And if you don't celebrate, I'm still hoping that you are having a good day. I know I am. Dad cooked the dinner (so I didn't have to), and it was very good. I also got the decorating FINISHED today, not almost done, but DONE! I started on Tuesday, and by Tuesday night I had the outsides done, but the inside took me a bit longer - it always does, I don't know why. Still I got most of it done last night, but I needed some nails and tacks in the walls to finish, and since someone was sleeping last night I decided not to drive nails into the wall. But it took me less than a half-hour to finish things off today. YAY!
Now I may add two/three more strings of lights to the back porch, but even if I don't, I believe I have enough up all ready, so I've decided I'm officially done even if I decide to add some stuff later.
PS - I even got those Christmas presents I purchased wrapped all ready.

In other spanking good news, I got the first two discs of season one Supernatural yesterday. I let the pilot episode play in the background while I was decorating last night, but would not let myself actually stop decorating to watch, because I really wanted to be done with the decorating. Good news is now that I am done I will be free to watch Supernatural until I'm ready to go sleepy time tonight.
(The episode was good enough to pull me away from the decorating three times. And WOW the dude playing Sammy looks really YOUNG here. And, okay, yes, some of the special effects aren't really special (or are very special, depending on your point of view), but the story was decent enough to override that.)

NO, I don't expect to get all of seasons one thru four watched before season five comes back in January, but if I get lucky maybe I can get through season one and (maybe hopefully) two.

...I know you will when I tell that today I took a shopping day, and the only reason I didn't completely complete my Christmas shopping is because one of my nearest and dearest was with me, so I still have to pick up something for that one, but otherwise I am DONE!
Of course, I'm usually ALWAYS done with my Christmas shopping by the second week of December anyway. But I decided to get an early start trying to avoid the crowds, I HATE crowds, and traffic... And while I'm sure I avoided quite a bit, there was still more than a few shoppers around today, and in places the damn traffic was murder.

So, now I can focus the rest of my week on getting the Christmas decor up. Yes, that'll take at least two days maybe three cause of my feet, but even if my feet don't bother me to much, I put enough Christmas crap up to take me two days, yes I do.
Still right now I'm hopeful that I'll get lucky and be finished by Thanksgiving - if I can at least get the porches (front and back) done over the next two days, then I can work inside at night. Of course, that depends on whether or not my feet hold strong.

And then, if my current plan holds, I'll hopefully be getting ye old Christmas cards done and done before December even starts. Alas, I'm not entirely hopeful here, because every year I have a plan something like this, and practically every year I run behind when it comes to getting the cards signed sealed and delievered.

AND I had to watch it twice because even the Scrat scenes didn't always give me enough time to stop laughing to catch everything that happened in the movie. This is definitely the best of the Ice Age movies. The first one was good, and did have more than a few laugh out loud moments, and as far as laughing the second was on par with the first, but I liked the - dare I say it? - plot of the second movie better than the first. However, the third Ice Age is pure and simply made of win! Or at least it was for me, and to be honest I'm going to watch it a third time just to see if there's anything I still missed because of laughing, and I expect that some of the jokes will still make me laugh.

On the Scrat stuff, even that wasn't as bad/boring in this movie as it usually is for me, though admittedly I'll probably skip through all the Scrat stuff on my third (but not final) watch!

I'm actually sad that Buck ended up not joining the herd, because as much as I was prepared to dislike him (because of all the fan-hype over him) I ended up loving the Buck! Sorry, Diego you are no longer my favorite Ice Age character. Seriously, it seemed that not just Manny was infected with the stupid because of baby, even Diego just wasn't funny this time around, which left things wide open for Buck, who ended up being the best character this movie had (even the distructo twins, who did make the second Ice Age better than it would've been without them just weren't up to snuff this time around, though to the writers credit they seemed to at least realize that with these two). Unless they can bring Manny, Diego, and the distructo twins back to normal Ice Age 4 will have more than a few serious flaws, and even if the writers get the old characters back to normal it'll still be ashame not to have the Buck around for Ice Age four. Unless, of course, they go with Ice Age 4: The Return of the Wisely-Weaselly One!
Actually, it makes sense that Manny was all weird because of baby considering his history, but that really shouldn't have removed the funny from all the other characters, yet it somehow managed to mostly do so.

