if only i could be quirky too...

Quirk Books, a Philadelphia-based publishing company, has a really cool website. But sadly, *sniff sniff*, they're not hiring.

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

A horrid sort of link, in the best sort of way! A very very cool site devoted to the movie incarnation of the wickedly funny book series. It looks gorgeous and diabolical and lovely. Squee! And the trailer is extremely cool, using the Edward Scissorhand and Addams Family scores (as is utterly appropriate...)

I'm going to go off and drool now... squee!

first night of daily show convention coverage

The Daily Show does it again. Their coverage of the convention is absolutely hilarious and continues all this week. My personal favorite moment so far: Clinton's speech in support of Kerry, likening him to a savvy ship captain that can handle rough waters. Stewart continues with the metaphor:

...saying ahoy to prosperity while ending economic scurvy with the oranges of fiscal responsibility...arg!...

Hee. Took a page out of the "Start the Revolution Without Me" writer's book. Let us compare, shall we, taking the voice-over that sets-up the background of the French Revolution:

Paris, France, 1789. Thirty years later, under the reign of Louis XVI, longstanding grievances between aristocrat and peasant were about to boil over. The pot in which these troubles boiled was kindled with the firewood of oppression and injustice and heated by the flames that sucked the air from gasping peasants. Would the pot cool off, would it merely simmer, or would it boil over in the kitchen of France-- to stain the floor of history forever?

Hee.

harry potter 6 title ruminations

So everyone knows by now that #6 is "HP and the Half-Blood Prince." And so, who is this HBP? We know from Ms. Rowling herself that it is not Harry and not Tom Riddle/Voldemort. But here's food for thought:

Candidates for the HBP:

1. Neville Longbottom. I think it's assumed that Sybil Trelawney's predictions are going to play a role in the eventual downfall of Voldie, and that that event will no doubt occur in Book 7. Rowling has gone on the record saying that Book 6 and Book 7 are really two halves of one story, so 6 and the HBP will no doubt be instrumental in setting up the last battle. If Sybil is to be believed, and Harry may or may not die when Voldemort does, then the vanquisher is Neville. We know little about his background, other than the fact that his parents are crazy and once were Aurors. I've always had a soft spot for the little guy and he seems to be getting the clumsiness under control in OotP. Maybe he grows up in Book 6 to become the strong, silent, heartthrob? Like a wizard Clark Kent?

2. Severus Snape. As my mother keeps telling me, "By the end of this, he'll come out smelling like roses." And so he should, since he's so cool. ;) (Says the totally biased Snape-fan.) But like Neville, we know nothing of his background, but those deep dark secrets are coming slowly to light, also see OotP. (Though I bet he's a pure-blood- or did I read that somewhere? He's sneaky though, I can see him persuading people that he is one thing and not another.) Wishful thinking for more Snape involvement in the books...

3. A yet-to-be-introduced character. The new DADA professor, perhaps?

4. Possibly someone from Sirius' past, family, or Sirius himself. (There are those who believe that he is still alive- wouldn't you think anything was possible in the Ministry of the Mysteries?)

5. "Prince" implies a dimunitive, a second in command to the king. Peter Pettigrew, then?? Switches sides once again?

Then there's always the Anthem Book Blog's idea. ;P

do not disturb the squirrels

A nature reserve near Liverpool, NW England, contains a $46,000 engagement ring, belonging to the fiancee of soccer star Wayne Rooney.A statement was issued asking people not to search for the ring so that the 300 squirrels of the reserve are not disturbed.

Yet another example of people's overwhelming concern for squirrel populations and not humans. Sounds just like Ameritech telling me that they couldn't fix the phone line because the squirrels were on it. (True story; apparently while they handle other technical difficulties, they don't handle 'squirrels on the line.' Yes, because that would be horrible, wouldn't it? Inconveniencing the bloody squirrels.)

the bond rumor mill in full swing

Another little treat from Empire: Pierce Brosnan "has hung up his Walther PPK" and said adieu to the successful franchise, claiming that Die Another Day was his final performance as secret agent James Bond.

