Tusk - Fleetwood Mac

Hadn't heard this song in a long time, but it was part of the soundtrack to the pilot episode of The Americans I just watched.  I even had to look it up to see who had done it. (brain fart, the only thing I can attribute it to...then again, it was very early in the a.m.)

New Category: Reviews

I've been thinking for the longest time that I'd do more and regular movie & TV reviews and finally decided I'd start. I'm not sure about "regular" posts, but I AM going to do them. (now 'n then would probably be a more apt description of the frequency of the reviews)

(I haven't been reading nearly as many books as I used to do, but if I read a good one, I'll try to review it, too.)

I'm going to link to IMDb for the movies and TV series so folks can get other information if they're interested - no need for me to repeat something that's available in a thousand other places.  I'm not going to make any pretense that I'm some sort of critic; I'm just going to write how I liked - or didn't like - the movie/TV show. Sometimes it's difficult to describe a movie or show without revealing spoilers, so the descriptions might be a little sparse.

I've given a lot of thought about how I will grade them, too.  I didn't want to go strictly thumbs up or down;  that is too "either/or" for me and I also don't want to go on a 5-star or 10 point grading system because that's too limiting.  I have trouble at times rating something on IMDb because 1-10 stars sometimes doesn't let me "nuance" my grade.  For example, I might really like something, but 7 stars isn't enough and 8 would be too many, esp. compared to something else I rated 8 stars and liked a little better.  So, I have decided to go on a 0-100 scoring system, just like number grades in school. (and letter grades also wouldn't let me be as precise with scoring, but they would be closer than a 5 or 10 star system)

I hope I will be fair to the movie or TV show, but I also think I will be stingy with my grades on the top end, generous on the lower ones.  In MY system, a "60" would be passing, just as it is in many schools, but it's certainly not a glowing recommendation.  I don't remember ever giving a movie or TV series a "10" on IMDb and I expect a "95" will be around the upper range of my scoring.  OTOH, anything "40" or under will probably be in the "Not Worth Watching" category.  If I give something a grade of 40 or less, I probably couldn't get past the first fifteen minutes of it.  I won't waste my time if the thing is that bad, but I also wouldn't want to dissuade someone else from giving it a look-see.  Different strokes, etc.

I may include YouTube videos in my reviews, particularly educational and documentary vids I've watched.  I'll probably factor in resolution and quality into those, though.  If possible, and I think the movie or TV series is worthy of the space, I'll embed a video of the trailer or a certain scene. (if I can find one)

Hope you'll read my reviews and comment on them...all six of my regular readers!

I Miss Mr. Six

First Video on MTV

Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles was the first music video shown on MTV in the United States at 12:01am on August 1, 1981.

Algiers - The Afghan Whigs

This song played over the ending scene of the latest Ray Donovan episode "Snowflake".

TV's Greatest Catchphrases

I'll have to admit I wasn't familiar with all of these - mainly because I've never seen many of the shows.  I also knew some of the catchphrases even though I hadn't seen the series, but they've entered the pop culture zeitgeist.

What is That?

Since I love The Big Bang Theory, I clicked on this link on my Bing start page: ‘Big Bang Theory’ engagement: Leonard and Penny spark emotional Twitter reaction

I then clicked on the video, thinking I'd see some comments by Kaley Cuoco or her real-life husband, Ryan Sweeting, but it was just a clip of last night's show where Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and Penny (Cuoco) get engaged.

What really piqued my interest was this, the "cover" photo of the video:

No, not Sweeting and Cuoco being newlywed lovebirds, but this in the background, top left:

What the hell is that?  I'm thinking it's probably just the angle of the photo, but if it's not, then that guy is with a female Wookiee.

Hard on Hearts

More people have heart attacks on Mondays than on any other day of the week.

Rocky and Bullwinkle

My favorite Sunday morning cartoon from childhood.

CBS Matchmaker

Find your match...as long as he/she is a character on a CBS show.

Click graphic for larger view

Not sure about this one and wished I had changed some answers on my quiz so I could have got a different result. First, I've never seen Elementary, the Sherlock Holmes crime drama; second, I don't really find Lucy Liu all that attractive and lastly, Joan Watson takes the place of the male John Watson that was in the novels. 'Nuff said.

Why couldn't it have been Anna Faris from Mom or Kat Dennings from 2 Broke Girls? I don't watch those two shows, either, but I probably would if I were dating one of those stars...or at least, their characters.