( So, okay, I was a bit bothered by a sun in the underworld... )

Still all things considered it even made me laugh that the first promo I saw after watching this moving and switching back to TV (while I was still bitch pissing and moaning about baby mucking things up) was for this weeks Ghost Whisperer and poor Melinda and her every parents worst nightmare - a missing baby. Oh, SHUT UP! Who cares? She's not real, he's not real, and at least he's only kidnapped by a ghost, if the promo is to be believed, and not something much much worse.
My thoughts on 'Ghost Whisperer' let me show them to you!

(Good news from last entry: There was some live fleas still alive on the raging teen kitty last night, but when I checked this morning it would appear most (hopefully all) the fleas on the big cat were dead, and this afternoon I haven't been able to find any on teen cat either.)

Okay, while I'm all mostly upbeat and feeling good the winter season this year has been less than stellar and more costly than normal for me.

For the record, what's under the cut isn't as long as usual, for me, but it would make this post a bit long to leave it uncut.
( The low-down on the animals, and a bit of going green news from me )

Yet, somehow, despite all this I am feeling weirdly good and positive about things.

Okay, I didn't start watching this show until mid-season three, and stuck with season four (though the whole "Will Jim remember or won't he?" story GREATLY ANNOYED me). Not to mention that it was clear from the beginning that Professor Eli James (Jamie Kennedy) was no Professor Rick Payne (Jay Mohr). But I didn't even bother attempting to watch season five... At first, during season four, I was delighted because it seemed as though they (the show) went out of its way to show that Jim and Melinda did not do the naughty before he got shot, which indicated that there would be no little annoying bun in Melinda's oven. Then they went and screwed it up by making her preggers anyway. Well, despite the fact that, in my experience, shows go downhill quickly once a baby is introduced, I decided to stick it out UNTIL Melinda was informed that her (then) unborn baby would be the biggest Gary Sue (Mary Sues annoying brother) in the universe. Of course, it wasn't exactly worded that way, but I read the subtext/intent. And it was at that moment when I knew I wouldn't be watching season five. However, I had considered watching the first couple episodes anyway, but then ABC decided to air encores of Flashforward in the same time-slot, and since I was WAY more interested in freshman Flashforward than the senior Ghost Whisperer by that point, I decided to use my Fridays for Flashforward.

So, to be fair, I can't say for sure that Ghost Whisperer season five really sucks. What I can say for sure is that I'm not the only one who's not watching this season (the ratings have dropped this season), and that I've been looking at episode descriptions, and none have enticed me to give Ghost Whisperer another chance even now that Flashforward is no longer airing repeats on Friday.

The first strike was Eli James replacing Rick Payne. Now don't misunderstand, I don't hate Jamie Kennedy, though I don't generally find him funny. However, I don't (or didn't) really dislike him any more than I did Jay Mohr before this. Of course, I understand why Jay left, he got a chance to star in his own show, and he took it.
Does it make me a horrible person to hope Gary Unmarried (which isn't a good or interesting show - it's the unfunny version of Two and a Half Men) gets canceled so Jay can come back to Ghost Whisperer? Probably, but at this point that is about the only thing that would entice me into giving Ghost Whisperer another chance. Well, obviously, it's not enough that Jay's show gets canceled, he'd have to be willing to come back to Ghost Whisperer.

( Still I decided to watch Seasons One, Two, and what I missed of Three on the ION/WE repeats, and... )

Anyway, I basically went through all that for two reasons; one, because I am apparently long-winded, and have some weird bias against coming straight to the point. Two, because the chemistry between Jim, Melinda, and Rick in the latter season two/early season three episodes has left me with a real yen for some Jim/Melinda/Rick threesome fanfic. Does ANYone know where I might find such an animal? Pretty please.

