Multimedia

This morning I had a message from the Godfathers over on my Myspace page. (They're the band from the 80's that I've always loved and they reunited and are playing in Chicago on Valentine's Day, for their traditional St. Valentine's Day Massacre show.) The note was from Peter, the lead singer, and he said that after the show at the Metro, they're going to have an after-party. He and maybe some of the other guys in the band will be DJ'ing, and there will be pizza and beer. He invited me and anyone who is with me--how awesome is that?! Free beer! Ha ha! Seriously, what a nice thing of them to do for their fans, and how cool to sort of hang out with them. I hope it works out that we can do that, but of course, I won't be the one driving. That is still to be determined, but it will probably be either Ken or Shane.

Okay, that's the music portion of our program, now on to TV/films.

Ken and I were rather disappointed that "My Own Worst Enemy" on NBC tanked and was canceled so quickly. We really like Christian Slater, and really liked the show. But things are looking up, as we seem to have found another one that we're both really digging: "Lie to Me," which is on Fox, right after "American Idol," and stars Tim Roth.

The premise is that this doctor (a psychologist, I guess, played by Roth) assists law enforcement in solving crimes with his expertise in body language. It's kind of an interesting area to me, and I enjoy reading things about body language and "tells." (That's big in poker, because everyone has a "tell.") For me, what really sells the show is Tim Roth. I don't know that much about him, other than that he's English, and I've liked him in everything in which I've seen him. I may not like his character, because he plays a lot of slimeballs, but I think he's a great actor. Quentin Tarentino does, too, and put him in "Reservoir Dogs" (as Mr. Orange) and "Pulp Fiction" (as Pumpkin, the robber in the opening scene).

I thought this was a good description of him: "With lean hangdog looks that make him a natural for the criminals and fringe dwellers he usually plays, Tim Roth has the uncanny and incredibly effective ability to make sleaze look sexy, or at least raggedly photogenic." (Rebecca Flint, All Movie Guide) I'd say that he has that sort of intensity that I always enjoy seeing in an actor. The show gives rise to some funny moments, too, when he reads his colleagues or they try to read him. Can you imagine working with or being around an expert on body language, where you know that every little muscle twitch or minute eyebrow movement is being noticed and analyzed? It would certainly make me feel self-conscious!

So if you get a chance, I hope you'll give it a try. I think it's interesting and a lot of fun, and I hope it does well. Hey, I just saw you raise your eyebrow! Does that mean you're interested? Or disdainful of my endorsement? You think the show will fail, don't you? You think I'm silly for liking it.

Yeah...I got your number. I've got you pegged. You can't fool me.

Getting back to normal...or what passes for it

I'm up earlier than I usually am, because this morning my piano is being delivered! It's been at my niece's house, and we finally have a place to put it so we made arrangements to have it moved over. Mom and Dad gave it to me many years ago, but I ended up in an apartment that didn't really have a place for it, so it ended up with my sister, then her daughter and her husband bought their house from them, so poor Mr. Piano has been around the block, and lonely for a long time! I'll write more about it later. I think Mom and Dad wanted me to have it because I'm the one who played it the most. Diana was already out of the house, and Susie was in nursing school, so I probably spent the most time with it.

Hey, the black bean soup turned out great! Ken put more chili powder in his, but it was just right for me. The blend of flavors was really good. I'll have to find another soup to try!

We finished watching "Hostel II" last night. I can't remember when I last said this, or IF I've ever said it, but...don't see this movie. I found nothing whatsoever that would redeem it in any way, shape, or form. It is a vile piece of cinematography. It was almost unwatchable, and there were a couple of times where I almost said I couldn't watch any more of it. I soldiered through, but I absolutely cannot recommend this to anyone. In fact, just the opposite. I recommend that you NOT see it. Yes, it was that bad. Quentin Tarentino made one of my favorite movies, "Pulp Fiction." Now it seems he has made one that is probably my least favorite, "Hostel II." Jeez, find some middle ground, will you, Quentin?

Milwaukee Dan #3 left me a comment about my political letter to my undecided friends. He wrote that he'd be glad on Wednesday when he can stop by here without wincing and ducking. Ha ha! I wrote back and said that frankly, so will I, and I thanked him for being a good sport. My brain is just about fried from all this stuff. Yesterday, I took an "election quiz" that was on AOL. Here are my results. That's right, a perfect score. That tells me that I'm probably a little too caught up in it all, and I'll be happy to leave the anxiety behind. There's definitely excitement there, too, but it's time to be done.

In fact, that letter to my friends was probably the last thing I'll write about it, until results start coming in tomorrow. It was sort of my closing argument. Unless something really big happens today, like we find out one of the candidates is an alien or something. (And I'm not going to speculate on who I think might be an alien! But her name kind of rhymes with alien. Hahaha! Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

I'm really looking forward to getting back into reading for fun, and I've got plenty to occupy me. Books, magazines, and getting back into the book club (I took a hiatus during the election season). There are letters to be written, piano to be relearned, songs to be sung...! Scratch that last one. Anyhoo, I feel like I'm getting ready to rejoin the human race. How exciting!