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Or are other people excited that the national spelling bee is on in prime time tonight? 

 From kazzy_cee & others

 There's a new reality show premiering tomorrow night at 9.  On the DISCOVERY Channel.  Seriously???  Is reality TV now a social science programming option?  Anyway, it's called 'Last One Standing', and you can find more information about it here.

I'm creeped, though.  Documentaries about Atlantis are as close to 'reality TV' as I want my educational cable channels to go.

Since I was essentially hand-less this week, I spent a lot of time on the couch, watching TV.  And handling the remote very carefully.  

I got utterly sucked into the mini-series 'The Company', about the early days of the CIA.  Also, a wonderfull bit of fluff on BBC America called Hotel Babylon.  Bonus for BtVS fans, Hotel Babylon features Anthony Stewart Head in the second episode, as a suicidal composer/jingle writer.  He sings and plays piano.  It was good to see him. Oh, and now I must find the 2007 BBC version of Persuasion, because I really loved that book, and he's in that as well.

Watched an ep of the new Dr. Who, finally, and liked that quite a bit.  I'm excited for Torchwood to start showing in my neck of the woods.  I caught up on all the episodes of Psych I hadn't watched yet this season (all of them), and I remembered just how much I love that show.  It's a brilliant little show, and features Dule Hill, whom I have a massive crush on going back to The West Wing.

I watched a couple of westerns on Turner Classic Movies, including 'Shane', which was oft-quoted in my office when our old IT manager Shane left the firm.  It was okay, but I found the little kid so annoying it was hard to concentrate on much else... Especially once you factored in the large amount of Benadryl I was on at the time.  The annoying kid worked a LOT, 43 film and TV appearances, according to IMDB.

I watched the first 4 episodes of Damages, and I'm still not sure how I feel about it.  The timeline jumping was getting to me, I think.  I'll give it another couple of viewings before I give up completely, though.  If only to support Glenn Close.

Anyone else seen good stuff lately?  Excited for the fall TV season?  Wanna make cancellation bets?

But I'm gonna do it anyway.  Here is a chart/thing I found, with major network TV shows which are not being renewed for next season.  I'm gonna bold all of the ones I've watched, then check the ones I'll miss.  For no real reason, just because I hear so much about all the good stuff on TV, then half the time I'm not impressed.

Not Returning

20 Good Years (NBC) 3 lbs (CBS) According To Jim (ABC) Andy Barker, P.I. (NBC) The Apprentice (NBC) (? Maybe, NBC says it might be back after all) Big Day (ABC) Black Donnellys, The (NBC) Crossing Jordan (NBC) Day Break (ABC) Drive (FOX) x Extreme Makeover (ABC) George Lopez (ABC) Gilmore Girls (CW) Grease: You’re the One That I Want (NBC) Great American Dream Vote, The (ABC) Happy Hour (FOX) Help Me Help You (ABC) Identity (NBC) In Case of Emergency (ABC) Justice (FOX) Kidnapped (NBC) King of Queens (CBS) The Nine (ABC) The O.C. (FOX) Raines (NBC) Real Wedding Crashers, The (NBC) The Rich List (FOX) Runaway (CW) Seventh Heaven (CW) Show Me The Money (ABC) Six Degrees (ABC) Smith (CBS) Standoff (FOX) Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (NBC) x Thank God You’re Here (NBC) Vanished (FOX) The Wedding Bells (FOX) What About Brian (ABC)  Not on this list, though I've heard rumours they will not be back, are Jericho and Veronica Mars.  I've watched both pretty faithfully, but I'd miss Jericho a heck of a lot more.

Better late than never, I suppose.  

Dinner went well.  Some of the people who RSVP'd were put off by the snow'en'ice, and declined last minute; others showed up last minute when other plans fell through, so we actually had more people than we'd counted on.  The food was good, conversation was interesting, if a bit strange with a different mix of people there.  All in all, a pleasant evening.

The cold from hell decided to make it's presence felt at work on Wednesday, and kept me home Thursday, where I spent most of the day on the couch under two blankets watching DVR'd shows that have been on past my bedtime (about 10) since I've been sick.  Today (Friday) the boss was out, and I was still miserable, but I went in, anyway.  I got yet another decongestant on my way in this morning, and it seems to be helping more than the one I've been using, although tomorrow I may take both of them.  One of the women in my office has been in the hospital with phneumonia, and I now live in fear of the head cold turning into a chest cold.

So, other than illness and the dinner, nothing exciting the last couple of days.  Better luck tomorrow, when I spend another day attempting to put together Chapter 11 of FAA.  Cheers!

I've been organizing my CD's, in anticipation of the big move coming up, so I've taken out a few of the oldies but goodies.  No clue why ABBA gets such a bad rap.  I mean, sure, it's not Mozart; or the Beatles for that matter; but as far as dance-pop goes, it's good.  

In other music news, I was pleasantly surprised by original song night on Nashville Star.  Last season, most of the songs really sucked. Really, REALLY sucked.  This year, even the songs written by the people I didn't like were good.  Who knew the non-threatening male of the group had such unexplored depths?  He did a great job, the boy has a bright future as a song writer, even if I still don't think he deserves a record deal.

I also caught up on Rome today (gotta love on-demand).  I love that show, I don't know why the press on it isn't better.  Guess it has something to do with the fact that it's ancient history.  Silly viewing public.  Attia is such a great character, she's like the ultimate soap opera villian.  And I love the fact that you can recognize some of the characters from how their names survived history, and see them grow into the people we remember.  I'm really looking forward to Marc Antoni going to Egypt.  He's on such a downward spiral right now, to see that relationship develop will be interesting...Even if I do already know how it ends.

My brother got his marching orders this week, so to speak.  He's in the Army in Korea right now, and he and his wife and my lovely nice are due back in the states in the spring.  Well, this week they blocked his exit from the service.  So he's not out in October, he's in for another 3 years.  Heather and Merae will be back stateside, though, so it increases his chances of being sent to Iraq.  My mother keeps saying that if he'd really wanted out he would have found a way, but I think she just wants to think that.  I've heard stories about people being called back up after being out for over a year, so why would they let him out, since he's highly trained and still in shape and under orders.

It's scary, though, the thought that he could die before Merae grows up.  I've known he would enter the military since I was in college, long before he even thought about it, but it's still scary to think about my baby brother going into a war zone.  He just turned 21, he's really too young to have a baby, let alone be dying.  But I know I have to think about it, because if it does happen I'll have to hold my Mom up.  I love my Dad more than anything, but he's not capable of being depressed and taking care of anyone at the same time.  He can't take care of himself very well in a crisis.

We haven't had to think much about something happening to Mike in Korea, because even with the political stuff going on over there right now, the DMZ is pretty quiet.  If he ends up in Iraq or Afghanistan, it'll be a lot worse to think about.  I'm not really used to him being in danger.  Well, unless he was driving.  His driving is dangerous.

So, that's all the news around here today.  I'm hoping I can wrest control of the TV from everyone else in my apartment sometime this weekend, and get Chapter 11 of FAA banged out.  More cleaning, and likely making sauce tomorrow.  More latah!