I don't have time for a lengthy blog, but I'll say this much.

Tuesdays at 9.

Now = "Keen Eddie"

August = "The OC"

Fox is saying that they are extending our show's run by two episodes through the rest of July, but I've read reports that say we're losing five episodes. I do know that 13 were filmed, but I'm not sure which is true. They are scrambling the episodes up, so it's very possible they didn't plan to air all thirteen, but I have no idea. Either way, I've brought that old post with the addresses back to this page.

Okay. Bookswap time.

We're all readers. This much I know for sure. I constantly find myself rec'ing good books, and buying books based on a rec by one of you.

Now, I'm sure we all know what an expensive hobby reading can be, especially for those of us without a good local library. This is where the Bookswap comes in. Instead of just rec'ing our favorite books, I'm hoping we can arrange a ... well, a book swap.

This is the idea. Everyone who wants in would e-mail me a list of titles they would be willing to loan out. We'll close out sign-ups a few weeks later, and I'll post a list of all the titles available. Each participant (and you can't participate unless you are also willing to loan out a title - I figure you're less likely to treat a book poorly if one of your babies is out there as well) will then e-mail me a list of the five books they'd most like to read, and I'll pair them up with someone who has a book they want, and also wants a book they have - does that make sense so far?

And being as that our taste in music is almost as legendary as our taste in hot men, I'd like to start a Mix CD chain as well, for those bookswap participants with a cd burner. Basically, you send the CD out with the book and the book will get returned, but the cd is a gift to the other borrower. Obviously, you wouldn't want to burn a cd that has every song off of a certain artist's most recent album - that would be bad, wrong, and something I would never do - *looks around nervously in the general direction Pooh, Jo, and Gabby* - but you'd want to make a thorough mix of albums, artists, and even genres.

So. If you're interested and need more details, comment or tag me. If you know for sure you want in, e-mail me here with a list of titles and also let me know whether or not you want to participate in the CD Mix as well. I'm going away next week and won't be back until sometime the following week - not sure exactly when - so you have until the 5th of July to get your info to me. And we'll go from there!

I was going to blog about the upcoming bookswap today, but I just LJed about the 100 greatest songs of country music and I'm all blogged out for now... You can read it over there.

Just a little info for you "Keen Eddie" fans - do with it what you will. Postcards work good for me.

FOX

Gail Berman
President, Entertainment
Fox Broadcasting Company
10201 W. Pico Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90035

Sandy Grushow
President, FOX Television
Fox Broadcasting Company
P.O. Box 900
Beverly Hills, CA 90213

E-mail:
stevenm@fox.com
iveyv@fox.com
stevefe@fox.com

Can "Keen Eddie" get any better?

I mean, it's enough for me just to have an hour of Mark Valley every week, but this show is fan-frelling-tastic. Absolutely hysterical. I was a bit concerned when I saw the advisory at the start of the show, because I had convinced half a dozen people (including my parents) to watch it last night by telling them how funny it was. I was afraid it was going to go all "NYPD Blue" on me and have more drama then comedy, but thank God it didn't let me down!

How many other shows get advisories, not for nudity or mature subject matter, but for jokes about horse semen? And sight gags (actual funny ones) involving tapioca pudding? This show is too good for FOX.

The feuding brothers-in-law at the bar couldn't have been funnier. "One Ball Bill" and "Gay Johnnie" were classic characters and I hope we get more of them. I loved that they had the entire bar split down the middle, and the anthems playing during their arguements? Priceless.

The forty-year-old filthy slut willing to do anything? With a human. For money. BWAH! She was one of the funniest one-shot characters on any show ever. The gum? In the bucket? It was funny enough to me that she tossed it in the "Evidence" bucket, but when she took it back out I just lost it. I'd love to have her come back too.

I'm totally crushing on Pippin.

The Eddie/Fiona dynamic worked this week. I was afraid they'd just be tossed together with disregard to the story, but in one episode they managed to establish that she's not entirely happy with Nigel AND that she's not ready to let go of the security she has in him. And they didn't make Eddie oblivious to it, and then didn't let him ignore it - the scene with the milk struck me as much as an older brother giving advice to his little sister as it did two bickering flatmates with a bit of UST. I honestly won't mind if they take it in either direction because I like Fiona more and more with every scene. Just as long as Nigel sticks around - I really like that guy. And let's not forget Hornypenny. I thought that she and Eddie should hook up, but after last night I think I like it just as well if he just lusts after her and says inappropriate things all the time. I could dig that.

Rudy! He was back! I was pleased. I was hoping he'd return because he was so entertaining last week that I couldn't bear the thought that he would be a oneshot character. I loved him at Scotland Yard with the information and the sperm drawing... I'm laughing now just thinking about it. Plus, if he's sticking around, then we'll get more of the hilarious three stooges. And his "I'll Call You" pantomime was just lovely. One of the things I love about this show is that they aren't scared to have the actors doing funny things in the background - seperate from the main action of the scene. Charlotte the whore with the gum. Rudy with the everything. Pippin, period. He face is so expressive that it just kills me.

And next week? Josie Lawrence. This show cannot get better. It's doomed, isn't it?

This weekend completely wore me out.

