tv she talks to me...

Ah, the weekend. How I love you ever so much.

Andrew's last week at work is this week. He let me borrow Pearl Jam's greatest hits CD, rearviewmirror. They're one of my favorite bands and this has ALOT of great songs on it, including the highly underrated "Do The Evolution".

So a review of The 40-Year Old Virgin is forthcoming. Suffice it to say it was excellent, one of the best comedies I've seen. It managed to deftly blend raunch with a sweet-natured current. I also got to hang out with Robin and her husband, then play the movie trivia game Scene It?. We also ate pizza and watched Halloween 5: The Revenge Of Michael Myers. They're both really cool and it was nice to actually have some semblance of a social life. I plan to convert them both into Browncoats. A Firefly marathon is in their future and then Serenity on September 30th. The more Browncoats the better.

Speaking of, at work more people are calling and asking for Firefly so I'm hoping the series is garnering alot more attention. A girl called earlier this week asking if we had the show for rent. She actually gave a co-worker her number for us to call if it came in. It did, she was elated, and sent her boyfriend up promptly to pick it up. It's always checked out now and that's great.

Session416.com

Cool and creepy, huh? This is viral marketing for Serenity. And yes, the gentleman in the video is none other than Joss Whedon himself. He's said that these shorts will tell a story and I can't wait to see where this is going.

The final issue of the Serenity comic will be released on September 7th. I need to put back three dollars. I'll be getting the one with River on the cover.

It's softly raining outside. I should be sleeping soundly. Oh well. We're also supposed to be getting even more rain early next week as Hurricane Katrina passes through our area, hopefully in a weakened state. Speaking of that, my thoughts are with those in South Florida.

Hmmm... what to see this weekend? Red Eye or The Brothers Grimm? I loves me some Gilliam but Red Eye looks good as well. Decisions, decisions...

I've got new hours on Wednesdays and Thursdays. 12PM-9PM and I've had some readjusting to do, body time-clock wise. Once again, I should be in bed right now.

Pay day is today. I'm going to try to buy a DVD, maybe a CD (Get Behind Me Satan, The White Stripes latest, is a good idea) see a movie or two, and just relax and enjoy the weekend.

Fiona Apple's new CD Extraordinary Machine will be out October 4th. That's right, Sony got their head out of their ass finally! I was dismayed to here that Jon Brion's production on the album was shelved in favor of someone else but oh well. It'll be nice to hear new stuff from her.

Oh! Nellie McKay has a new CD coming out in October! The 18th, to be exact, and it features a duet with Cyndi Lauper. Also, Nellie will be in Wallace Shawn's new Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera alongside Alan Cumming and Edie Falco! The play will debut in April 2006. Congrats Nellie! You're vastly underexposed and I hope more people discover your awesome talent.

A new episode of Real Time With Bill Maher airs tonight.

The queen of liberal talk, Stephanie Miller, will be on in just a little bit. It's an awesome radio show. She really takes it to the right-wing with a lethal mix of comedy and cold hard facts. Plus, her voice guy Jim Ward is a freakin' genius. From Bush to Pat Robertson, he is amazing at doing dead-on impressions of those wacky neo-cons and various other people in the limelight.

Oh yeah, tonight is a new episode of Battlestar Galactica on SCI FI. It's the final episode before a break. The channel is waiting a few months to air the rest of the season. I know, I know...it's weird. Anyway, I have a few episodes on TiVo to watch anyway...along with It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Starved, and a BUNCH of other stuff.

And then there's this $100 million dollar budgeted epic series that's debuting on HBO Sunday night...



So, yeah...it looks really cool.

the fourth day is ending...

Well...

www.941thebeat.com

Weird, huh?

For those not in the area, that's the website for Clear Channel's Urban station WQBT-FM (94.1 The Beat) here in Savannah. They're teasing on the air that "changes are coming" on the 22nd. I was hoping that it would be a format flip...perhaps JACK-FM (officially), alternative rock, or progressive talk. However I truly believe that it's simply going to be a renaming of the station with a new morning show out of New York (Star and BucWild). I find this just sad. C'mon! Savannah radio needs to be shaken to its core. I'd love to be proven wrong.

From work I procured AVery Long Engagement and Prozac Nation. I anticipate viewing them. Netflix is sending me the psychological British thriller Enduring Love. I've heard great things.

I must work from 6-10 tomorrow night. Yes, the floor. But we've already been shopped this month so it shouldn't be too bad.

I am more than likely going to see The 40 Year Old Virgin Saturday with a co-worker and her husband. Wow, me with some semblance of a social life! Weird, huh?

TiVo has amassed a bountiful harvest of television nirvana for me to feast upon. There's a whole assortment of goodies from three episodes of Battlestar Galactica to two of Entourage to movies and more. I must get to watching them ASAP.

And now my little commentary...



