The General Public . . .

I know that television networks base their shows contracts on viewers' preferences. The more people who click in, the more rave reviews and recognition a TV show and its cast receives, the better the chances are that the show will continue on for seasons to come.

Examples: Desperate Housewives, ER, Friends. Shows that the public have gone absolutely nuts over. And the seasons kept on rolling on out. Or keep on going, in Desperate Housewives' case. But what is the deal with the newer shows, or am I just now noticing the trend?

The sex/drugs combo sells, and it seems that lately, it has been selling quite well. Nip/Tuck, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, even a newer show where a rich family has its own dirty laundry of sex and drugs that is probably going to enjoy a long spot on its network all seem to have people tuning in religiously (or Tivo-ing, in more and more cases).

This blog isn't to rant on an amoral society. I don't like that stuff, so I steer clear. What I'm annoyed over is the fact that the shows that I like -good shows with strong followings!- are getting the shaft! Come on, people, one season of Firefly? I KNOW Firefly has a huge following, even now, and yet it was only one season long. I blame a lack of advertising. I'd never even heard of it until it popped up one day on SciFi. And what about John Doe? I'm just now getting into it, right into season one, and I realized that one season is really all I'm getting. And why do I have a feeling that Bionic Woman is going to go the way of these others?

The only science fiction show that has really taken off is Battlestar Galactica. That thing is like a soap opera and a scifi flick all wrapped into a nice burrito of oh snap, that just happened. It's as though if a show does not keep our ADD public constantly inundated with more and more drama, the show isn't worth it. Not fast-paced enough? Good-bye, show. Someone actually knows their baby's daddy? Trash. The in-laws aren't killers? Not worth the effort.

All I'm saying is this: we geeks like our techie, geeky, fact-full shows. So support a geek, and give our shows a chance. We'll thank you for it by making books and crazy fan fiction and hosting conventions and dressing up in crazy-weird outfits for the movies that will inevitably come. :) Oh, and we'll probably shake your hand. . . if you come to our conventions.

Books, Books, Books

I've gone through a myriad of books at a surprisingly fast pace, even for myself, I think. As a teen, I read because it took me elsewhere, and now I've returned to that habit, pushed there from boredom, or sadness, or anxiety. I could list the many books that I've read in the past two weeks, but I'll only mention two: the first I finished last night before drifting off to sleep at one in the morning. I've noticed Lillith Saintcrow's books on the sci-fi/fantasy shelves for quite awhile, and I finally bought one. I enjoyed the book, but as of yet have not been able to get a hold of the following two in the series, which are apparently available, but always sold out. So, I moved to her more well known series, the Dante Valentine books. Or the first one, at least. Working for the Devil was so good, despite it's sadness. It mixes a futuristic view of the world with a unique twist on how close Hell is to the world at large. I can't say that I appreciated her view of Hell as less evil and more a parralell universe with different ideas of how things are, or even the idea that we, as humans, were created -not by God, but by demons. Yet somehow it all combined into a fascinating, fast-paced, magick-filled story that makes me really look forward to the next in the series.

The book I moved on to today is Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, by Gregory Maguire. I've read a few of his books, beginning with Wicked, and I keep coming back to them. There's something about the way he takes a well-known fairy tale and flips it around, letting you see the other side of what it could be; somehow fitting his ideas into the fairy tale and yet making an entirely new one at the same time. When you read a fairy tale as a child, the story is what it is: oh, yes Hansel and Gretel survive after almost being eaten by a wicked witch. The End. But Gregory Maguire seems to see beyond the story: why was the witch the way she was? What brought her to that point? What must her life have been like? Were Hansel and Gretel really good little children? Or was there something beneath the surface that, in the end, makes you wonder if the witch should have won instead?

I've only just begun Confessions, but already I am enthralled. This story does not use the point of view of Cinderella, or Clara as she is so named in this book, but is told through the eyes and voice of Iris, the younger step-sister. Already the fairy tale is taking shape, and yet forming a new one all its own.

Yet Another Thing I Suck At

Ask any woman to show you her "fat jeans" and she'll know exactly what you're talking about, where they are, and what circumstances would have to befall them before they would actually deign to wear them (i.e. natural disaster in which fat pants are only means of covering oneself; laundry day, etc.). I myself have a pair of "fat jeans," jeans that should never sit at my hips unless I plan on not being seen by any sentient being save my beloved, uncomprehending, and non-judgmental dog, Sophie. However, I didn't know about my "fat jeans" until I hurriedly pulled them on and rushed to work, too hurried to notice the issue until it was Too Late. Once at work, I sat down at my desk and noticed that I felt flabby. I looked down and realized that my thighs were not exactly being advantageously covered. Oh, yes, I had found my "fat jeans," but a little to late to save myself from them.