Okay, I am aware that there probably isn't anyone reading this journal who's deeply interested in this, but I am, and I really wish I had done something like this back when Buffy was on the air. All I can remember/find now is that Buffy's season one was reasonable ratings-wise (S1 - 3.7 million, which is reasonable FOR the then WB), and season two (S2 - 5.2 million) was awesome for the WB. Season three (5.4 million) improved (slightly) on season two, and then everything changed.

I remember Season four started as high as season three, but I also remember watching the numbers drop as each new episode aired, at least for the first several episodes. Ultimately it didn't drop to or below season one numbers (S4 4.7 million), but it did drop below season two and three. Season five also lost some of the season four audience (S5- 4.4 million), and that's where things get a bit confusing. Overall, season six had 4.6 million, but I believe that number is skewed because it contained the highest rated single episode of Buffy EVAR!, and it's probably not the one you're thinking - it was actually Bargining (Parts 1&2), but from what I recall (outside of the opening) the individual episode numbers were on the whole less than season fives, but I guess not that much lower. And, by now, I'm sure you know that season seven lost a few (more than a few, actually, because ultimately it doesn't even have season fours highs) numbers from season six (S7 4.2 million).

The point of this ramble is that I would love to have the original individual episode numbers for Buffy, but alas I didn't bother to save them. I guess I assumed they'd be on the net forEVAR! Of course, me being lazy probably means I won't end up keeping up with this as closely as I'd like to, but I'm going to start strong at any rate.

The Vampire Diaries
Season One 2009/2010

( cutting cause the numbers make this entry really long, even without having numbers for the whole season yet! )

...Or, I suppose, more than one. *wink*

Last night, while watching The Colbert Report, I found myself in a most unusual position.

At the start of the show, Colbert read an ad from a paper from Miracle Whip addressed to him that announced they would be showing an ad for their product in every commercial break during his show. You see, awhile back Colbert started a "war" between Mayo and Miracle Whip. HEHE

Anyway, I found myself almost as eager for those ads as I was the show itself. Sure enough the ads themselves were very much worth seeing. Personally, I don't like Mayo or Miracle Whip, but there is a member of my household who does, and I have decided that because of those ads next time I go to the store this person will get Miracle Whip over Mayo, the latter I usually buy because "hello, cheaper."

*blushes* So eager did I end up being to see these ads that I even watched the last commercial before Stephen comes back to say goodnight. I usually never watch that, I tend to start on my DVR viewing directly after his guest segment. Thankfully, the Miracle Whip ad was the first one there, but I ended up watching the whole break simply to see if they'd air another one.
(For the record, they did not.)

I suppose this means Colbert needs to take on another company. If nothing else it certainly makes the ads much more fun than they normally are. Of course, that could be simply because Colbert makes anything better.

On the other hand, a Princess Cruises ad that keeps forcing me to look at it before finally allowing me to view the actual page I want to view over at TVbythenumbers is starting to really piss me off. STOP HIJACKING my browsing window and then taking for ever to load before finally allowing me the option of skipping your most annoying ad!
Four freakin' times today this ad has hijacked me - it was only twice the other day. I'll tell you this right now, I will never forget the name Princess Cruises, and I will also NEVER take one of their damn cruises - that ad annoys me that much. Not so much the ad itself, but the fact that it completely takes over my browsing window puts Princess and their cruises on my shit list!

...Or as titled by the GG PTB They Shoot Humphreys, Don't They?
Somebody being shot might've helped this episode.

As I did with Supernatural I'll sum this episode up in one word:

BORING!