I state emplicitly that I am a film fan. I love the cinema and all of its charms therein. I must start behaving as such. I must commit myself fully towards this artistic medium. Far too often, I'll just watch television or spend time on here, scanning the depths of the Internet for any and everything I can get, having exhausted my usual haunts. I do this instead of watching a film. It is utterly appalling and I must rectify this, post haste lest I become a shame to my film geek badge. I do solemnly swear to make good on this. Therefore, I WILL view a film this weekend, perhaps two and then post extensive reviews on said titles. Keep your eyes peeled for I am cinema savvy...hear me roar!

Awwww.....

I love you, TiVo!

I got a haircut today (that one..oh the humor is funny!) and thus feel thirty pounds lighter. I'm also trying something new...a closely-cropped goatee. We'll see if this ends in triumph or abundant failure. I'll be sure to keep you posted.

And in terrifically awesome news, school starts tomorrow for all students in the area. That's right, you snot-nosed brats and know-nothing teens...get your lazy asses BACK in class and stop littering our store with your presence! It'll be so nice to have a moment to complete a task at work on a weekday morning without a pesky child under foot. But watch me have to eat my words and there'll be kids there anyway. I certainly hope not.

Head on over to Daily Kos. There's a really dead-on article about Cindy Sheehan. What a courageous, inspiring, wonderful woman. I sincerely hope that she follows Bush back to D.C. and continues to live camped right outside The White House, day and night. He may be an asshole and not want to open his eyes to the fact that we're losing brave men and women in an endless and needless war, or to meet with the mother of a dead soldier but at least whenever he shuttles to and from the overpriced fundraisers he'll have a female-sized thorn in his side. The longer this plays out, the worse it makes him look. Good.

Bill Maher will be guest-hosting The Majority Report on Air America Radio tomorrow night. I can't wait! The reason for this is Janeane Garofalo is currently in Los Angeles filming a guest spot on The West Wing and Sam Seder and his wife Nicole are celebrating the birth of their daughter, Myla Rae Seder. Congrats to the happy family.

Tim Robbins anti-war play Embedded: Live will have its network television debut next Sunday night at 9PM on sundance channel.

POEM TIME


Frustration

If I had a shiny gun,
I could have a world of fun
Speeding bullets through the brains
Of the folk who give me pains;

Or had I some poison gas,
I could make the moments pass
Bumping off a number of
People whom I do not love.

But I have no lethal weapon-
Thus does Fate our pleasure step on!
So they still are quick and well
Who should be, by rights, in hell.

Dorothy Parker


Inventory

Four be the things I am wiser to know:
Idleness, sorrow, a friend, and a foe.

Four be the things I’d been better without:
Love, curiosity, freckles, and doubt.

Three be the things I shall never attain:
Envy, content, and sufficient champagne.

Three be the things I shall have till I die:
Laughter and hope and a sock in the eye.

Dorothy Parker

Savannah, Georgia: Our radio has been "JACK"-ed!!!

Joy 104.7 is dead.

In its place, we now have a clone of the popular new radio phenomenon, "JACK FM" that's been sweeping the nation. By that I mean alot of stations have flipped to this format. The official format name is either "Variety Hits" or "Adult Hits".

More info on this new format can be found at Variety Hits at Wikipedia.

We now have this format in our area. Contemporary Christian station WSGA-FM Joy 104.7 is now "Freedom 104.7".



I personally would have chosen a different name as it and the new logo scream "Country Station". They're using the expected positioner of this format - "We Play What We Want". Nothing jockwise outside of a male voice saying "We're Freedom 104.7 and we're playing what we want." Then, "Stay tuned for more music we like" before commercials. Weather's being done by The Weather Channel and then "Now back to more music we want to hear."

The website is in progress at Freedom1047.com

Here's a recently played song list:

11AM

11:08AM - Duncan Sheik - "Barely Breathing"
11:12AM - L.T.D. - "(Every Time I Turn Around) Back In Love Again"
11:17AM - Madonna - "Vogue"
11:25AM - Eddie Kendricks - "Keep On Truckin'"
11:29AM - Santana f/Rob Thomas - "Smooth"
11:33AM - Love And Rockets - "So Alive"
11:41AM - John Mellencamp - "Small Town"
11:44AM - Fleetwood Mac - "Landslide"
11:48AM - Hootie And The Blowfish - "Only Wanna Be With You"
11:55AM - Prince - "Little Red Corvette"
11:58AM - The Bee Gees - "Nights On Broadway"

12PM

12:03PM - Billy Idol - "Dancing With Myself"
12:06PM - Elton John - "Honky Cat"
12:11PM - dishwalla - "Counting Blue Cars"
12:16PM - Babyface - "My Kinda Girl"

I am unaware of when exactly the station flipped formats. I just noticed this late last night while scanning the radio dial.

"Freedom 104.7" is owned by Tama Broadcasting, Inc.

http://www.tamabroadcasting.com

They also own WSSJ-FM (Smooth Jazz 92.3) and WMZD-FM (Mix 100.1) in this market.

In any case, it's nice to finally get to hear, in this market at least, the newest format that's got everyone talking.

I have to work tomorrow from 2-10. I LOATHE working on the floor and that's just where I'll be. Hopefully we won't get shopped. But this being the first weekend in August, we probably will. My legs and feet are going to be very angry with me. I just hope the time passes quickly which, knowing how things usually go, it most likely won't.