Find your match on CBS

Which BBT Character Are You?

Which Big Bang Theory Character Are You?

Oldest Trick in the Book

Some of their adverts aren't funny at all, but this latest batch is clever, the "did you know" ones.  Here's the latest one I've seen, really well done.

Marie's Blog

I missed this when the show was on, but with the Breaking Bad marathon going on this weekend, the BB Facebook page did a post on it. If you are/were a big fan of the series, you might find it funny.

Marie's Blog

Sounds (that drive me) Crazy

Remember this Overstock.com commercial? It's been one of my favorite adverts of all-time. The woman is Sabine Ehrenfeld, a German model and actress born in Nov. 1963. I liked the commercial not just because she's pretty, but there's *something* about her voice that drives me wild, sending shivers down my spine. ("good" shivers) I'm not sure if it's the pitch or timbre of her voice that does it, but she's not the only female that does it to me; Shania Twain and Trisha Yearwood also affect me much the same way. 

Now, I'm not particularly a huge fan of Twain and Yearwood's music;  I like country just fine, but it's not my favorite musical genre.  I do have a few tunes of each perfomer in my mp3 jukebox, but haven't collected their albums like you might think I would, especially considering how their voices make me feel.  In fact, it's not Yearwood's singing voice that does it for me, but rather just her ordinary way of speaking.  I try to catch her new cooking show on the Food Network as often as possible, Trisha's Southern Kitchen.  I like her recipes just fine, but mostly enjoy listening to her talk.

While I'm on the subject of cooking shows, there's another lovely lady whose voice also drives me nuts and that's Nigella Lawson. I also try to watch her show as often as it comes on the network, but to be honest? Five minutes after the show was over I doubt I could tell you what she had cooked , but could definitely tell you the color of the sweater she had worn.  Worn very well. -ahem-

Breaking Bad Caricatures

I wish I could post one of these hilarious caricatures as an example, but I don't have permission, so just go to the site to view.


Breaking Bad characters as you’ve never seem them before

Bryan Cranston Before Breaking Bad

R.I.P. Brian

If you're a Family Guy fan and happened to catch last night's episode, you know that Brian (the family dog) died in the episode.

If you didn't....Oops, spoiler alert! Sorry, too late for that, huh?

I only started watching the show a few years ago; I guess I had lumped it in with The Simpsons (which I find anything but funny) and didn't think it would be worth wasting a half-hour watching it.  However, one Sunday I had watched the late football game on Fox and didn't bother to turn the channel and Family Guy came on.  I didn't know where the remote was and I was too lazy to get up and turn the channel, so I started watching and was - for better or worse -  hooked. 

The creator of the show, Seth MacFarlane, is an unabashed liberal and he takes a lot of potshots at conservatives, but a few weeks after I started watching, Rush Limbaugh "starred" on an episode and it was one of the funniest of the entire series.  There HAVE been some really bad episodes, though, not that they were without humor, but sometimes the humor crossed the line. (some about religion, such as making fun of Jesus being crucified and others showing "retarded" characters...the show does a lot of cruel humor directed at people with disabilities) It's those shows that make me re-think watching it, but then there will be a flash of brilliant comedy that gives me hope there will be more like it.  It's constantly on a teeter-totter of enjoyment with me - 51% funny and 49% disgusting and sometimes those percentages reverse.  It's hard for me to explain why I keep watching it and certainly harder trying to defend my watching it.

Without delving into each of the characters and their personalities, I always figured that MacFarlane actually had the Brian character in mind as his animated alter-ego when he created him;  after all, Brian is the most liberal of any of the characters, and while many slams are directed towards conservatism (and religion), I think MacFarlane is actually making fun of liberals in a subtle way with Brian.  Here's an example, one of my favorite scenes of the series:

I loved that rant and particularly the Catcher in the Rye reference. (most worthless "classic literature" I ever wasted time reading)  All the things Quagmire said about Brian were true and not only is Brian a dog, if he were a human he'd also be a dog.

I don't think Brian is gone for good; Stewie will make another time machine and will go back in time and save Brian. I hope so, because the "replacement dog" Vinnie is annoying.

The Seinfeld - Breaking Bad Connection

Actors who were in both series.

Aaron Paul's Gum Commercial

Aaron Paul's Cereal Commercial