To expand on that - I don't even think all the characters riping off their clothes and having an orgy would help this show. *sad* Because here I thought an orgy would make anything better. *wink*

Oh, and if you watched for the over-hyped 3some - you had to sit through forty five minutes of boring CRAP just to get there, and then... And then... *sigh* The over-hyped 3some doesn't amount to anything more risqué than a lesbian kiss. Oh, and it was fairly obvious through the entire episode who would be involved in the over-hyped 3some. There was only one group of three that was remotely close enough. So, I'm at a loss why the GG PTB wanted to keep it so secret until the episode aired.

THIS SHOW SUCKS!

And this is coming from someone who loved Cruel Intentions (which this show clearly wants to be, but it can't even manage to be an interesting knock-off) but it doesn't even remotely come close. Yes, I LOVED Cruel Intentions, I rather liked Cruel Intentions II, and didn't think Cruel Intentions III sucked, but Gossip Girl does worse than suck, it's boring!
(There's actually a part of me that actually liked Cruel Intentions II better than the original, but that's probably cause there was a part of me that hated Kathryn not winning, and in CI2 she doesn't get smacked down like she did in the Gellar version.)

I was even almost excited for the new series (that CI2) was originally supposed to be Manchester Prep, but FOX killed it before it really got off the ground. Which, in the end, almost makes it weird that I was so very bored by Gossip Girl.

Seriously, even the gay subtext between the loser whiner boyz wasn't even enough to interest me. To quote vamp!Willow, which I did often and repeatedly throughout the episode "bored now." And by the time we got to the over-hyped 3some I was thinking "who cares?"

However, to be fair (or damn with faint praise), the character named Jenny almost came close to being interesting two or three times. She never made it to interesting, but she did come close. Lady, you are NO Kathryn Merteuil. Hell, you aren't even a good Cassidy Merteuil.
Though to be fair, in some cases Cassidy was more interesting than Kathryn. She was certainly smarter at any rate.

And her brother... I can't even remember his name. Look, Gossip Girl Jenny is not bitchy or bad enough to justify the hate this little "woodpecker" has for her. To make his stupid plots against her interesting you need to really remake her into the ItchBay that people love to hate, because as it stands now she's just a wanna-be, and he's just a whinny jealous loser... Of course, I'm not sure even that would turn this turd into a rose...

I doubt I'll even be back to watch the 3some fall-out next episode, because this show is just that lame.

NO, I'm not planning to review every episode or anything like that, but since this was my first episode, and one I really enjoyed, I thought I should talk about it a little bit, though I could sum it up in one word:

WOW!
Oh, and feel free to continue reading even if you haven't seen the episode yet, because I've kept this spoiler free...

Okay, I admit at first I thought maybe I'd picked a bad episode as my jumping in point. It seemed like it was going to be pure cheese, and while some cheese works, I admit I don't have the tolerance for cheese that I once did. However, by the fifteen minute point I was in love, and by the half hour point I was kicking myself for not getting into this sooner.
(Next weeks episode looks like it'll probably be good to.)

To be honest, this episode took me right smack back to early Buffy where things happened related to the overall plot even in the so-called "stand alone" episodes, and overall this weeks episode of Supernatural did have a stand alone feeling. However, I get the feeling the big reveal here was BIG - I mean it felt big to me, so it was probably even bigger to those who've followed the show all along.

That's an interesting point in itself. I get the feeling that if I'd been watching Super natural all along not only would I have liked this episode even more (and make no mistake I did like it), but I would have probably been floored by the big reveal. So, kudos Supernatural peeps, you made an awesome episode, and you made it in such a way as to reasonably explain itself even to people who've never seen the show before.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to check Fandom_Wank, because I suspect someone somewhere is wanking about a certain bit (think CSI: Miami) from this episode... Now I admit I don't love CSI: Miami, and probably because of that I thought that bit worked best. However, I'm sure there's one (or more) hard-core Caruso fans out there who might be upset/offended.
(I did however love Knight Rider back in the day, and still loved that bit...
Also, LOVED the ad (if you've watched the episode you know what I'm talkin' about), but that is another thing I suspect would have been even better had I been watching all along.)