Guilty Pleasures

I know that everyone has guilty pleasures. I want to talk about TV shows in particular. Ya know, those TV shows that you hate to admit you watch? That you deny having ever seen? These range from the Oh-there’s-nothing-else-so-I’ll-watch-this-and-laugh-at-it to the I-can’t-wait-til-everyone-leaves-so-I-can-catch-up-on-this-show.

So I’m going to focus on the shameful enjoyments of my TV life. I’m leaving out two major categories, Kids’ Shows and Infomercials. I omit these because I’m not ashamed to say that I still love some of the shows I used to watch as a youngin’, and infomercials are designed to suck you in and watch them. Now, moving on…..


Kinsey’s Top 5 Shameful, Guilty TV Show Pleasures

America’s Next Top Model / Make Me a Supermodel
The two shows are similar, so I’ve grouped them together, but I maintain that they are different. ANTM seems to focus on all the cat fights and the drama between all the girls who have to live together. This is addicting to me for pure oh-my-word-did-she-just-do-that reasons. Girls are hilarious to watch when they get angry and moody and bitchy. MMAS is addicting for me because there are guys and girls (hellooo pretty boys….) and more intriguing photo shoots, with less in-house drama.

7th Heaven
Yes. It gets bad. I remember watching this with my mom. Sigh….This show is cheesy, laughably bad. Yet oddly memorizing. It’s hard not to laugh when Mary trashed a gym, Matt was caught with a joint, Simon had to drop off a baby, and Lucy was just being bitchy. A major question that has always weighed on my mind though, was Ruthie. She has very olive skin and very curly hair, in a family that looks like it belongs in an Ivory soap commercial. I’ve always maintained she was adopted, or Annie slept with the milkman.

Bridezillas
My sister and I watch this and are always shocked by some of the behavior. There are brides who frequently “fire” their wedding party, go on outrageous shopping sprees, and make excessive demands. It’s interesting to really see how some women turn into monsters as their day draws near, turning into a giant, soul-sucking creature who just makes you wonder why anyone would want to marry them.

Project Runway
I’m not very fashion-forward. No matter how many magazines I read or TV shows I watch, I just don’t care. But this show amazes me for two reasons: That people are so creative as to design and sew outfits from thin air, and then all their hard work gets ripped apart by the judges. It’s a very simple formula for me. Combine something that I could never do (like sewing an outfit in a day) with harsh criticism and it’s a winner. Plus the fantastic Heidi Klum, who always brightens the screen with her smile and German.

Gilmore Girls
It’s entertaining, ok? As it progressed and got more and more soap-operaish, I couldn’t watch it. At least not without feeling ashamedly girly (which I would refuse to be, by the way). But all the trivial references to countless books and movies and bands were always interesting to figure out. And I have now found that in Family Guy, so that part of my life is complete. But the two Gilmore Girls had that these-would-be-perfect-best-friends quality that made it engrossing to watch and follow along.

OK, so mine were probably more girlish than many of the readers here. And these are far from my favorite TV shows, these are just the most guilty indulgences that I can think of. The ones that I am ashamed to admit, humiliated to acknowledge, and ashamed to write.

So what are your’s?
Read, Kindly Light...

Guest Post: Top 5 Beautiful Actresses Who Star in Bad Movies

After reading several similar lists in this vast internet space, I want to submit my own opinion on some select actresses. So, I want to first stat that looks aren’t everything for movie actresses. Some beautiful women have such continuing bad taste (or bad agents) that I want to gag every time I hear one of their new movies is coming out. So I present the Top 5 Beautiful Actresses Who Star in Bad Movies list. This is my opinion, and there are always exceptions, but the actresses who seem to be repeat offenders are as follows:

#5: Jessica Biel
Ah . . . Mary Camden. You were in The Illusionist, which I give mad props for, but that doesn’t make up for everything else. Summer Catch? Texas Chainsaw Massacre? I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry? And—it needs to be said—you’ll always be little Mary Camden from 7th Heaven to some. I just can’t take you seriously when I remember you living with your 20 other siblings, trashing the gym or something. Sorry, but your movie choices haven’t done much to turn you from a hot, athletic babe to a legit actress.

