Sweet Catastrophe

I just stood in line for 20 minutes at WalMart. I really hate that they don’t plan out their cashier schedules better. 2 lanes open on a Monday night? Everyone goes to grab groceries after work on Monday!

Anyway I had ample time to look over all the tabloids and I’m happy to say the only cover that had anyone I recognized on it was TV Guide!

I don’t know why that makes me happy– I guess I feel like I’m not filling my head with too much of the awful pop culture right now.

I couldn’t pick Justin Bieber out of a line-up if he were wearing a name tag. No idea what he sings either.

I’ve seen a few images of Snookie (sp??) but never any clips of Jersey Shore. I can’t even tell you the last time I watched something on MTV.

It absolutely amazes me how many people are “Reality” stars right now. I really hoped reality television would just be a quickly passing craze, (Hakuna Matata ♫– if it’s stuck in my head, you can deal with it too) but I think we’re stuck with it for a while. I’ll stick with my comedies, thanks– Zachary Levi, Nathan Fillion, Neil Patrick Harris, Jason Segel, John Krasinski, and Jim Parsons are all I need ;)

Asperger’s is the new fad ‘issue.’

I never really thought about it before, but the media seems to go through these phases where everything wants to throw the same controversial issue into their movie or television show. A disease to raise awareness, or a social standard to challenge– AIDS, interracial dating, homosexuality. Has anyone else noticed it?

I think Asperger’s Syndrome (disorder, disease, please don’t think I’m being insensitive if I’ve named it incorrectly. I’ve seen it listed a few different ways so I’m honestly just not certain) is next. If you aren’t familiar with it, I’d suggest hitting Google ’cause I don’t know enough about it myself to explain and I really don’t feel comfortable generalizing and saying, “oh it’s like such-and-such” as I hear a lot of people do. Also, to the best of my knowledge, it’s one of those things that actually varies greatly among sufferers as far as characteristics.

Since last year’s Adam (which was a fantastic movie, by the way) I’ve seen it mentioned more and more and today I watched the first episode for the new series Parenthood and one of the main characters finds out his son has Asperger’s and I’m thinking it’ll be one of the side plots.

Obviously, just a guess, but when I saw that today it set my mind off on all the places I’ve heard it mentioned in the last few months and I just think we’ll be seeing it a lot more.

Edit: I’m not crazy! Kristi found an article about it and between the article itself and the comments, they cover all my thoughts on it quite nicely– from the line between raising awareness and drawing too much negative attention, to diagnosing someone who’s just socially awkward (we call that awkward turtle around here lol).

I mentioned last month we were looking for a new device to stream Netflix to the television in our bedroom. I finally decided that I absolutely wanted something capable of streaming files from my computer as well– I’ve just got way too much media to not be able to use it. After looking around and checking out what few option I have, I think I’ve settled on getting an Xbox 360 with 256MB memory.

Most of the devices I’ve looked at are in the $100+ range, which is okay since we’ll save that much pretty quickly when the cable is shut off, so I’m okay with spending a little more for another 360. We’ve got an extra hard drive here that we can use, and plenty of controllers, so I can look around and get a bare bones system on sale and be ready to go. I’d probably end up getting a Universal Remote for the Xbox as well just so I wouldn’t have to worry about keeping a controller up here and charged.

At this point, I’ve talked myself into wanting it, so now I just have to get it. I’m just so sick of not knowing whether or not the cable is going to work, or having no choice but to hang around my computer if I want to watch something. And I think I might play my games a little more often if I could do it without taking over the television downstairs. I just always feel a little guilty when playing some of my silly games gets in the way of the boys using all the other systems downstairs. And I could be evil and rock out on Guitar Hero from the bed to wake Ryan up ;)

Do you watch The Big Bang Theory? Kristi got me started watching it, of course. It’s about two extreme dorks/geniuses who live across the hall from a pretty aspiring actress, and the dorks’ two best friends. They all have their quirks, hilarity ensues.

The first 20 seconds of this Barenaked Ladies tune is their theme song and I’ve never made it without singing along by the end.