Brunch is ready. Time to while away the hours before I begin my maze-like walk around the store tomorrow.

Remember for all things happening in the wonderful world of Joss Whedon, head on over to WHEDONesque.com. They've got all the scoop on upcoming Serenity goodness. I love that site.

Several fans have gotten together to launch a Serenity/Firefly-themed podcast. It's available every Wednesday at SerenityFirefly.com. Last week's episode featured a great interview with Adam Baldwin; this week has an interview with Gina Torres. A big hand to these Browncoats as they're really good at this.

I picked up "Serenity" #2 Wednesday. I haven't read comics in ages but this are so well-written and really capture the flavor of the 'Verse. I can't wait for issue #3 at the end of the month.

Marc Maron will be on Late Night with Conan O'Brien tonight. He'll be promoting his very awesome Air America Radio show Morning Sedition.

Speaking of politics, Robert Novak, when not being an evil demon, is a big baby. Scroll down at CrooksAndLiars.com. Wow, he almost had to answer pointed questions about his outing of Valerie Plame. What a moron. He's been suspended but needs to be fired.

I should hopefully getting J.T. Petty's directorial debut Soft for Digging and the 1967 Lee Marvin classic Point Blank from Netflix today. I've heard great things of both.

The little hellions go back to school here August 15th. I cannot wait. It's time for peace of mind to pervade the store.

FX has winners on their hand. I watched the premieres of Starved, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, and Over There. Talk about extremes! Starved is about people living in New York with various eating disorders. Sunny is about three owners of a new bar in the title city. Both are extremely dark comedies; shocking one minute, amazingly funny the next. Over There is Steven Bochco's new drama series about soldiers in Iraq. It is devastatingly brutal. Check out the shows in-depth at FXNetwork.com.

Bernardo Bertolucci has earned a reputation for being one of Hollywood's most interesting filmmakers. From the now infamous Last Tango In Paris to 1900, The Last Emperor, and Stealing Beauty, Bertolucci has moved effectively from one genre to the next. Some pigeonhole him as being too attached to "controversy" but that's really a moot point. He's able to accurately convey whatever themes he sets out to, and with a style and sophistication lacking in 90% of directors today.

The Dreamers is his latest. It relates to us something from Bertolucci's own life, being in the midst of the political uprisings of Paris in 1968. Based on Gilbert Adair's novel The Holy Innocents (and scripted by Adair), The Dreamers brings us the tale of Matthew, an idealistic American traveling abroad. He just begins to soak up the culture when he meets twins Isabelle (played with a heady verve by Eva Green) and Theo (Louis Garrel). They are protesting the funding loss of the Cinémathèque Française by the government. Matthew is slowly drawn into their intoxicating world of cinema, politics, and sex. But is there a world beyond the one the siblings have made for themselves? The twins devise movie pop quizzes with sexual games as punishment (City Lights and Bande A Part are but a few titles discussed, as clips from the films interject) and all the while Paris seems to quake with dissent on the streets below.



Much has been made of The Dreamers MPAA rating. NC-17. It doesn't get thrown around alot these days. Fox Searchlight decided to buck the trend and release the film as is to theatres. It didn't play that long as most theatre chains won't play NC-17 films. I find the whole thing funny as the sexual content in the film, while graphic and intense, is nothing pornographic. Yes, you see explicit closeups of both male and female genitalia and there is implied sex but the hype is much ado about nothing. It adds a sensual and intoxicating feel to the film, as these young people discover sexuality and film in their own way. (The twins parents are only seen in fleeting glances, dropping off a check before heading off to an undisclosed destination.)

The Dreamers is a romantic and beautiful look at the chrysalis that envelopes two lost souls who seem to be unable to function outside the four walls of their own design. One person tries to help dismantle those walls (Matthew) but it seems that he just adds more bricks. All three actors provide compelling performances and help to construct a very believable environment. You can practically smell the wine and cigarettes oozing off the screen. This is one of the very best movies in a long time.

The *NEW* U.S. "Serenity" trailer!!!...

The *NEW* Serenity Trailer!

Now, THAT is a trailer! In my opinion, this will resonate much more soundly with the uninitated masses and perhaps with Firefly reairing on SCI FI Fridays at 7PM Eastern (where this trailer debuted last night), the Browncoats will grow even larger. I can't wait to see this in theaters and I'm going to assume that this brilliant new trailer will first hit theater screens on August 12th, when Universal Pictures' Kate Hudson-starrer The Skeleton Key is released. If so, I'll be seeing that film.

Also, Universal has relaunched the official website. That's located at serenitymovie.com

I watched Eraserhead last night, falling in and out of slumber. It's just as well as the movie was truly bizarre and unique, although not as strange as I'd imagined, oddly enough. Another viewing may be in my future, perhaps.

I have to do a full store inventory with the manager and a co-worker, Andrew, tonight from 11PM to 5AM. Hopefully we'll have fun. We usually do. And then Denny's might be in the cards afterwards. Bring on those skillets!