#4: Jessica Simpson
First, I guess I’m using the term “actress” loosely. You can pretty much mention all her movies and they would fall into the bad movie category. Major Movie Star, Blonde Ambition, Employee of the Month, and Dukes of Hazzard are not an acting career, they’re the desperate attempt to cling onto reality-show fame.

#3: Jennifer Lopez
Miss J. Lo has been in too many stinkers to redeem herself. She was great in Selena, and apparently Monster-in-Law was a mild hit—but that cannot make up for such movies like Anaconda, Angel Eyes, and Enough. And do I need to mention Gigli (seriously, you can’t even pronounce that!) or Jersey Girl? She is beautiful, she made curves hot, but her movie choices have been bad enough to make me want to kick her back to her block.

#2: Eva Mendes
Eva . . . you poor thing. You began your poor choice in film with Children of the Corn V. Then you moved on to Urban Legends: Final Cut, All About the Benjamins, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Stuck on You, Ghost Rider, and Cleaner. Those are a lot of bad movies. There were a couple hits along the way: Training Day, (remember her as someone’s girl? Or something equally minor?) Hitch, and The Wendell Baker Story. But these just aren’t enough. Hey, I didn’t invent math—7 bad movies versus 3, maybe 4 good ones? Numbers don’t lie; you need to make better choices. Oh, and The Spirit!? Make that 8 bad movie choices. Tsk tsk. Go pose nude again or something.

#1 Jessica Alba
Let’s see . . . Dark Angel. Honey. Fantastic Four. Sin City. Into The Blue. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Awake. The Eye. And, of course, The Love Guru. Not much to redeem you, poor Jessica, except your looks. And—it needs to be said—you’re a mother. I can’t help but now wonder what your daughter would think to know her mom once played a stripper. To think that my mom might have been a hottie with a body is enough to make me ill.
Read, Kindly Light...

It's An Animation Celebration! (sorry...)

I saw a documentary a few weeks ago called The Pixar Story (available on Instant Netflix). In an interview with Bob Iger (the new CEO of Disney and Michael Eisner’s replacement) he spoke about the troubles Disney has had the past ten years or so.

There's more...

While it is true Eisner presided over the production of some of the best work the Walt Disney Company has ever done, beginning around 1994 he began slowly driving the company into the ground. Eisner is responsible for the departure of Jeffrey Katzenberg (who left to found Dreamworks), the shift of Disney’s focus to The Disney Channel (i.e., Lizzie McGuire, Even Stevens, Hannah Montana, etc.), and, as Roy E. Disney (Walt Disney’s nephew) said upon his resignation, the devolution of Disney into a “rapacious, soul-less” company.

In the interview, Iger recounted how shortly after he took over, during the Main Street Parade at Disney World, he realized which floats were getting the loudest cheers. They were the classic Disney films like Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Pinocchio and the classic modern films like Beauty & the Beast, The Little Mermaid, and The Lion King.

The difference between these and some of the not-so-classic Disney features like Pocahontas, Hercules, and Lilo & Stitch, it seemed to Iger, was quite simply the story-telling. Where Eisner had decided to end all production of traditional animation in favor of Pixar-style 3D, Iger realized the reason Pixar had been trouncing Disney at the box office from the beginning wasn’t the animation style, but that they knew how to create good characters and tell good stories.

Iger said that this epiphany is in fact what led him to end the Eisner-instigated Disney/Pixar feud and effectively merge the two companies, putting Pixar in charge of Disney’s creative side, and the current Disney people in charge of the marketing and business side.

Iger has it exactly right. I think (at least subconsciously) we all recognize the two great eras in animation—the First and Second Golden Ages. The first includes the great early Disney features:

Tell me as you looked through each of those pictures your heart didn't swell.

Disney's work from Snow White in 1937 through Sleeping Beauty in 1957 (or perhaps One Hundred and One Dalmations in 1961) was the best it ever did. This First Golden Age of Animation was not limited to feature-length films, however. This is also the age of Looney Tunes and Tom & Jerry.

From 1957 forward Disney did good work, but it wasn't quite the same caliber as what had come before (perhaps due to Walt Disney's death in 1966). This era saw the release of The Sword in the Stone, The Jungle Book, The Aristocats, Robin Hood, The Rescuers, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, The Fox and the Hound, The Black Cauldron, The Great Mouse Detective, The Brave Little Toaster, and Oliver & Company.