Right. Didn't we go through this before with Bond 21? And wasn't there that awful petition that clogged up my junk mail folders for months trying to get him reinstated, and then the silly thing worked? There is, of course, speculation that this is a roundabout way of renegotiating a salary contract (isn't it always?), or that TPTB are concerned about his age (51 and the clock's ticking-- he didn't look up to his usual standards in the last one, age had indeed caught up), or similiarly TPTB were pissy with his desire to radically shake up the character with Tarantino in the director's chair (the girls and gadgets thing is a bit tired, not to mention campy; it does need a shot in the arm, but not necessarily an epipherin shot to the chest a la Tarantino.)

Yet the can of worms has been opened and all those sexy young hopefuls are on the forefront again. Let's dissect them, shall we?

1. Hugh Jackman. They've talked about him since he broke out as Wolverine. He's sexy, can handle the violence, and with a little help, the Aussie accent becomes British. However, he already has one franchise under his belt; carrying another could be problematic, if not impossible.

2. Clive Owen. The proclaimed front runner. He certainly has the intensity and powerful presence that we've come to associate with the character of Bond, James Bond, but he's also come out several times that he would never play such a tired role and has no interest in the franchise. (Not to mention that he can take the poker-face expressionless thing to extremes; he might as well have been a statue in King Arthur.)

3. Eric Bana. I really don't know why he's listed. He's Australian and a brunette, but that's it. (I have been told that he's considered very sexy but I don't see it. I really don't. Ick. Ick. Ick. And after Troy, I'm not very certain he can act, either.)

Double ick. (For good measure.)

4. Colin Firth. A solid British heart-throb, to be sure, and a great actor. But Bond? The edginess simply isn't there- not to mention that Firth is (I think) the oldest contender being considered. If Brosnan's too old at 51, and if all the films take this damn long to produce, he'd be lucky if he gets two done. (Another George Lazenby, perhaps?)

5. Steve Rider and Boris Johnson. Two guys who are mentioned in the above article. I've googled them: they don't exist. They're at the very beginning of their careers- it would be a chance of gargatuan proportions to entrust the franchise to an untested unknown. (Even Pierce had Remington Steele under his belt before he made Goldeneye.)

6. Gerard Butler. AKA the guy in Tomb Raider 2. (Didn't see it; can't comment on acting skills.) But he does look pretty. And apparently he's the new Phantom of the Opera.

7. Heath Ledger. You've got to be kidding me, right? Sure, the tweens will go wild, but still, you've got to be kidding me, right?

8. Jude Law. I think all of his tiny perfect bones would shatter into a million zillion little pieces if he got near an explosion, much less had to run from one. No, Law belongs in dramas where he can be michieviously snarky and have other people do the dirty work for him.

9. Hugh Grant. Now you're just being silly. (And I am a fan of his.)

10. Ewan McGregor. A puzzling one. He is a great actor, can sing (not that James Bond is known for breaking out into song but it's still a fact, the man has a great voice), can do the physical stuff, is quite the hottie, but would he do it? One cannot rely on his kids' persuasion as George Lucas did for the SW prequels. Hmmm... puzzling.

11. Ioan Griffudd. (My personal favorite, best for last.) AKA Horatio Hornblower in the A&E series, or Lancelot in King Arthur. A Welsh heartthrob, like Connery once was (or according to some, still is), a young, good-looking strong actor who's done action, comedy and drama. Not well-known enough to create havoc with viewer's ideas, but not a novice. Utterly fantastic and perfect.

(I did mention I was extremely biased, right?);)

cunning or clownish?

Empire reveals that Ken Branagh joins the cast of MI:3, solidfying the bizarre truth that successful Shakespearean British actors always cave into Hollywood-produced action films against their better judgement. (Okay, mostly against their better judgement. Ian McKellen has been doing very well for himself, and manages to do justice to the "Sir" with his villianously urbane mutant character Eric Lensherr/Magneto. But really, Ben Kingsley... Thunderbirds ??)

An excerpt:

...but given that this is an American action film he will either be playing a bumbling fool or a cunning villain – and having played the clown in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets our money is on criminal mastermind this time.