It took me a while but I can safely say that Six Feet Under is worth its salt. I'm halfway through the first season and so far so good. It's witty, somber, funny, well-written, and has a layer of depth and character development that you don't see that often in the world of television.

Mmm...brunch. Sounds lovely. Think I'll have some in a moment.

SCI FI debuts Bloodsuckers tonight. Anything underneath their "SCI FI Pictures" banner that airs on Saturday nights is usually horrible, but I'm a sucker (no pun intended) for all things vampire, so I'll TiVo it.

Also, Bill Maher's I'm Swiss, his new hour-and-a-half HBO comedy special debuts at 10PM tonight.

The official "Serenity" one-sheet!

Universal officially debuted the new poster on the Browncoats board at serenitymovie.com



Mega shiny, huh? I simply cannot wait for the new trailer tomorrow. Methinks I should rewatch the entire series again as I've not viewed it in quite some time. Nathan Fillion also posted at the official Browncoats board that a certain comic book store in Edmonton is "selling" the Serenity comics at a marked-up rate of $20 an issue! The guy there was beyond belief. Read the post. What an ass.

Tacos were dinner and they were delicious.

When I went to high school, between wishing John Lennon had never been shot (hardcore Beatles freak I was) and wanting to not be there, I enjoyed one thing. Although high school cafeteria food is not catered by Wolfgang Puck, one thing stood out. The oddly named chicken fryz. Now Burger King has stepped up to the plate and is offering the properly named chicken fries. They are delicious and I only hope BK's are as awesome as the ones I dined upon years ago. BK has launched a website to tie-in with their chicken fries ad campaign. It's at http://www.coqroq.com

I brought home the first season of Six Feet Under and Terry Gilliam's Brazil from work. I'll eventually watch them. Hopefully. Alright I'll try.

femme fatale of the week is over. Sorry. I may replace it with The Overlooked Gem, focusing on movies that may have slipped under the radar over the years.

the stars are bright...

Wow. Do not watch Cursed. And "UNRATED" means fuck all when describing DVDs, as we all know. I knew it had tons of production problems but a seventh grader could have made a better movie. Poor Christina Ricci for having to slog through that offal. Hopefully she was able to at least buy a Persian rug from that paycheck.

I will post a review of The Crow: Wicked Prayer this weekend. It was excellent, bringing a Native American spin on the franchise. It's loosely based on the Norman Partridge graphic novel of the same name. Edward Furlong did a damned good job in the title role and it's always a treat to see David Boreanaz on screen.

Look, if other blogs can be taken over with an obsessive madness for all things Harry Potter, then this one can be the same way for the Firefly movie, Serenity. Best Buy has a ported version of the UK DVD release of Season One of SCI FI's Battlestar Galactica. It's only available until September 20th when other retailers will get to sell a more extras-heavy version of Season One. But the Best Buy-exclusive release has a behind-the-scenes Serenity DVD bundled with it! Decisions, decisions...

A brand new Serenity trailer will debut during SCI FI's airing of Firefly this Friday beginning at 6PM. Said trailer will debut in theatres in August.

Are you ready for current? Al Gore's new human interest/news you can use channel geared towards the lucrative 18-35 demo launches on the corpse of the channel that formerly housed NewsWorld International. current launches in 20 million homes on August 1st.

http://www.current.tv

TV Guide's going to revamp into something resembling Entertainment Weekly as of October 11th. Those blue-hairs who subscribe will surely drop it, thus ensuring this legend of the printed press will go belly-up before too long. It's a shame. But hell, what do I know? It could revitalize it.

NBC Universal is eyeing purchasing DreamWorks SKG. After they spun off their animation department, then Shrek 2 was oversold to shareholders, and now with The Island tanking in a huge way, it'll be interesting to see what happens.

Alright everyone...it's fun story from work time! This guy calls up and prefaces his comments by saying how I probably won't care because I get paid hourly. I should have then followed up with, "And what am I eating for lunch, since you seem to know everything about me?"

So the man then tells me that there hasn't been that many good movies this year. I agree and tell him outside of Crash and Batman Begins, the year has been pretty uneventful. He then says that he recently had back surgery and he needs me to print out a list of our store inventory (!) so that he can check off what he wants to rent and then have his wife pick it up for him!

I explain quite cogently that this is not possible at all. He says, "No, no, it is! I'll tell you why! I've owned my own business for 15 years and you can do it! You want to know what that's called? It's called an 'inventory report'. Otherwise you'd have no accountability for your stuff!" I again explain that I cannot do this. So I listen to this guy yammer on for eons and then hand him off to the manager. She reiterates my claims and the guy went on and on. He even wanted her to fax him the titles of this week's new releases. She said, "I can tell you them."

People, use your brains! Jeez!

http://www.cantstopthesignal.co.uk

At the above address you'll find the international trailer for Serenity, plus several tracks from the film, composed by David Newman who is awesome. Those tunes sound shiny, to quote vernacular from the 'Verse and it'll be great to hear them in the film. Mr. Newman also composed the kick-ass score for Galaxy Quest.

two of them...