I know some of you are screaming at the computer screen right now. Many of these are near and dear to my heart as well, but I think it is safe to say that, on the whole, they don't carry the weight of a Cinderella or a Bambi.

But we said there are two Golden Ages. In 1989 Disney released The Little Mermaid, beginning a new series of classics:

Earlier we said that it was around The Lion King's release in 1994 that Eisner began the downward spiral--the features got progressively worse: A Goofy Movie, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Mulan, Tarzan, Dinosaur, The Emperor's New Groove, Atlantis, Lilo & Stitch, Treasure Planet, Brother Bear, Home on the Range, Chicken Little, Meet the Robinsons.

Granted, a couple of these don't quite count as they're in 3D and a couple are pretty good, but it's the trend that's important. It's no wonder Eisner decided to focus on The Disney Channel, direct-to-DVD sequels, and merchandise. All I can say is thank God Pixar has taken over.

But, of course, like the First Golden Age, the Second was not limited to the big screen either. The late 80s and 90s saw the best cartoons for television ever produced. It is these that we will consider in the upcoming sequel to this post: "Saturday Morning Classics".

Thank you all for allowing Cowtown & Coolage's Chief Star Trek Correspondant this chance to branch out.

Read, Kindly Light...

"there's a green one & a pink one & a blue one & a yellow one..."

"...and they're all made out of ticky tacky, and they all look just the same."

Recognize those lyrics? That's the last four lines of the first stanza of Melvina Reynolds' ironically cheerful ditty, "Little Boxes," which was made famous as the theme of my new favorite TV show, Weeds. However, that odd, quirky, dark soccer-mom-drug-dealer dramedy deserves a whole 'nother post -- a whole score of other posts, in fact. As you may have already guessed by now, we're just concerned with the Weeds theme song today. You see, one of the many brilliant little details of the show is that during its 2nd and 3rd seasons, each episode began with a different cover of Melvina's "Little Boxes." It is truly an addictive song, a fun and simple melody with catchy lyrics, the kind that get stick in your head forever...but in a good way. Anywhoo, below are a dozen or so of the afore-mentioned covers from some spectacular artists, including Elvis Costello, Regina Spektor, The Shins, Jenny Lewis, Johnathan Rice, and the Decemberists. My only regret is that Zooey hasn't done one as She & Him, seeing as she was the special guest star of 3 or 4 episodes.


Melvina Reynolds - Little Boxes

The original - a happy-go-lucky little tune about cookie-cutter suburban houses (i.e. ticky-tacky little boxes) and the frighteningly happy & squeaky-clean WASP clones that inhabit them. It makes you want to whistle while you work.


Pete Seeger - Little Boxes (covering Melvina Reynolds)

Pete was a good friend of Melvina Reynolds, who at one point said that he played "Little Boxes" so well that most people thought he was the original composer. Listen to all the goofy laughter of his audience in the background.


Roger Scime - Little Boxes (soooooorta loosely covering Melvina Reynolds)

It's obvious that Robert's uh...expanding upon Melvina's song (more like putting a little of his spin to it). I do love the bit about "The Wal-Mart & the Wal-Mart & the Sam's Club & the Wal-mart" and the rent-a-cops. Tarnation, is this not the most whistlable tune ever?


Elvis Costello - Little Boxes (covering Melvina Reynolds)

It's Elvis Costello. Need I say more?


Regina Spektor - Little Boxes (covering Melvina Reynolds)

I love this here piano gal and her rendition of "Little Boxes." It doesn't get much more melodic than this.


Christopher O'Riley - Little Boxes (covering Melvina Reynolds)

Speakin'a pianos, here's the only instrumental version of "Little Boxes" on the list. I was unable to get the string orchestra version, which is of course lovely as well.


The Shins - Little Boxes (covering Melvina Reynolds)

I like the Shins a lot. [sarcasm]I know, I'm original. No one else likes them. That's why I like them so much. No one has ever heard of, much less liked, the Shins. This is a good cover by this young upstart band, a relative unknown.[/sarcasm]


Jenny Lewis & Johnathan Rice - Little Boxes (covering Melvina Reynolds)

I keep tellin' my friends we should play "Six Degrees of Conor Oberst" as he is the indie music equivalent of Kevin Bacon. I first listened to Bright Eyes 4 years ago, and through a love of him, all his collaborators, and their gorgeously unique work, I began seeking out the music of Jenny Lewis, Rilo Kiley, The Postal Service, Death Cab For Cutie, M. Ward, Neva Dinova, Maria Taylor, Johnathan Rice, She & Him, etc., etc, etc. So, Conor Oberst is connected to Melvina Reynolds, Elvis Costello, yadda, yadda, blah, blah, blah. Okay, I'm done.