I think I started watching right before season 2 aired. (Is that right, Krizzle?) For season 1 and season 2 I’d have said, “Yeah it’s good. Worth watching.” But season 3 has just been hilarious! Every single episode has had me laughing out loud! I guess originally the show was meant to focus mostly on one of the dorks getting together with their neighbor, but the writers have finally settled on focusing on Sheldon and it’s a formula that works, and isn’t getting old!

Based on this season alone I’m keeping my eyes open for a good sale to pick up the first two seasons of The Big Bang Theory because I will own season 3 and I don’t think I’m capable of owning an incomplete set…that would drive me mad. In fact, I have one DVD from an anime series that I could never get ahold of the rest for a decent price and I can’t leave that case sitting on my shelf. It’s stashed behind my VHS collection!

If you’re not already watching I’d say season 3 is absolutely worth catching up with season 1 & 2 to watch. The laughs are continuous!

For the low, low price of FREE– you, too, can have these fabulous theme songs stuck in your head!

Honestly I’m putting up this post more for my own benefit when I look back– to remember the statement he released:

People of Earth:

In the last few days, I’ve been getting a lot of sympathy calls, and I want to start by making it clear that no one should waste a second feeling sorry for me. For 17 years, I’ve been getting paid to do what I love most and, in a world with real problems, I’ve been absurdly lucky. That said, I’ve been suddenly put in a very public predicament and my bosses are demanding an immediate decision.

Six years ago, I signed a contract with NBC to take over The Tonight Show in June of 2009. Like a lot of us, I grew up watching Johnny Carson every night and the chance to one day sit in that chair has meant everything to me. I worked long and hard to get that opportunity, passed up far more lucrative offers, and since 2004 I have spent literally hundreds of hours thinking of ways to extend the franchise long into the future. It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule. Building a lasting audience at 11:30 is impossible without both.

But sadly, we were never given that chance. After only seven months, with my Tonight Show in its infancy, NBC has decided to react to their terrible difficulties in prime-time by making a change in their long-established late night schedule.

Last Thursday, NBC executives told me they intended to move the Tonight Show to 12:05 to accommodate the Jay Leno Show at 11:35. For 60 years the Tonight Show has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn’t the Tonight Show. Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the Late Night show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot. That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy.

So it has come to this: I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it. My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of The Tonight Show. But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction. Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the Internet a time slot doesn’t matter. But with the Tonight Show, I believe nothing could matter more.

There has been speculation about my going to another network but, to set the record straight, I currently have no other offer and honestly have no idea what happens next. My hope is that NBC and I can resolve this quickly so that my staff, crew, and I can do a show we can be proud of, for a company that values our work.

Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it’s always been that way.

Yours,

Conan

My favorite zinger:

You can do anything you want in life…unless Jay Leno wants to do it, too.

And finally, his parting words:

Before we end this rodeo, a few things need to be said. There has been a lot of speculation in the press about what I legally can and can’t say about NBC. To set the record straight, tonight I am allowed to say anything I want. And what I want to say is this: between my time at Saturday Night Live, The Late Night Show, and my brief run here on The Tonight Show, I have worked with NBC for over twenty years. Yes, we have our differences right now and yes, we’re going to go our separate ways. But this company has been my home for most of my adult life. I am enormously proud of the work we have done together, and I want to thank NBC for making it all possible.

Walking away from The Tonight Show is the hardest thing I have ever had to do. Making this choice has been enormously difficult. This is the best job in the world, I absolutely love doing it, and I have the best staff and crew in the history of the medium, and I will fight anyone who says I don’t. But despite this sense of loss, I really feel this should be a happy moment. Every comedian dreams of hosting The Tonight Show and, for seven months, I got to. I did it my way, with people I love, and I do not regret a second. I’ve had more good fortune than anyone I know and if our next gig is doing a show in a 7-11 parking lot, we’ll find a way to make it fun.

And finally, I have to say something to our fans. The massive outpouring of support and passion from so many people has been overwhelming. The rallies, the signs, all the goofy, outrageous creativity on the internet, and the fact that people have traveled long distances and camped out all night in the pouring rain to be in our audience, made a sad situation joyous and inspirational.