Two femme fatales this week...one to make up for last week and one for this week....

the first...

Jewel Staite





Jewel Staite at Wikipedia


Mmm...Canadian girls...I need to get me one of them.

The next femme fatale will be posted Friday.

I just finished watching the British psychological thriller Trauma starring Colin Firth. It's a head trip to say the least but it's far too pretentious for its own good. And I loved the director's last film, My Little Eye.

Eraserhead...the review is forthcoming.

There will be a new international trailer for Serenity that debuts online this Wednesday, if all things go well. **crossing fingers**.

As I got my paycheck today, I plan to seek out the first of the three-part Serenity comic book series this week.

I need to watch The Crow: Wicked Prayer. Hopefully we'll get it at work soon. Yes, it streets tomorrow but we don't have it. Yes, I'm aware our buyer sucks.

Well, the eyelids are drooping. Going to go relax, catch some TiVo, you know the drill...

The new "Serenity" movie poster...

Shiny, ain't it? I very much doubt that this is the final poster but as a teaser, I like it. Now if we can get a more non-Browncoat style trailer and an ad campaign that doesn't alienate the uninitated, I'm happy. BTW, this was revealed at the San Diego Comic Con, that annual mecca of all things cool.



And SCI FI has finally created their own page for Firefly, which debuts this Friday at 7PM and will air at that weekly timeslot. Very nice job, SCI FI. Now if we can get new episodes after the movie, I'll be ecstatic. Universal has the rights to Firefly now, of course.

I hope that we'll get video from the Serenity/Slither panel at Comic Con. I'm very anxious. I also need to get part one of the new 3-part Serenity comic book series. It ties the series with the movie. Alas, paychecks were late this week so I'm not getting paid until Monday. It was the fault of the company that cuts our checks. Methinks we need a new company to do this if they can't get their ass in gear.

But I digress.

Firefly at SCIFI.COM

It's Frito Pie time. Back with more later, including this week's Friday Femme Fatale.

i wish i was in san diego...

Ah, Comic Con. How I wish I could attend you.



The Offical Website Of The San Diego Comic Con

Every year the denziens of our nation (and other countries) converge on that California city to engage in general geekdom. ANYTHING you can think of is there? Love obscure anime from the '70s? Check. Want to see panels and presentations for upcoming films like V For Vendetta, Tim Burton's The Corpse Bride, Superman Returns, or the Firefly feature film Serenity? That's going on, complete with cast and crew present. Love shows like The Simpsons, Family Guy, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, or Battlestar Galactica? They've got you covered. Fan of comic books? You don't even want to ask. Other attendees include Kevin Smith, Ray Bradbury, the list is endless. Salivating yet? I thought so. Not to mention the bags and bags of free goodies these studios ply you with. One day...man...one day I'm going. The panel for Serenity and Universal Pictures upcoming horror movie Slither (featuring Nathan Fillion in the lead role) should be almost about to wrap up now. *sigh* Someday, but you know the drill.

well..

Marguerite Moreau is being replaced on FOX's Killer Instinct by Kristin Lehman. So that show went down several pegs in my anticipated fall series list.

I have an outstanding medical bill to pay. I am stretched to the point of zero elasticity in regards to money so I will try, on Friday, to set up some sort of monthly payment to avoid being pursued any further. Hopefully the parties involved will be gracious.



From Netflix, I have received director David Lynch's seminal 1977 film Eraserhead. I have heard many numerous things, from it being a surreal, deeply disturbing oppressive nightmare to it just being boring and uneventful, and I simply cannot wait to devour it. I have been waiting with baited breath for many years to view this movie and was not about to spend $50 at davidlynch.com in order to do so. Luckily, David Lynch has opted to release the film on DVD through proper channels now. So I will most certainly post a review. Look for that sometime this weekend. I plan to post like a mother this weekend. Some movie reviews, other musings, things I notice...it'll all add up, trust me.

Daily Kos is all over Karl "I Should Be In Jail" Rove's leaking of Valerie Plame, Scott McLellan's big tap-dancing/roasting alive by the press corps at The White House yesterday, and various other sundry items in relation. There's also a great article over there about how the RNC is now trying to spin this. Alot of great reading awaits you.

Well, Battlestar Galactica has its second season debut this Friday night at 10PM. It's the only thing I watch on SCI FI. I still have the two-part season one finale to watch.

And over at nin.com the new music video for Nine Inch Nails next single "Only" is now online. It was directed by David Fincher and is very subtle yet very creative.

my thoughts and prayers to the UK...

I sincerely hope all of you across the pond are okay. Today's bombings are horribly tragic and devastating. As Kos of The Daily Kos said so eloquently, today we are all British.


black market wit's femme fatale of the week...