Linkin Park - Little Boxes (covering Melvina Reynolds)

One tiny shiny bit of poppy goodness. Not a big fan of Linkin Park, but they do a great cover here.


As The Crow Flies - Little Boxes (covering Melvina Reynolds)

Right now, I am in heaven. That is all.


Nara Leão - Little Boxes (covering Melvina Reynolds)

A cover from the only Brazilian singer on the list, and coincidentally, it happens to be in Brazilianese. A beautiful, beautiful version, to be sure. I love hearing "ticky tacky" surrounded by a bunch of exotic-sounding foreign words.


The Decemberists - Little Boxes (covering Melvina Reynolds)

Well, my friends, I have saved the best for last. I mean, my absolute favorite band here in Fort Worth is The Theater Fire, and TTF is basically The Decemberists with a heaping dose of old-school country and a dash of mariachi added to their big group dark folk. This, my friends, is the best cover on the list, the best version of "Little Boxes" aside from the original. Hands down. And here's why, in Chris Funk's own words:

we thought it would be appropriate to have the chord progression shift to a minor key, suggesting a bit of tension and more directly, a darker tone. The song really isn’t that cheery when you dig a little deeper and get past that sweet voice and melody, in reality quite depressing…ah life.

True dat, true dat.

(Hit the jump for the full set of lyrics and one scandalous promo photo of Mary Louise-Parker [the show's star]).


Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes made of ticky tacky,
Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes all the same.
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.

And the people in the houses
All went to the university,
Where they were put in boxes
And they came out all the same,
And there's doctors and lawyers,
And business executives,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.

And they all play on the golf course
And drink their martinis dry,
And they all have pretty children
And the children go to school,
And the children go to summer camp
And then to the university,
Where they are put in boxes
And they come out all the same.

And the boys go into business
And marry and raise a family
In boxes made of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.


Read, Kindly Light...

APOLOGIA PRO "VITA"

With Thursday night came the second season finale of NBC's quirky crime drama "Life". I hope and pray alongside many others that this episode will not end up being the show's series finale as well. Life is a sensational (not to mention Zensational) TV show, and it would be a crying shame if it fell through the cracks while other run-of-the-mill crime series (read: anything with a 'CSI' prefix) went on strong. Yahoo's TV blog puts Life at #2 of its top-ten 'Shows That Are Really, Really Awesome But Which Will Almost Certainly NOT Pick Up Another Season Because...Because...Well, because, let's face it, The Majority of the American TV-Viewing Public Is Just Plain Stupid. It's STUPID. Seriously.' List (that was something of a paraphrase, if you hadn't guessed). While I haven't yet watched their #1 pick (i.e. "Chuck"), and I cannot fathom why something as tame and mundane as a reality show ("Celebrity Apprentice", to be precise!) makes their cut, it is overall a great list with good assessments of the shows. Besides Life, I'm rooting for "Dollhouse", "Fringe", and "Better Off Ted", by the by.

But what about Life makes it worth saving?
I mean, is it not just the latest version of the now-tread 'crime-with-a-twist' genre? Is it not just another "Monk" or "Psych"? The answer, as is probably obvious by now, is an EMPHATIC "NO."

(Continue for the full review after the jump.)

So, the reason? I cite the same ones as the above-linked film.com critic: star Damien Lewis and the intriguing, engaging character he plays -- Det. Charlie Crews.
Don't get me wrong about the crime-with-a-twist thing. While I enjoy any ol' Law & Order as much as the next guy (which I hope means "a lot, for the most part"), I'm much more in favor of the above-scorned "characters wanted" approach. The difference is that whereas the quirks of many other 'characters-wanted'-type detectives serve merely as props or gimmicks, as bits of comedic relief and distraction from the dark crimes they are solving, the Zen-y so-called "quirks" of Detective Charlie Crews are really the representation of the show's central-most tension -- Charlie's personal crisis; his internal struggle; his soul's teetering between the abstract and the concrete.

