How is it possible that these shoes were SO COMFORTABLE last summer, yet this morning I feel like I’m walking on steak knives? Help me, Dr. Scholls!
I left work at 12:15 last night, but I impulsively stayed up late and watched the pilot of The Middleman, which was ridiculously fun. It has early cancellation written all over it, but I plan to enjoy the heck out of it as long as it lasts! It’s a deliciously quirky, self-aware show about an art school graduate who is recruited by a secret agency to fight against evil forces. Her square-jawed employer is best summarized as Captain Carrot working for the Men in Black. In one scene, he beats up a mob boss between taking long drinks of milk.
I’m not quite sure what age group it’s intended for, which is one of the reasons I’m so convinced it’s doomed to be prematurely canceled. With its light tone and goofy comic book stylings (not to mention its slot on ABC Family), one might think it was intended for young teens, but some of the content surprised me. There are comments about the heroine, Wendy, being a “beard” for her film student boyfriend, a running joke about cursing (which is bleeped out with a little black rectangle over the person’s mouth), and pop-culture references I wouldn’t expect tweens to get, such as Wendy’s cry of “Get your filthy paws off of me you damn dirty ape” when being dragged away as a hostage by a genetically engineered, super intelligent gorilla.
I don’t know. Maybe it’s intended specifically for me!
So check it out. This show is pure, unadulterated fun! If you don’t believe me, check out this glowing review from the New York Times. If you have ABC Family, it’s on Mondays at 8/7c. If you don’t, it’s on BitTorrent iTunes.
In other news: Wave 4 of the Doctor Who action figures includes a 6″ Doctor with five Adipose, due to hit stores late July. If the Beeb can’t cough up a plushie Adipose, this would make an absolutely delightful addition to my desk diorama!
Something I neglected to do in the past weeks but have now rectified…
*updates Facebook status to “In A Relationship”*
Wow. I just had another moment of glorious realization that I don’t have to go to work tomorrow.
Man, this past month has screwed me up.
Happy Birthday, Renata and Terry!
This just went by my apartment. There was a steady flow of skateboarders going past for at least twenty minutes! Two thousand would be a conservative estimate. I love New York.
Just got off the phone with Raoul Bhaneja, who played Kirmani on the Dresden Files TV show. What a great guy–so generous with his time! He talked for over an hour, mostly about his Hamlet (solo) project and the Dresden Files, but also branching out into musings on the sci-fi/fantasy genre and its emergence from the fringe to a centerpiece of pop culture and dramatic storytelling. It was somewhat difficult to get a word in edgewise, but as he was covering all the questions I’d planned for him on his own, it wasn’t necessary to steer the interview in any other direction.
I’ll have to give some thought to how I’m going to release it. As the longest episodes of the Butcher Block have landed at the 45 minute mark, with most episodes hovering near 30, I’m not sure how the hour-long running time will go over with our listenership. T’will be something to ponder!
In other news… iPhones allow you to program a number of alarms, to repeat on specific days and suchlike. I just had the ecstatic pleasure of turning the “Weekend Work” alarm OFF. OH, RAPTURE! I’m off Sunday and I’m on call Saturday, but hopefully I won’t be summoned. Finally, I’ll be able to get stuff done! Stuff like sleep. Sleep is good stuff to do. I think I’ll do some now.
Oh my god. I am about to be the most hated person in the Jim Butcher fandom.
Apparently the audio book release people didn’t realize that they were releasing the Princeps’ Fury audio a week before the hardback, but when I brought it to Jim’s editor’s attention to verify that the date Amazon listed was correct, they realized their error and pushed back the date a week. I JUST DEPRIVED THE ENTIRE FANDOM OF THE PRINCEPS’ FURY AUDIO FOR A WEEK. Now the hardcore fans that were going to buy the audios to experience the book a week early are DENIED.
Um… sorry, guys?
(On the other hand, the back audios for Furies of Calderon, Academ’s Fury, and Cursor’s Fury were pushed forward three weeks, so yay me, but… yeah, people are going to track me down with pitchforks and torches.)
Tonight, I’m interviewing Raoul Bhaneja for The Butcher Block. Thanks to Jimmy for helping make it happen!
I randomly found out he’s doing a one-man version of Hamlet in NYC this week (the 19th, 21st, and 25th–I have ticket for the 25th), and I thought it might be keen to see if I could swing an interview. The director, Robert Ross Parker, is co-founder of the Vampire Cowboys Theatre Company (one of the most entertaining, innovative, unique troupes I’ve had the fortune to discover), and as Jimmy has strong ties to the company through his podcasting shenanigans, he was able to forward my email to Robert, who contacted Raoul. Jimmy is like a ninja or something. I got an email back from Raoul one hour and two minutes after sending Jimmy my message! Zounds!
From the brief phone conversation Raoul and I had yesterday to set up the interview, it sounds like he’s involved in some awesome projects. His schedule is fairly tight, as he’s escaping the city on the weekend to shoot scenes for Warehouse 13–something I’m very interested in, as it’s co-written by Jane Espenson, one of my favourite TV writers. Amusingly enough, it co-stars Joanne Kelly, who played Bianca on the Dresden TV show. Small world!
Raoul also mentioned that Paul Blackthorne is in town, filming episodes of Lipstick Jungle, and that he expected Paul to come to one of his performances. If so, he said he’d pass my name along. Who knows–maybe I might end up snagging an interview with our Harry! :D
PHEW! If you’re like me and you have a ridiculous Firefox tab addiction that must be quelled with Tab Mix Plus, never fear! The dev version is compatible with FF3. This just saved my life, insofar as a convenient internet browsing tool can have any influence on one’s vital status.
I’m amused that I’ve blogged more about Firefox 3 in the past day than I have about my life in the past I don’t know how long.
Sooooo… Life is getting saner. I had to stay at work on Sunday until 2:30am, but I got out Monday and Tuesday at the usual 7. Monday, I recorded and edited the podcast (finally!), which will be posted Thursday or Friday, when Fred returns from his trip. Last night, I saw Hulk, which was the exact flavor of mindless entertainment I needed. It was nice to be able to just sit back in a comfortable theater chair and turn off my brain and watch 3D animation I didn’t have to make. I went to sleep early and woke up this morning with that weird, simultaneously pleasant and painful feeling you get when your muscles finally relax after being tensed a long time. Good stuff. Hopefully, this momentary sanity is not just a passing phase.