MARGUERITE MOREAU

Marguerite's IMDb page

Marguerite at Wikipedia

She has been on my radar for several years now. I first noticed her in 2001's brilliant comedy Wet Hot American Summer. I then enjoyed her work in Queen Of The Damned and the SCI FI Channel original miniseries Firestarter Rekindled. She was also in Runaway Jury. Most recently she played the lead role in the romantic comedy Easy which I thoroughly enjoyed. Seek it out. I look forward to her work on FOX's Killer Instinct this fall, although its original title Deviant Behavior was much better. She's dyed her hair jet black for the role. I mention this for no reason...nope, it's not because I love black hair on a girl.

Marguerite Moreau is, in my eyes, the one actress in Hollywood who could believably be the girl next door. Check out her resume and her work. You won't be disappointed. She's a goddess and oh so talented. Hopefully The Gate will finally prove to be her breakthrough...that is if FOX doesn't sneeze after three weeks and cancel it.

clothespins and innocents...

Well, well, well...how are you? I am fine. I worked yesterday. Ah, delicious time and a half. How I love you.

Batman Begins - four stars no doubt
War of the Worlds - two and a half stars

Spielberg needs to stop tying all of his movies up with potpourri and a bow. I have no qualms with the ending (it's the same as the novel's) but Spielberg can *NEVER* follow anything through to its natural conclusion.



I've fallen in love with Monk. Tony Shaloub is hysterical and brilliant in the title role. I don't know why I haven't been watching but I'm currently renting the first season and plan to play catch-up.

Tonight a new episode of Stella premieres. MTV offers up MTV's The '70s House. Can today's teenagers survive in a house with only three television channels, a rotary phone, polyester clothes, and songs from the era? I hope that they have a few of the brain dead morons that I deal with in the house. It'll be interesting to see them have a meltdown when they realize that they can't use a cell phone.

Well, The Inside is dead. Head on over to http://www.timminear.net for all of the gory details. FOX can never let a good thing last, now can they? It's a shame too as I've really been enjoying the show.

I am seriously amped up for the season premiere of Battlestar Galactica. I still have last season's two-part season finale to watch and then I'll be all caught up. Remember it's http://www.scifi.com/battlestar for all of your Battlestar Galactica needs.

Hopefully Firefly will kick ratings ass on SCI FI when it re-debuts on July 22nd and they'll push up the release date for Serenity. The first of the three-part comic book series tie-in releases a week from tomorrow. Darn my broke ass!

Karl Rove, You Have The Right To Remain Silent. I'd LOVE to hear those words. Remember, Scott McLellan said that the leaker of Valerie Plame's name should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. Well, let's slap those cuffs on Rove and let him rot in prison, okay Scotty? I know it's tough in front of those hot lights and cameras but at least you'll have your cuddle bunny Jeff Gannon to go home to, right?

femme fatale of the week...





Janeane Garofalo at Wikipedia

Ever since I first started watching her stand-up in the mid '90s, Janeane Garofalo has personified an excellent mixture of comedy and politics into a wonderful and vast career. She is currently the co-host of The Majority Report on Air America Radio and was recently the star of Oxygen's original movie Nadine In Date Land. It was a cable movie that was good! Which never happens. I love her wit, her acerbic nature and any neuroses she may think she has. Janeane Garofalo is a class act and one of the best comedians of the past decade.

when does the bullshit end?!

HONESTLY?!?!?!



That fucking lying sack of shit just keeps trotting out lie after copious lie, sprinkles references to 9/11 which has NOTHING to do with Iraq, and then attaches a crappy recruitment plea at the end. Your lame empty rhetoric is tired and old, asshole. Bring our boys and girls home. Be an actual human being for once...not that you know what that's like...and actually admit your mistakes. Yeah, that'll happen like I'm going to sleep with Angelina Jolie tonight.

And another big fuck you to MSNBC and Chris Matthews. What's a great place to hold a town meeting? A coffee house? A restaurant? An auditorium? NOPE. Not in GE's opinion. Nope, let's hold it at a Baptist church in Nashville, TN! Yeah, that's really fucking objective! Why not hold it at RNC headquarters?! One of these military wives was scary. If ever you saw Melanie Hutsell on "SNL" in the early '90s, you've got some idea. It was all a big fucking show, with a guy screaming that senators need to go to Fallujah and see that morale's not down among the troops, and all of these wives of soldiers who "don't care if this thing goes another twelve years." And then they throw a bone to two Muslim women who were very cogent, concise, intelligent, and informed. They expressed to this close-minded group that all Muslims aren't terrorists and that bloodshed cannot bring peace. But then the Bush lovefest rolled on. These two wonderful women were the *ONLY* counterpoint in the room! Fuck you MSNBC! And if you don't have Rachel Maddow on The Situation with Tucker Carlson tomorrow night (since you don't have the balls to do so tonight), I'm going to be pissed. Mike Malloy will be on Air America Radio in eight minutes and I simply CANNOT wait to hear him roast this fucking hypocrite and his blind followers to shreds.

Sleater-Kinney "Entertain" music video

Good music is good food.

And now, without further ado, I belatedly present this week's femme fatale of the week...