Of course, I understand that the show's basic premise is more than a little bit gimmecky and far-fetched. If you're not familiar with it, here's a summary of what wikipedia has to say:

Life centers around Detective Charlie Crews, who at the start of the first season (set in 2007) is released from Pelican Bay State Prison after serving twelve years of a life sentence. In 1995 he was wrongfully convicted of the triple murder of his business partner and the partner's family. Thanks to the efforts of his lawyer Constance Griffiths, DNA evidence exonerates him of the murders. Having lost his job, his wife, his friends, nearly all contact with the outside world and even his grip on reality for a time while in jail, he emerges enlightened by the philosophy of Zen, a fixation with fresh fruit and an obsession with solving the murder that nearly cost him his life and exposing the conspiracy that framed him for it. After successfully suing the city of Los Angeles and the LAPD, he is reinstated to the police department and receives an undisclosed but substantial monetary settlement.

But if you accept the basic premise and watch the show, then Charlie Crews, his life, and the people that surround it -- all of it will grow and grow and GROW on you. Again, what makes the show so compelling is Charlie himself, and what makes Charlie so compelling are his seeming contradictions (and actual contradictions). In short, he is something of a conundrum.

Despite the fact that his settlement has made him fabulously wealthy, Crews continues to work on the force, trying to bring the conspirators who framed him to justice. However, this vengeful pursuit of justice sometimes borders on revenge, which flies in the face of his apparently Buddhist philosophies. Crews is constantly listening to the advice given by a series of Zen self-fulfillment audio tapes, but at the end of Season 1, when he has the chance to kill the real murderer, he tosses one out of his car window. Yet when he digs a grave in which to bury the true killer, he fills it back up again, as a Zen exercise, and goes on to turn in the man rather than murder him secretly. Afterwards, he goes back to the country road and picks up the damaged audio tape from the dust.

Though his unusual outlook on life often aids him on his cases, Charlie CANNOT become a true Buddhist and remain a good cop; nor can he perfectly do what a police officer ought without abandoning some of his Buddhist principles. The question surrounding his character then is whether the mystical and transcendent ideals of Zen will rule the day, or whether the grounded, common-sense sentiments and notions he holds as a human being and a cop will overcome the dangers of his abstract philosophies. In short, shall he transcend the dirty, nitty-gritty details of LIFE, become distanced and disassociated from it, or shall he engage LIFE, embrace it, and deal with the pains and harsh truths and unpleasantness of it all?
Perhaps this exchange from the penultimate episode of Season 2 puts it best, when Charlie discovers his partner has been kidnapped by a criminal mastermind who was supposed to be behind bars (Here be SPOILERS!):

TED EARLEY: Charlie, what are you thinking?
CHARLIE CREWS: I'm thinking about what I want, and what I need.
TED EARLEY: What do you want?
CHARLIE CREWS: I *want* a peaceful soul...
TED EARLEY: And what do you need?
CHARLIE CREWS: I *need* a bigger gun.

Or perhaps this exchange, from the season finale, when Charlie prepares to hunt down the men who have taken his partner:

BOBBY STARK: Is this a private club, or can anyone join?
CHARLIE CREWS: That depends on if you got me what I asked for.
[Bobby opens the car trunk]
BOBBY STARK: It's not Zen, Charlie.
CHARLIE CREWS: It'll just have to do until Zen comes along.
[CUT to trunk interior, where an assault rifle is revealed. Crews picks the gun up, loading a clip.]

No, I know -- the climactic scene of the season finale, when Charlie's in the hands of Roman, his arch-nemesis:

CHARLIE CREWS: Do you wanna know how I survived twelve years of prison?
ROMAN NEVIKOV: Your 'Zen'? [laughs]
[Charlie whips his hand back, smashing Roman's windpipe. Roman slowly chokes to death...]
CHARLIE CREWS: Like *that*.

(Here endeth the SPOILERS...)

Hopefully by now you have a rough feeling of what I'm trying to say about Det. Charlie Crews' internal struggle. While he longs for harmony and union, there is none to be had with monsters like Roman, and so Charlie picks and chooses his Buddha-sayings, getting a "bigger gun" instead of "a peaceful soul", and doing what he's got to do "until Zen comes along."