How true. (God help me, I thought he was bloody fantastic as Gilderoy Lockhart. I'm already counting down to went they adapt OotP so that I can see him again...) Isn't that rather sad that it's one or the other, and not some bizarre third option? Well, here's to hoping that it's a performance worthy of Jeremy Irons a la DH3. (hmmm... British villians and trequels... there might be something in that...) ;)

you knew they would

CSI made whole again- Fox and Eads are reinstated by a tight-fisted and triumphant CBS. Jerry, Jerry, Jerry- it's the last season, anyhow. But good luck with getting any of your principles to do commentary on the last round of DVDs; at this rate it'll be just Brass...

bush and kerry dance to woody guthrie... and other political nonsense

As I wait with baited breath for the Daily Show's coverage of the Democratic Convention, an alternative source for political humor reared its head thanks to JibJab and their fantastic new animation, "This Land." Mildly disturbing, to be sure, but funny as all heck. Apparently, even MSNBC is picking this stuff up, it's so good.

vocalization speculation

Perhaps boring, meaningless and filled with gobbledegook for those not familiar with epigraphy, but still very interesting: an old set of list posts from Rostau listmembers that discuss Ancient Egyptian transliteration issues.

...

okay, so only *I* and the crazy people that post to such things find it interesting, but that's neither here nor there. A delightful find of yesterday's while I was working on transliterating some names for some friends- a phoentic and messy business- and had to explain the vileness of following the poorly set out guidelines of P22's Hieroglyphic font (meaning no disrepect, I use the font all the time. But the values they assign glyphs are wrong just wrong.)

another sad addiction...

This morning was supposed to have been devoted to finally designing those sample books that I've had on the "to-do list" since two weeks ago... but J.K.Rowling Official Site tempted me away from the path of goodness. A really neat little site-- I can't believe I haven't found it before today (tsk tsk)-- and very time-consuming in finding all the hidden things...

Very weird things happen if you're there on the changing of the hour- or maybe it just happens at 12:00 noon, but still... .

And the sixth book for all those curious is entitled "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." (The Half-Blood Prince is *not* Harry Potter or Voldemort/Tom Riddle, the website is quick to point out.)

those crazy eBay users

One of Dave Barry's alert readers picked up this hot news item: a woman who bought a toaster for $20 at a garage sale just sold it for over $5000 on eBay to a fanatical toaster collector. It takes all kinds, doesn't it? And there's the proof.

eric conveys an emotion

This is one funny, if pointless site. Personal favs include Stressed Out, Working on a Tech Support Line and Answering Your 500th Call of Someone Who Claims He Can't Send Email, My Foot is On Fire!, Done with Finals, Hamster in Underpants, Discovering Cameron Diaz in your Closet, Procrastination #2, Running With Scissors, Magic Trick Gone Horribly Wrong, and Mauled by A Dog.

Most are reassurances that you're not the only one who went beserk when technology failed you and/or people you relied on were stupid. Others are delightfully not what you'd expect- see Mauled by A Dog.

Apparently, there's a long list of requests for his emotion-rendering services. Personally, I'm looking forward to Enraged Thoughtfulness and Existential Meaninglessness.... though how he'll pull that off is anyone's guess at this point.

caught: a heartfelt apology

A heartfelt apology must go out to the brilliant minds of Foreword, whose interesting links were double-posted here in recent days without attribution to their source. (Yes, sadly, I'm not that smart. But I am contrite. Mea culpa, errare humanum est, et non fiam eum rursum.) Picasso once said, "Good artists create, great artists steal" ...

oh, I'll just shut up already. ;) much apologies, guys and gals.

what is a "ziering"?

Finally, a name for Michael Richard's plight. A Ziering, named after once upon a time TV actor Ian Ziering, who hasn't worked in live-action since 90210 got cancelled, is the actor or actress from a once-upon-a-time successful television show whose career dies along with the program. (Yes, they give examples.)