PARKER POSEY

Parker Posey's bio at Wikipedia

She first came to prominence in the 1995 indie film Party Girl and quickly cemented herself as a terrific actress. Far too many publications deem her the "Queen of Indie" but Parker is able enough for any role, be it a small arthouse flick or as queen of the vampires in Blade Trinity or in the upcoming Bryan Singer summer blockbuster Superman Returns. Parker Posey is immensely talented and is one of my favorite actresses. Some standout work she's done is showcased in such films as The House of Yes, Dazed and Confused (where I first saw her), and her brilliant job in the Christopher Guest mockumentaries Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show.

so...

I'm currently listening to an archived edition of today's Morning Sedition. I'm off from work today to accomodate a co-worker who has another job. I'll be picking up her Friday morning shift. We get paid that day and we badly need some grub in this house! Mother Hubbard's not the only one to find the cupboard bare, let me tell you.

Well that was rather lovely. Brunch, that is.

Head on over to http://www.serenitymovie.com to discover that Serenity has received a PG-13 rating. Hopefully this means that the marketing will be ratcheting up and we might be getting an earlier release date.

I saw George A. Romero's Land Of The Dead last Saturday night with two friends. One of them was nice enough to pay my way but we had to put up with an entire back row of fucking Neanderthals who thought any and everything was funny. Managers kept having to come in. One of my friends and a friend he'd bought left. My other friend James who'd graciously paid for me stayed, as did I. He got a refund afterwards.

Yesterday, through one of my connections, I saw the film again with my mother. It was a much better experience, although the fuckers playing with their cell phones during the trailers (*ESPECIALLY* Serenity). Look, you're at the movie. Drop the goddamn technology and pretend that there's something more important than your social life for more than fifteen fucking minutes.

Wednesday brings the release of War of the Worlds. Mr. Cruise, shut your cult-loving ass up please. And your publicity stunt romance isn't helping matters. And for all of you dream-loving, starry-eyed young ladies who feel that I'm crazy and that Tom Cruise would love nothing more than to explore the vast expanse of your loins, just stop it. These ladies think that there's simply NO WAY that he can be gay. Hell, I'd never given it much thought until recently. But all of these incidents are pretty peculiar. So for all of you females out there constructing vast fantasies involving Tom Cruise, I have two words for you: Rock Hudson. And two more: Cesar Romero. And another two: Robert Reed. So stop pretending and face reality. I'll still see the movie. I'm hearing it's dark Spielberg, not sappy Spielberg, which is aces in my column.

Tonight at 8 the lying monkey will stand in front of soldiers at Fort Bragg, NC and attempt to pretend like Iraq is a magical land where unicorns will flourish and many will swim in peaceful rainbow rivers if only we stay there for another century. Wrong again, asshole.

Then after you've laughed your ass off, tune in to laugh even harder as Comedy Central premieres, at 10:30PM...

http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/stella/index.jhtml

STELLA



Head on over to http://www.stellacomedy.com

The three gentlemen above started out on MTV's The State sketch comedy show. If you've never seen, I'd hate to be you and I'm sorry. The new series, based on their comedy troupe of the same name, follows the three guys as they get into all sorts of weird and wacky misadventures. One television critic likens the series to "The Marx Brothers on acid". All three met at NYU 17 years ago and started performing as Stella in New York in 1997 and embarked on a sold-out tour in 2003.

Well, USA Network is changing its on-air look, logo, and tagline.



USA: Characters Welcome

It looks a bit Picasso-esque, don't you think? In any case, I'm glad to see the tired flag logo being retired. It was due for a new look. Now if only they can stop airing insipid Adam Sandler comedies and Meet the Parents ad nauseum and start investing money in more original programming and series and blending that with movies new to their network, that'd be swell. Don't get me started on SCI FI. Besides Battlestar Galactica, that channel's dead to me. Until they start firing corporate executives left and right (namely the evil, evil, Bonnie Hammer), SCI FI's doomed to be the antithesis of what its namesake states.

Well, dinner's on.

This is black market wit's femme fatale of the week




ALANIS MORISSETTE

This girl helped provide the soundtrack of my adolescence. I cannot count the number of times that I played jagged little pill. I also bought the follow-up Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie. She is a divine beauty, a true wordsmith, and one of the best musicians of our times. I plan to pick up her more recent albums, Under Rug Swept and So-Called Chaos ASAP. Her new album is a tenth anniversary re-recording called jagged little pill acoustic. The title says it all. It's currently being sold exclusively at Starbucks but will be released everywhere in mid-July.

Alanis's bio is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alanis_Morissette

Sorry for the lapse in posting. I shall, as always, strive for punctuality.

My review of Batman Begins is forthcoming.

Bill Press will be starting his own liberal talk show called "The Bill Press Show" on SIRIUS Talk Left 143 on June 27th. The show will originate from the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C. Christie Harvey from that organization will be his co-host. "The Bill Press Show" will air from 6-9AM Monday-Friday. Congratulations to Bill and I look forward to hearing his show.

I watched Once Upon A Time In America and Criminal this weekend. Both were striking and well-made. I now need to see more Leone films. Criminal is a remake of a film that was made in Argentina called Nine Queens.

I've become addicted to this show on ESPN Classic called Cheap Seats.



