Spontaneous Musings

Well, will do the open-house thing on Sunday, my window of time to buy my own flat is getting rapidly smaller and pressure is building. So no more endless procrastinating and off to do some looking. I don't have to buy anything after all - they are just open-houses. There's two flats (sigh apartments - I've spent too much time reading my flist who hails from countries that use the word "flat") near the church I'm currently infatuated with and in swank Brooklyn Heights. Both in elevator buildings, with doormen, and laundry. Plus the ever-coveted "roof deck". Personally? I'd be happy with a dishwasher at this point. So off to look after church tomorrow. It's cheaper for me to buy a place at this point than continue renting for forever and a day- particularly with the current environment.

Also posted things to Facebook - first time in 6 months. Be curious if anyone notices. I'm rarely on Facebook. It makes me edgy. I don't like being limited to 240 characters. That's too much like writing emails at work. I'm brief at work - believe it or not. Mostly because words can get one in trouble, so less is always best.

Deleted Persons Unknown from DVR this morning - decided it was a) too creepy for my taste, b) I didn't like any of the characters that much, and c) somewhat cliche - copied too many previous tv show set-ups regarding the same topic, but with a much poorer execution.

Watched Project Runway - the 90 minute length just means more pointless interviews with the designers, and more time spent with them gabbing in their rooms. I could do without this.
( cut for spoilers for the last two episodes )

Finished watching Friday Night Lights - adore this show, it's well written, and has a lot of adorable characters. I fall in love with Tim Riggins and Coach Taylor every season. But, it does not pass the Bechdel Test and while it is feminist in tone, it is clearly a show told through a decidedly male perspective, women are support or secondary in most cases. Dealing primarily with traditional or cliche female issues. ( spoilers ) In some respects I prefer this season to last one's - it's tighter, and addresses racism far better, along with classism - which in some respects is the bigger problem. The vast divide between rich and poor is depicted well here. It's not for everyone - people who don't like serial dramas about inter-personal relationships and no mysteries or puzzles to solve - most likely will hate it. But you never know.

Off to get laundry, make dinner, and watch True Blood.

My book queue is filling up. Still working my way through S.M. Stirling's "Dies The Fire" which is fantasy survival tale - about what would people do if technology and guns stopped working and they were suddenly thrown back to the stone age? All the emphasis is on what people would do, nothing on the why or how it all stopped. Could be mystical. Could be Alien Space Bats. Nobody knows. Definitely not a book for science fiction geeks. But fantasy fans might like it. I'm struggling with parts of it, the writing is so-so, and it's very *macho* in places.

Others on tap: White Knight by Jim Butcher, a finished Thriller MS by a friend of mine that I need to read and report back on (she's going to read my book when I finish it...which I will eventually, hopefully within the next three weeks. But we shall see. Meant to work on it this weekend, but been distracted.), Labrynth by Kate Mosse, Privilege of the Sword by Ellen Kurshner, and The Last Hot Spot by John M. Ford.

Watched The Riches and Dexter today via the DVR. Dexter is definitely going to continue getting taped. They are replaying the first season on Showtime right now, prior to The Tudors. If the rest of the series is anything like the first episode, it will be interesting. Well-written, well-acted, and different than anything I've seen.

For anyone who is new to Dexter - its basically about a serial killer who gets off on killing serial killers like himself. His foster father, a cop, figured out way back when that Dexter was damaged and craved killing things. So, he decided to channel this craving for good - teach Dexter how to cover his tracks and only kill someone after he had substantial proof that the person was in fact a serial killer and the cops wouldn't get him. Or something to that effect. The guy who plays him - formerly of Six Feet Under - is alarmingly good in the role - sexy, charming, interesting, and creepy all at the same time. You sort of root for him. Julie Benz who plays his girlfriend, Rita, is equally good and very different from the character she played on Angel. If you've got Showtime and haven't checked it out? It's definitely worth a look. Best thing I've seen on tv in a while. Provides a whole new twist on what has now become a somewhat tired format - the police procedural.

The Riches? I'm enjoying it. But it's not stellar. The performances are good, writing okay. Find it interesting and am curious about the characters, I do, to a degree care what happens to them, so will, for now, continue with it.

Lost - frenchani did a good review of this week's episode, go read her.
Even picked up on some things that I think I missed or don't remember that clearly from a prior episode. I enjoy Lost but am not in love with it - if that makes sense.
( Lost comments with spoilers )

Friday Night Lights...this is one of those shows that really doesn't require any comments or analysis. It's more or less a study of life in a small town devoted to high school football. The ups and downs of the characters lives. Somewhat soapy in places, but no more or less so than Greys Anatomy. Definitely more realistic than Grey's, but not as much fun. It's well written, well filmed, well acted, and beautifully rendered. I watch it and am comforted by it. But I don't love it, possibly because I don't identify with any of the characters. I just like and appreciate it a great deal.