As with all things that originate at Mighty Big TV, now Television Without Pity, it should be taken with the proverbial grain of salt and the requisite opinionated and biased response. ;) Most, I grant them. However. Of all of the Friends alumni, why pick on poor Courteney Cox? Kelsey Grammar is singled out for playing the same character on two different shows, so that would mean that, wait for it, Matt le Blanc would in fact be the Ziering for Friends. He's certainly not very talented, and hasn't made a splash in any movie, tv or otherwise, outside of Friends.

Several shows aren't listed, but I've got some speculation for you:

West Wing-- I'm betting Bradley Whitford or Richard Schiff. Janney has been acknowledged as the break-out, Spencer always turns up somewhere, Hill's young enough that it won't matter, and Sheen's got the legend thing on his side.

ER- how about Noah Wyle, that long-suffering doctor that never left with all his original cast members?

The X-Files- I almost hate to admit it, but David Duchovny, where are you now? Nowhere, sadly.

As for the 80s- Remington Steele and Stephanie Zimbalist's career died in the same breath, as did Moonlighting and Cybil Shepard's. (Playing yourself on an ill-fated sitcom years later does not count as a career, it's a desperate cry for help, even if you've got the exquisite Christine Baranski as a sidekick.)

There's more... I know there's more...

the many lives of catwoman

Or a dozen reasons why the new movie will suck. An explanation of the history of the character reveals that she used to be ten times cooler than her present reincarnation of ancient cat goddess worshipper/graphic designer. (Please. And then roaming around in that costume? Ms. Berry, we thought you were smart. Give the Oscar back, right now.) Michelle Pfeiffer will be the definitive movie-inception of the character, as well she should be.

Though the history reveals a much more enticing version of the Catwoman- aka Marguerite Tone, bored socialite thief, a female Thomas Crown, if you will. (And you knew her name would be Marguerite. Had to be. Sexy, immoral female character- that's her name. It should be a well-known cliche by now.) Now that would have been a movie worth seeing.

If you could only have five typefaces...

AIGA posits the question and if Ellen L. can answer, so can I. ;) 1. Caslon 2. Adobe Garamond. 3. Franklin Gothic. 4. Akzidenz Grotesk. 5. Joanna.

Such a lot of Bembo, Baskerville and Helvetica worship- doesn't need to be added to. Bembo and Baskerville I understand, but Helvetica is just overrated. Tony Rifka can keep it and slobber on it- both Helvetica and Helvetica Neue.

eighties movie songs

Because, apparently, IMDb people have nothing better to do (and we don't), they're polling for the most definitive movie songs from the 1980's. Votes have been pretty well-spread out- and the front runners are well-deserved- until you reach ninth place: the enigmatic Other, which must stand for all that they've overlooked. Where is Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes" from Say Anything...? Where is Carly Simon's "Let the River Run" from Working Girl? Or Kenny Loggins' "I'm Alright" from Caddyshack? Not up to your usual standards, IMDb.

you are getting very sleepy

From Hardac, A Book to Open, with photos and ideas by Will Calcutt. It's creepy, but exactly what one would expect of a Beginner's Guide to Hypnosis. It reminds me a great deal of some old movie- could be Hitchcock, though it might be an episode of the X-Files- where they fixed the lighting to only reveal the hypnotist's eyes... The Stupendous Yappi, perhaps?

Eh, the brain's getting addled. Better to just go back to designing, and the answer will come while kerning. ;)

restored timeline from veer's skinny

A slightly trippy look at the history of political parties in America from Washington to Harrison, originally made in 1894 and recently restored. Somewhere around Lincoln, things get really complex and very similar to some kind of subway map. Seems like someone was in desperate need of their copy of Tufte.

antichrist photo album

Beware the Vatican Soup of the Day. For all those who think that following the Pope will lead to bad things, find your kindred spirits at this website. Very silly and funny look at papal goings-on as a type of devil worship. And would you believe, the site was recommended by a priest?

robotjohnny speaks out

RobotJohnny.com has just affirmed my rant this morning, and man oh man, does it feel nice to be vindicated. A little snippet, for all my fellow insurrectionists- we're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore!!