To all the people watching, I can never thank you enough for your kindness to me and I’ll think about it for the rest of my life. All I ask is one thing, and I’m asking this particularly of young people: please don’t be cynical. I hate cynicism, for the record, it’s my least favorite quality and it doesn’t lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen.

You can go back and forth all day about whether or not what was done was right, but at the end of the day, Conan got screwed. I’m sure there are still a lot of people out there who won’t understand why Conan wouldn’t just settle for moving the show, but it was bigger than that.

I truly hope we see more from Conan in the near future. I know there’s a few months before he can even do interviews, and a few past that before he’s released to do other work, but I hope his business plan consultants are working overtime during that hiatus to find the perfect fit for him.

A little tidbit I hadn’t even caught, of course just a coincidence, but an interesting one at that: And this has already been mentioned a lot, but as the show ends and Fallon begins, it’s now January 23. Johnny Carson died on January 23.

Going out with Cowbell and Freebird was silly, for sure, but I couldn’t possibly think of a better way for it to have ended.

So for now and always–

Seems the only way to avoid the nightmares is to not sleep….or as the case last night was, sleep in 30 minute increments. I don’t know what the deal is.

I’m watching Weeds. I just finished season 2 and that’s the last of what’s available on Netflix Instant. I hate when only part of a show is available.

Weeds, if you don’t know, is a Showtime series about a widow who turns to selling pot in her high class neighborhood to maintain her lifestyle. Her neighbors and friends come to her for their green shopping ;)

Kristi got bored after season 1, but I’m still interested. I can’t imagine where it’s going right now. I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the ways they’ve managed to keep things going so far. I hope that continues through the 5 seasons and there aren’t just some random plot points thrown in to keep things going.

Otherwise things are pretty boring around here so far this year. Work –> Weeds –> Sleep –> Repeat. Bout it.

Again, I’m ignoring the idea that I’m supposed to pick one.

Currently running:

The Office
The Big Bang Theory
Castle
How I Met Your Mother
Chuck
Glee

Gone but not forgotten:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Firefly
Scrubs (it ended last year, don’t deny it.)
Pushing Daisies
Gilmore Girls
Boy Meets World

Four hours. The Office season 6 starts in 4 hours =) Kristi and I re-watched from the beginning and we’re cutting it close, but we’ll be finished with every ep just in time!

Hitting season 5 has been weird because Kristi was sick most of this season so she didn’t pay as much attention as normal and only watched each ep once! I haven’t been really talking about the eps ’cause I don’t wanna spoil her! It just feels so wrong…

And we’re starting Dunder Mifflin Infinity without branches this year! We’re gonna be without a branch for a few weeks at least! There’ve been a few of us hanging around all summer and we’ve been waiting for the new season to start for everyone to come back and now there’s no branch forum for everyone to show up to *sad face* We’ve still got our chat though!

I can’t wait to see Jim and Pam get married this season!

So Peter (one of my neighbors) and I have started re-watching Cowboy Bebop. It’s been forever since I’ve watched it through and he has a great projector to watch it on. While it’s certainly one of my loves, it’s not a fandom I keep up with because well, the show’s over, ya know?

So I can’t even tell you of the excitement I felt when I saw there were current articles about Cowboy Bebop when I hit up Google. That is, until I actually looked at the articles. Then I’m pretty sure I wept openly. In fact, it’s not often that a true frown just settles in on my face, but it’s very present when I think of the horrors in those articles.

They want to make a live action Cowboy Bebop. This is something that could only ever be good under the absolute most perfect conditions ever. You need the perfect team of writers, actors, producers, directors, etc. This is not the case.

Who wants to do the movie? Who has the rights to do the movie? Who wants to star in the freakin’ movie? Mother effing Keanu Reeves! At this point, I think the ball is rolling and at least a screenplay is in the works already and *big sigh* I just want to take everyone who would allow something like this to happen, throw them in stainless steel drums and toss them over a waterfall or something. Scare them back to sanity.

It’s just going to start up an annoying Bebop craze and we’ll hear about how much the movie sucks and therefore everything Bebop-related sucks by association, and I’m going to get so sick of that.

I wish people would stop remaking things and adapting things to movies and ruining them. If it ain’t broke, don’t break it!