So, is Season 2 better than Season 1? Yep. The reasons? Donal Logue as Captain Kevin Tidwell and Gabriel Union as Detective Jane Seever. Plus, of course, the plot thickens, the conspiracies widen and change, the bizarre mixture of death, hilarity, and surrealism doesn't miss a beat. And Detective Charlie Crews gets to kill the bad guys. That's not very Zen, Charlie!
So, so, so, if LIFE gets canceled, a little piece of my life will shrivel up and die. I mean, we'll keep watching that d-bag in Miami take on/off his sunglasses, but not Charlie with his personal pineapple? Anyway, y'all say a prayer for Life, Dollhouse, Fringe, and Better off Ted.



Ciao, folks. If you read this far, you are truly blessed.
~tylooh!~

Read, Kindly Light...

Happy Easter

Albanian: Krishti Ungjall! Vertete Ungjall!
Arabic: Al Maseeh Qam! Haqqan Qam!
Armenian: Christos harjav i merelotz! Orhniale harutjun Christosi!
Belorussian: Khristos Uvoskros! Zaprowdu Uvoskros!
Chinese: Helisituosi fuhuole! Queshi fuhuole!
Coptic: Pikhirstof aftonf! Khen o methni aftonf!
Czech: Kristus vstal zmrtvy'ch! Skutec ne vstal!
Danish: Kristus er opstanden! Ja, sandelig opstanden!
Dutch: Christus is opgestaan! Hij is waarlijk opgestaan!
English: Christ is Risen! Indeed, He is Risen!
Gaelic: Erid Krist! G'deya! n erid she!
Georgian: Kriste aghsdga! Cheshmaritad aghsdga!
Greek: Christos Anesti! Alithos Anesti!
Hebrew: Ha Mashiyach qam! Ken hoo qam!
Italian: Cristo e risorto! E veramente risorto!
Japanese: Harisutosu Fukkatsu! Jitsu Ni Fukkatsu!
Latin: Christus resurrexit! Vere resurrexit!
Norwegian: Kristus er oppstanden! Han er sannelig opstanden!
Polish: Khristus Zmartvikstau! Zaiste Zmartvikstau!
Portuguese: Christo Ressuscitou! Em Verdade Ressuscitou!
Romanian: Hristos a Inviat! Adeverat a Inviat!
Russian: Khristos voskres! Voistinu voskres!
Serbian: Hristos Vaskrese! Vaistinu Vaskrese!
Slavonic: Christos Voskrese! Voistinu Voskrese!
Slovak: Kristus vstal zmr'tvych! Skutoc ne vstal!
Spanish: Cristo ha resucitado! Verdaderamente ha resucitado!
Syriac: Meshiha qam! Bashrira qam!
Ukranian: Kristos Voskres! Voistinu voskres!
Welsh: Atgyfododd Crist! Atgyfododd in wir!

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Futureappletreestudio 1 MELTDOWN!

I just wanted to make up yet again for lost time. Besides, I'm too lazy to actually write reviews right now, especially when these Daytrotter Sessions already come with lovely ones by Sean Moeller. So then, prepare to OD on DT!


The 1900's


The Daredevil Christopher Wright


Ash Reiter


The Redwalls


Nellie McKay


Vampire Weekend


As always, happy sounds.
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Sunday Already?

Since half of everything good on this site is something I have stolen from better bloggers like Whitney Matheson, I thought, "Hey! Why not steal more?" So here's my version of Whitney's "my week In Pop" review:

------>

Best TV show I saw:
Burn Notice, which is perhaps the most entertaining show on television, and the season finale ("Lesser Evil") was no exception. Season 2 definitely went out with a bang, a looot of bangs. If you haven't yet seen any of this hilarious and addicting spy dramedy, I urge you to rent Season 1; it'll be the best 5 bucks you spend this week.
I also enjoyed: Life -- it's always funny, surreal, and suspenseful. This episode ("Hit Me Baby") was particularly good and Zen-y. Dollhouse -- it took me a few episodes to get into it, but Joss Whedon never fails to hook you. His new series is thankfully getting better and better. Speaking of Joss (and shaky starts and becoming better and better), I've also been catching up on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I am in Season 3 and am now quite obsessed, as my friends and family can well attest.