Tell your parents, “No! I will not go blind if I keep doing it!”
Tell your teacher, “No! I will not abandon the use of the serial comma!”
Tell your boss, “No! I will not come in on time”
Tell your art director, “No! I will not make the logo any bigger, thank-you very much!”
Tell your government, “Yes! I will marry my lesbian partner with my top off while smoking marijuana on the way to have an abortion at the government-run free clinic!”

Right on, man. And to all naysayers, beware of uppity women. We're coming for you. hee.

fear of the opinionated

In an election year, of all times, it should be okay to speak out about the President and political issues. Sure, there's always going to be some jokes, some tasteful, some not so much, to deflate the huge egos of Washington. They should be used to this. As far as Michael Moore is concerned, they should know that he is relentless and liberal, and has very little compunction about speaking out and delineating a politician's faults to their face and on camera. And they should also know by now that a lot of people support him in his causes. Like Linda Ronstadt, for example, who recommended his film "Farenheit 9/11" to her audience at her Vegas show.

For simply recommending Moore and his film, pandemonium ensued- cocktails flew, people booed and walked out, and Ronstadt was summarily fired, not even allowed to return to her luxury dressing room after the show. Um, what was that little right of all US citizens... I think it was the first one, something about free speech? It is utterly ridiculous that such behavior should be tolerated-- we all, every last one of us, has the right to speak their mind, even if you're a Neo-Nazi. Whoopi Goldberg makes a joke and she's also recently unemployed (comediannes telling off-color jokes, what is the world coming to??).

People, exercise your right to speak out, and all you who don't like it, grow a thicker skin and speak out too. You don't have to like what's being said, but people should be allowed to speak their minds without fear of a disproportionate response, like losing their livelihood or their lives.

Recall Sorkin's "American President" and his big, end of movie, dramatic moment speech:

You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil who is standing center stage advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours.

beware of the vile word generator

Now I realize that understanding Egyptian hieroglyphics is a bit of a job, especially if you've never been instructed in it (and for that matter, EVEN if you're instructed in it). I don't admit to being a super-epigrapher, but I have, you know, actually translated things and know the limited version of the Egyptian alphabet. Owing to the ancient's lack of vowels, not to mention their lack and over-abundance of certain consonants, no doubt it is hard to create something that generates words from English, which is in no way a Semetic language, in a matter of seconds. Yet, they try, don't they?

Do not go to this site expecting an accurate rendering of your name or whatever word you'd like to see written in glyphs. For example, I entered "chris" which should have been easy. (Break it down phoentically- kris- the k sound is a small basket, the r is an open mouth symbol, the i loosely interpreted is the single reed leaf, and the "tall s" sign which is a folded bolt of cloth.) Instead of that, I received a hodge-podge of glyphs which would be pronouced: senedge-hirepes.

From what I can tell, they've mis-appropriated the "p" glyph as the way to show the vowel "i" since they swapped the reed leaf to portray "e", are using only the bolt "s", and somehow have replaced the real "r" glyph with the eye. Such utter crap.

harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban

Saw Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban for the second time the other night. Still a hot movie, apparently, the theater was almost as full as it had been opening weekend. Hunh. Anyway, presenting the highs and lows of the 3rd installment:

PROS:

1. A casting triumph once more with the always wonderful Emma Thompson as the addle-minded Divination teacher Sybil Trelawney, the earnest David Thewlis as the shaggy and understanding new DADA teacher Remus Lupin, the very talented Timothy Spall as the vermin-ish Peter Pettigrew, and the always intense Gary Oldman in a fabulously michievous turn as escaped prisoner Sirius Black. Thewlis hits all the right notes as a mentor for Harry and as the only DADA teacher the kids of Hogwarts ever respected. Thompson very nearly steals the movie with her goofy portrayal of Trelawney- I laughed so hard I cried when she asked after Neville's grandmother (..."Pity.") And Oldman played my long-time fav. Sirius just as he was meant to be portrayed. His confrontation with Alan Rickman's Snape is absolutely priceless ("Why don't you go off and play with your chemistry set?")