It's two comedian brothers, the always hilarious Sklar Brothers (Jason & Randy). Basically the show is a half-hour version of MST3K using crappy sporting events from ABC and ESPN's deep vaults. If ever you get the chance check it out. Heck, the gang from MST3K even showed up on one episode to heckle the Sklars!

http://www.cheapseats.tv

Well, TiVo beckons.

The Dark Knight has returned!...

I will be seeing this at 5:05 tomorrow afternoon and I CANNOT wait! THIS is the most anticipated movie of the summer for me and I will most definitely post a review ASAP. I even took the day off. I'll be working on Friday, a day usually off for me, to make up the hours.

Well even though I watched it before work this morning, Netflix is sending me A Dirty Shame, John Waters' new movie. I didn't know I'd get to watch it today. In any case, it's the original NC-17 version (we have the rated R version at work) and my mother hasn't seen it so I guess I'll let her watch it. And it'd be nice to actually sit down and watch it without work distractions.

The Machinist is winging its way towards me! Netflix sent it Monday so hopefully it'll be in the mail tomorrow. One can hope anyway.

TiVo has become a fall's harvest worth of television bounty. I really need to get around to watching it all.

Head on over to Ain't It Cool News.

They have all the details on just how bad Fox is planning to ruin X-Men 3.

At MSN Movies, they have a link for Jim Jarmusch's upcoming Bill Murray film Broken Flowers. It looks suitably quirky and I look forward to seeing it.

The heat here is going to become depressingly opressive. It's simply disgusting! The high tomorrow is forecast to be 96 degrees! Air-conditioned movie theater, bucket of popcorn, and soda, here I come!

If you get IFC, then by all means be on the lookout for Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession. It's a fascinating look at an innovative pay cable network in L.A. in the late '70s-mid '80s. Check it out.

I think I'll also see Mr. & Mrs. Smith this weekend as I keep hearing stellar things, both from film critics and friends.

see this guy?...

He's not the manager of a restaurant. He's not some black sheep cousin kept locked in a back bedroom somewhere. He's Howard Dean. The Democratic National Committee Chairman. Got that, Nancy Pelosi? Joe Biden? John Edwards? Bill Richardson? So stop with the fucking parlor games like he's your twelve year old son who just ruined your dinner party. The more you act like insolent little milquetoasts the more the rabid Republicans fall all over themselves pronouncing the demise of the Democratic party. So grow a fucking spine and start acting intelligent.

Dean is doing what needs to be done, behind the scenes, to ensure the party doesn't fly right off the tracks. Act locally, think locally. In order to win, we've got to show up. And guess what? That means IN RED STATES also. Those who can't see the forest for the trees need to shut up and fast.

__________________________________________________________

Well, we have DIRECTV. My IR cable came in the mail yesterday so I can now use my TiVo with my DIRECTV receiver. Joy.

Tuesday our computers at work stopped working. We were closed until 2PM. Our manager was working with me and she did not want us open while we were having technical difficulties. Cut to Wednesday. She's out of town. The computers are down yet again. One of our senior assistant managers was working with me. So we followed her instructions. We waited and did not open the store. Technicians came to look at our system. They had to leave and pick up a part at the airport. Said part could take a long time to arrive. Another manager called and wondered why we weren't running manually(!). You know, as in...write down all the transactions, etc. We explained our manager's instructions. So lo and behold, our district manager who's in Memphis for a conference calls and basically tells our senior AM to go manual. Our senior AM left messages on our manager's cell phone telling her how his hand was being forced. God forbid we lose several hours of money! So we were manual for about an hour, then the techs returned and balance was quickly restored an hour and a half later but not before we had to check in and run an obscene amount of DVDs, VHS tapes, and games. So we finally opened with all systems running at 5PM. Let's just say Wednesday was hellish and I had a few choice expletives I was eager to try out. And when our manager returns, she will be twelve kinds of hot over this, mark my words.

walmartmovie.com is the website for director Robert Greenwald's latest documentary Wal-Mart: The High Price of Low Cost. It will FINALLY shed some light on just how evil Wal-Mart is, from their predatory business practices to their anti-union, anti-employee policies.

with further ado i present to you...

this week's black market wit friday femme fatale...



MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL

Check out Maggie's bio at http://www.wikipedia.org

Her resume at IMDb is located at http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0350454

She's an awesome actress who always embues each character she portrays with just the right amount of pathos, exuberance, and emotion. Maggie Gyllenhaal is one of, or dare I say, is the biggest actress around in my eyes. I'd rather watch Maggie in a scene than the same old boring Nicole Kidman movie with all of its mundane minutae.

Maggie Gyllenhaal has two new movies coming soon...Happy Endings and The Great New Wonderful. I am really looking forward to seeing what's in store for Maggie Gyllenhaal and I can't wait to watch her career flourish.

Well, I goofed (I forgot to add Dead End to its proper place in my queue) and so I *WILL* be getting this from Netflix. Oh well...it's about time I became more well-versed on Bergman and from my understanding this is a great place to start.