Month: October 2003

And, before I go to sleep, I checked out the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, the entertainment magazine. Dated October 10, 2003, it’s the Photo Issue – “The Year’s Best Pictures,” with George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones on the cover (probably to promote their upcoming movie). Love these kinds of issues – glossy pictures, and more glossy pictures. Plus funny captions. Got to love the funny captions. And, the articles…

Notable lines from this week’s issue, for laugh-out-loud value:

1. Re: The review for “Miss Match,” NBC’s new show for Alicia Silverstone as a divorce lawyer/matchmaker –

“The most successful dramas on television provide hours of face time with just the kinds of people we try hard to avoid in real life – cops, lawyers, surgeons, judges, and pretty much anyone who analyzes bodily fluids for a living [in reference to the CSI folks, probably]…. Do we really need another season chockful of pervy miscreants with high-speed Internet connections and the gruff cops in no-nonsense footwear who stalk them? Survey says: no.” (Entertainment Weekly, “Love Connection,” Carina Chocano, p. 109, October 10, 2003).

2. Re: a line about the Showtime channel’s sci-fi series, “Jeremiah” –

“Chances are you didn’t catch the first season (or know there was one), so here’s the premise: Jeremiah (Luke Perry) and his pal Kurdy (Malcolm-Jamal Warner) are two of only a couple thousand survivors of a pandemic, and now they’re fighting evil people for control of the deadly virus. Yes, Dylan and Theo are humanity’s only hope. And, this second-season premiere finds Jeremiah reconnecting with his long-lost dad and Jurdy getting some help from Sam Gamgee – sorry, Sean Astin [as guest star]…. Extra points for best random grouping of former teen stars, but there’s little reason to watch beyond that.” (Entertainment Weekly, “What to Watch,” review by Jennifer Armstrong, p. 115, October 10, 2003).

Dylan and Theo? Gosh, even the imagery is just… bizarre. And the Lord of the Rings reference. Ah, only in Entertainment Weekly.

P.S. – Angel’s season premiere on WB this Wednesday – it was actually fun, in the Buffy/Angel usual kind of way. This is going to be quite a season.

[I’m actually writing this on the 4th, but since I’m the admin, I get to warp space and time in this little domain. It also fits neatly that gap between the 2nd and the 4th.]

I went to the opening of the NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, which is part of their new student center at Washington Square South. Wow, what we could have done if that were there when I went there! (say that three times fast). The premiere [AP/Atlanta Journal-Constitution] [N.Y. Times] was 5 dance segments by the Parsons Dance Company. The most amazing performance was by Angel Corella of the American Ballet Theatre in “Caught”. The performance used a carefully timed strobe light. When the stage was dark, Corella would move into position on stage. He would jump into the air, pose, and activate the strobe light. When the strobe flashed, the audience would only see the final result of the movement. In this way, he seemed to float across the stage, sometimes walking, sometimes gliding. At the end of each sequence, he would reappear standing ramrod straight in a single regular spotlight on stage, and he wouldn’t even appear winded. Absolutely amazing! I wished that I could have taken pictures. [The New York Times article has a full sized picture.]

World’s largest cube fridge

The temperature has taken a dramatic drop. It must be around 55 degrees F! There is that crispness in the air that is distinctive of fall.

In other freezer news, my freezer is defrosting. I’ve got one of those ancient circa 1950’s refrigerator/freezers. It’s so old that the freezer is a box inside the refrigerator, like a giant version of those dorm cube fridges. There ‘s no easy way to do it but to just turn it down low and just let it melt. They apparently hadn’t invented the drain pan yet, so it all ends up at the bottom of the cabinet, mostly in the veggie tray. I used the top of a spray bottle as a makeshift pump to get enough of the liquid out to pull it out without getting it all over the floor. Two half buckets of water and paper towels were deposited down the toilet. There is still about half a gallon of ice still in the box. I guess the advantage is that the stuff in my fridge had enough ice in there to keep it going during the blackout.

Did I mention that it’s getting cold in the living room?