2. Cinematography. New at the helm, Alfonso Cuaron brings all the prettiness of his other movies (most notably his adaptation of Great Expectations ) into the HP franchise. Hogwarts never looked so good.

3. John Williams score. Everybody realizes the second movie was repetitious of the first, as far as music was concerned. Finally, Williams has treated us to something new- especially in the Double Trouble song adapted from Macbeth and used within the film's trailers.

4. V. V. cool credits. People at Visual FX, I salute you. The coolest credits I've seen all summer, hands down. The Marauders Map is simply beautiful and all the tiny touches (like making the footprints bigger when Robbie Coltrane's credit comes on screen) make it divine.

5. Hurrah for the supporting characters! Neville was given more of his proper due, showing that that young actor certainly has a gift for comedy. The Weasley family outdid themselves once more, especially the hijinks of Fred and George. Not to mention Percy's whining "Move out of the way, I'm Head Boy!" which unfortunately, almost gets overshadowed by the plight of the Fat Lady.

6. Alan Rickman's Snape. As ever, coolness itself to the point of sheer iciness. From his half-hearted clapping for Lupin at the grand feast, to his stalking the corridors at night, to the bravura performances upon taking over Lupin's class ("Page three-hundred and ninety...four") and his showdown with Sirius. As ever, the one to watch in every scene he's in.

CONS:

1. The Marauder's Map went without explanation. Now I realize this production, more so than the previous two, relied on the fact that the audience had read the books prior to going in. But that's no excuse. Lupin blatantly shows Harry that he knows how to work the map, and Harry lets him walk out of the room. No explanation whatsoever. No demystification of who exactly Moony, Prongs, Padfoot and Wormtail were. Grrr.

2. Michael Gambon is no Richard Harris. We can't raise him up from the grave, but Gambon certainly is a poor substitute. Where was the michievious twinkle in the eye, the good-natured wisdom for the youngsters, the flippant references to candy? Gone.

3. Robert Hardy's Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic. This is a man with ambition for power, who already wields considerable clout like a blunt instrument in the magic community. This is not a nice guy who just speaks in hyperboles. Hopefully, he'll either radically change in Book Four, or they'll get someone else.

All in all, though, a fantastic movie and a credit to the series. Remaining hopeful for Goblet of Fire...

naked on roller skates

Vintage book covers: don't know whether to laugh or cry.

an interview with chip kidd

Chip Kidd, master of the universe as far as book designers are concerned, in a recent interview in the Onion. (I've met him, did I mention that? Several times- not that he'd remember me. Aren't I the shameless self-promoter?)

Anyway, an interesting, if repetitive, read.

superman to take on umpteenth director

Just let the project die already, people. Obviously it's having some problems. The project being the new Superman movie that seems to have been in production longer than I've been alive. Recently having ousted their latest director, McG of Charlie's Angels fame (and thank god), TPTB decided to attach a real director to the project once more: X-Men helmsman Brian Singer.

Now, the guy may be full of himself, yet he's got good reason to be, i.e. a very lucrative franchise that can say it's films are not only pretty, but smart. (Take that, you stupid Spidey-fans.) But do we really want a luke-warm Superman movie instead of a top-notch X3 to round out the X-Men series?

Keeping my fingers crossed that resolving the Phoenix saga comes before the Man of Steel.

the physics of monty python

Unbelievable yet true- someone actually did calculate the airspeed of an unladen European swallow: 11 meters per second or 24 miles per hour. (For the full explanation, click here.)

About time. Now maybe someone can help Dennis from being oppressed. And re-attach the Black Knight's assorted limbs while they're at it. ;)

smarter than sorkin?

keraunothnetophobia - a fear of falling man-made satellites

How did this obscure piece of information go unnoticed by the King of the "Interesting-yet-Ultimately-Useless Factoid"? Late in Season Two of the West Wing, Donna freaks out over a NASA fax detailing a massive falling object in the ep- "The Fall's Gonna Kill You." Did Sorkin's assistant take that week off? (Though I admit I didn't catch it for my own story so maybe it's a case of the pot calling the kettle a dirty bottom, as Ms. Fielding would say.)