Now, when a woman says she's wearing her "fat jeans," it doesn't necessarily mean that she is fat, it only means that the jeans themselves have the amazing power of making her feel fat. My jeans did a fantastic job of that. Which leads me to wonder: do other women discover their FJs after having worn them or is it an instinctual thing? Do they feel the power of the jeans once they pull them from the depths of their clean laundry pile, or do they wear them one day only to discover the true horror that the FJs could invoke? One thing is for sure: I now have a pair of jeans to wear in case of an emergency, like I am the last person on earth and there are no sheep close enough to shear in order to wool, card, and knit a decent pair of sweats.

If I Had a Quarter. . .

for every time someone told me something should not hurt, there would be a lot of people with black eyes. Okay, so the saying might not work with the changes I've made, but still. Yelling at me because a Nerf ball is foam, and foam doesn't hurt does not change the fact that getting smacked as hard as someone can possibly bat the ball at me in a very sensitive place hurts.

It doesn't change the fact that even though it's just water, and water doesn't hurt, when water is shooting full speed out of an outdoor hose into a gaping wound that will not stop bleeding hurts.

It doesn't change the fact that slamming my knee in a funny place shouldn't hurt that bad, even though it obviously does hurt that bad.

So, do yourself a favor. Stop trying to make me feel like a wussy idiot, or listen to me tell you that it's just a black eye, so it doesn't hurt that bad.

My Sister, the Beauty Product Queen

Anytime I come up to my hometown, I stay at my 'rents house, and I get the chance to try all of my sister's beauty products without the hell of actually having to buy them myself, only to discover that they are not as good as they promise.

Last night, before hitting my not-so-comfortable bed, I used my sister's toothpaste, her face wash, and her night cream. The toothpaste is specially made to whiten your teeth, and when I squeezed it onto my toothbrush I had to double check that it was, in fact, toothpaste, because it had the color and consistency of a face mask. When I began to scrub my teeth, I had to re-check the tube AGAIN to really make sure it was toothpaste because it had the taste of a face mask, too. Blech.

The face wash was made to make you up in the morning, with a zesty scent of lemons and some sort of herb, and little round beads that exfoliated. It wasn't life changing, but it did the job really well, clearing up my skin overnight. Afterward, I began to dig in her cabinets to see what other products I could play with. I found night creme. When I think of night creme, I think of old ladies' trying desperately to stem the tide of aging, but it said it would moisturize, smooth, and soften my skin, so I figured why not?

When I smeared little dabs on my cheeks, chin, nose, and forehead and began to massage it in, I was again reminded of old ladies because it smelled like old lady powder. Was it talcum? Was it oldness? Who could say? I sucked it up and finished letting it soak in, then, done with trying to make my face as pretty as it can naturally be without the additive of make-up, I went to bed.

In the morning, my skin was clearer, and my normally ruddy complexion was more evenly toned. My face was baby soft, too. Looking and feeling touchable, all for the low, low price of absolutely nothing. Yay me.

The End

I finally plucked up enough money to let myself buy the new Penny Arcade game, On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode One. This game, with it's RPG-style, is usually not my bag of cats, but I decided to give it a whirl because I enjoy Penny Arcade's blog/ web comic, and I've seen nothing but pretty good reviews for it. Instantly I loved the feel of it, the narrators dark and dramatic voice, the comic-esque graphics and cut-scenes, and the ever-present ironic and goofy Penny Arcade humor.
The game starts off with your character's creation, and goes from there, incorporating a giant robot, the two Penny Arcade guys (Tycho and Gabe, for those who aren't familiar with PA), lots of stuff to smash, mimes, clowns, and hobos, among other things. You must complete a series of objectives in order to progress through the game, and should you need hints you are given the option of looking through your case book. By-standers, I discovered, are also good at keeping you going in the right direction. You have a cast of friends that help you in your time of need, including an awesome bright pink robot, which I LOVED. Oh, and a cat, which endeared me to the game as well, although his super secret power had me in fits of giggles, though it was generally not so useful.
I bought and downloaded the game from a reliable gaming source that decided my debit/credit card was A-OK with them (Greenhouse denied me!), and began playing immediately, just to get an overall feel for it. Bad Idea. I immediately became addicted, and played for three hours straight, before my lower back couldn't take it anymore and other duties called. Later today, I came home from work and played for another two, before taking a much needed nap, and then I traveled up to my hometown and played for another three hours resulting in my Pwnage of the game. Yes, eight hours of playing and now my gaming is done.
All I really want to add: they better come out with Episode Two, ASAP.