Best movie I saw: Sadly, I only saw one movie this week, so Watchmen is the best (and the WORST) by default...
Best album I heard: It's pretty much a toss-up between Matter and Light, the new album by my favorite local band (a colossus of weird folk, bluegrass, and alternative country), The Theater Fire, and Blood Bank, the new EP by singer/songwriter indie-sensation, Bon Iver. I'll hopefully jot down a little album review on each of these shortly.
I'm also listening to: Alela Diane's two albums, The Pirate Gospel and To Be Still, as well as lots and lots and lots and LOTS of Daytrotter sessions -- too many to count, in fact.

Best book I read: Um...prob'ly Moby Dick, which, while I hope it isn't really "The Great American Novel", is damn good. Thanks, Dr. Shank, for helping us wade through it.
I'm also reading: Slayer Slang - a Buffy the Vampire Slayer Lexicon, by Michael Adams, and I am only half as ashamed as I should be for reading that. But hey, go easy on me; it was a gift!

Ok. There be my list. So what's on yours?
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Top Movie Villains of All Time???

Who are your favorite villains of the silver screen? Who do you think are the most classic? The most evil? The ones that carry the biggest presence? The most terrifying, the most twisted, the most sadistic?

I want to know your opinion. Vote in the comments, and I'll update my list and eventually rank them. There's no rule about genre. Be the film a gangster flick, a detective thriller, western, sci-fi, fantasy, horror, drama, or even kids' cartoon, its villains are up for grabs. But note: I WILL NOT accept antiheroes or mere antagonists. The entries must truly be VILLAINS, and that means evil characters with whom the audience cannot sympathize.

Update: Well, I've racked my brain. Here are my current contributions, from the Devil to Disney villains, and everything in between.

The Joker (The Dark Knight)
Hannibal Lector (Silence of the Lambs, etc.)
Keyzer Soze (The Usual Suspects)
Sauron (Fellowship of the Ring, etc.)
Darth Vader (Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi [before the end!])
Voldemort (Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone, Etc.)
Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty)
Freddy Krueger (Nightmare On Elm St.)
Lord Caldlow (The Prestige)
Detective Stansfield (The Professional)
Bricktop (Snatch)
Frank (Once Upon A Time In The West)
Arthur Burns (The Proposition)
Sheriff Cooley/The Devil (O Brother, Where Art Thou?)
Count Tyrone Rugen/The Six-Fingered Man (The Princess Bride)
Bill (Kill Bill)
Ernst Stavro Blofeld/Dr. Evil (From Russia With Love / Austin Powers, etc.)
Mr. Blonde (Reservoir Dogs)
John Doe (Seven)
Jigsaw (Saw)
The Judge (The Natural)
Mr. Glass (Unreakable)
Scar (The Lion King)

So, who makes it on your list?
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Activate Instant Netflix Queue. Engage!

The last good thing I watched on Instant Netflix was "Winter Passing", with Zooey Deschanel, Ed Harris, and Will Ferrell. I saw that sometime last week. Since then I have seen half-way-through a half dozen terrible films. Now, here's what's currently gracing my Instant Queue:


1.
"Red Lights (Feux Rouges)"

2.
"Game 6"

3.
"Zero Effect"

4.
"Morvern Callar"

5.
"Twelve and Holding"


I've only seen Zero Effect before. I expect to absolutely hate half of the others, and absolutely love the other half. I'll get back to you once I've finished watching them.

UPDATE: Or not. :P
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Evening Buzz: Iron Man 2, Jim Carry, Bosque Brown...

Time for a little late evening buzz.

!!BUZZ!!
Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell are in talks to play the villains Whiplash and Justin Hammer in Iron Man 2.

!!BUZZ!!
Since when is Jim Carry the right guy to play Scrooge? And why are we letting the dude who directed Beowulf(*involuntary gag*) get within twenty feet of A Christmas Carol?

!!BUZZ!!
The blog "Music For Kids Who Don't Read Good" has some nice best of '08 lists. Here are their picks for tv shows, albums, and songs. Some of the goodies mentioned therein: Fleet Foxes, Of Montreal, Mountain Goats, Headlights, Vampire Weekend, Sun Kil Moon, Fringe, 30 Rock, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and Lost.

!!LOCAL BUZZ!!
And lastly, coming from the local corner, here is weshotjr.com's interview with Texas folk/country singer/songwriter Bosque Browne. Her new album, Baby, comes out in March!
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