Probably too hard for actors to pronounce. And the Butch Cassidy reference was classic.

smart emmy nominations

Finally an award show with the guts to recognize talent! (ok, so they still worship overrated shows like the Sorkin-less West Wing, the stale Friends, and the ubiquitous Sopranos cast- but hey, this is a move in the right direction. Maybe next year the people who actually deserve noms will outweigh those that get them cuz they look pretty.) The list of nominations makes for very interesting reading.

I, for one, feel completely vindicated by the miniseries noms- hurrah for Hornblower and Prime Suspect 6!! Finally, *some*one recognizes superior A&E/BBC programming. Plus a nod for the always perfect-pitch Helen Mirren- if only Ioan Griffudd had been so lucky. (sigh- I certainly hope the absolutely disastrous King Arthur didn't ruin his career, he is far too good-looking and talented to remain a second fiddle in over-budget bombs.)

On a sillier note, the Powerpuff Girl Xmas Special (yes, I am shamed, but I saw it and furthermore, thoroughly enjoyed it) snagged a nom for long animated program. And Citibank's inspired Identity Theft commercials got a nod (yes, unbelievers, they *do* give an Emmy for Best Commercial) for "Outfit" which, (I'm guessing) is the one with the man on the sit-down mower speaking for the Development Queen who buys herself a new outfit with her stolen credit-card. Silly both, but deserving as well.

On a real note of absurdity, Matthew Perry didn't get nominated for his own departing show Friends, (in which he is one of the few characters not to become an annoyance in its final seasons), but DID get nominated for his forgettable guest turn on the failing West Wing. Who would've thunk??

And last but certainly not least, my favorite, USA's MONK nabbed four-- most notably one for the mind-blowing hilarious guest-star performance turned in by John Turturro as Monk's brother in the 2nd season ep "Mr. Monk and the Three Pies." Find out more about the exceptional series here. And a whole new ep tonight- *happy dance*!! ;)

which tarot card are you?

I never realized I was so important. ;)


You are the the Hierophant card. The Hierophant, called The Pope in some decks, is the preserver of cultural traditions. After entering The Emperor's society, The Hierophant teaches us its wisdom. The Hierophant learns and teaches our cultural traditions. The discoveries our ancestors have made influence the present. Without forces such as The Hierophant who are able to interpret and communicate traditional lore, each generation would have to begin to learn anew. As a force that is concentrated onour past and our culture, The Hierophant can sometimes be stubborn and set in his ways. This is a negative trait he shares with his zodiac sign, Taurus. But like Taurus he is productive. His traditional lore can provide a source ofinspiration for the creatively inclined, and his knowledge provides an excellent foundationfor those who come into their own in the business world.
Image from: Morgan E. Cauthers-Knox.

Which Tarot Card Are You?
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blurbism

Learned a new word this afternoon-- blurbism. (Have no idea what it means but it is very fun to pronounce.) ;) Very very cool photography site by Canadian designer and photographer Marshall Sokoloff. Who knew that salt tracks on old ships could be so visually arresting?

tight-wads

Very pissed off. Apparently, in an effort to totally ruin their hit show, CBS has fired Jorja Fox and George Eads from CSI. Not that I ever really liked Nick as a character (or Eads as an actor) but still, wtf? And Jorja made the show worth watching. Where will the angsty unrequited love sub-plot come from now, if not a Grissom-Sara pairing?? Learn about network stupidity here.

try new things

Trying BlogThis! for the first time. Sounds slightly naughty, but isn't really. What a let down. *fingers crossed* *hoping technology works*

And wouldn't you know it, screwed it up on the first try. Oh well, that's what the second try is there for, right folks?

identity crisis

Have resurrected the blog after total revamping. Re-entitled Columbina, after the Commedia della Arte character- wise, witty, and occasionally to be found on the arm of Arlecchino (the Harlequin). Yes, the similarities are endless... *snicker* Will have to post some of the postcards from Venice with the Commedia characters- Arlecchino is particularly nice. ;) hee. If you want to know more about the stock characters, click here.