Friday night I started feeling like I was catching a cold, but I decided to get up at 3am and go to work with the hubby anyway. Wouldn't you know that it rained nonstop Saturday (why was I surprised?), leaving me running around Philly half-soaked the entire day. I was totally wiped out once I got home. Took some DayQuil and fell asleep around four in the afternoon anyway. Woke up around midnight, watched a little tv , took some NyQuil and went back to sleep around 3am.

Sunday was not much better. Still felt crappy but went to church and a graduation party anyway. Wouldn't you know that the grad party was outdoors? In the rain? I was all out of luck this weekend. But at least CMT had the forethought to air the "100 Greatest Songs of Country Music" special on Sunday - that was nifty. And the concert was fabulous! Kimberley Locke just busted free of any "American Idol" stigma with her rendition of "Crazy". Ms Patsy would have been pleased. But this all belongs in another blog...

Monday? Gorgeous weather. Drizzled for thirty seconds, but mostly beautiful. And by beautiful, you all know I just mean "not raining", right? I was still wearing a sweatshirt most of the day because of this frelling chest cold. Anyway, it was busy as all get out. Went with Mom to the hospital this morning. MamaTrix has been keeping me very worried the past few months because she's been in so much pain and everytime they diagnose something they either find something new they want to check, or they change their minds about the prior diagnosis. Got back to the Parents' a bit after three and ran to the grocery and picked up TrixBro from school. It was close to five by the time we got back to the house so I just made hamburgers and a salad for dinner because all the boys had ballgames at 6pm. TrixBro had his Little League practice and TrixDad and hubby had a softball game. By the time I got home tonight I just wanted to crash but there was no way I was missing "Farscape".

So... uh.

This is the most boring blog ever.

I'm just drained and medicine-heady enough that all I've got is a laundry list of my boring, busy weekend. I promise to do better next time. Or something...

Test Results

You think of yourself as being vibrant, bold, brilliant, and inviting.

Others think of you as being loving, independent, playful, and regal.

Your relationships can be described as beautiful, luminous, serene, and cool.

When stressed, you feel mellow.

Take this test here.

Found at Amy's:


Brain Usage Profile
Auditory : 50%
Visual : 50%
Left : 70%
Right : 30%


[Trixie], you are somewhat left-hemisphere dominant with a balanced preference for auditory and visual inputs. Because of your "centrist" tendencies, the distinctions between various types of brain usage are somewhat blurred.

Your tendency to be organized and logical and attend to details is reasonably well-established which should afford you success regardless of your chosen field of endeavor, unless it requires total spontaneity and ability to improvise, your weaker traits. However, you are far from rigid or overcontrolled. You possess a degree of individuality, perceptiveness, and trust in your intuition to function at much more sophisticated levels than most.

Having given sufficient attention to detail, you can readily perceive the larger aspects and implications of a situation or of learning. You are functional and practical, but can blend abstraction and theory into your framework readily.

The equivalence of your auditory and visual learning orientation gives you two equally effective sensory input systems, each with distinctive features. You can process both unidimensionally and multidimen- sionally with equal facility. When needed, you sequence material while at other times you "intake it all" and store it for processing later.

Your natural ability to use your senses is also synthesized in your way of learning. You can be reflective in your approach, absorbing material in a non-aggressive manner, and at other times voracious in seeking out stimulation and experience.

Overall you tend to be somewhat more critical of yourself than is necessary and avoid enjoying life too much because of a sense of duty. (Sense of duty? Who the frell am I? Buffy Summers?) You feel somewhat constrained and tend to sometimes restrict your expressiveness. In any given situation, you will opt for the rational, and learning of almost any type should be easy for you. You might need certain ideas explained to you in order to fit them into your scheme of things, but you're at least open to that!

Pretty spot on. Een though I still see myself as the reckless, artsy, impulsive high school girl that was, I have noticed that my rational side has been beating up my emotional side and stealing her lunch money these past few years.

Reason No. 42087 why we love Fametracker.com, from the latest edition of Hollywood Gene Project:

Ewan McGregor / Joshua Jackson (not that kind of slash, you Pervs!)

"Throughout his relatively brief career, Ewan McGregor has proved that a man need not be traditionally handsome in order to be sexy. This is not to say that McGregor is some kind of troll; he is attractive, of course. But he's a little on the short, pasty side; if you'd never seen him in any movies, you wouldn't necessarily think he was so hot. But that's just it: once you see him in a movie, the sex appeal becomes clear, and it's based less on his looks than on his plentiful charisma. And much as the Geneticists felt that today's youth deserved a David Herman they could call their own, so too did they feel a Ewan McGregor Jr. was in order -- only this time, the experiment was a success. Like his progenitor's, Joshua Jackson's sexiness is subtle; it's stealth sexy. While early Dawson's Creek viewers immediately twigged to the fact that the title character was unappealing on every possible level, it took some of us a whole season to notice that the show wasn't completely bereft of viable male crush objects; would Pacey -- who spent the first couple of seasons of DC as the town buffoon -- have been nearly as attractive if he weren't played by Jackson? That the series ended with Pacey and Joey together, and Dawson completely alone, was the ultimate vindication for the Hollywood Geneticists that the world needs fewer empty pretty-boys and more substantial sexpots. To that end, they may be working on a Kiefer Sutherland clone even as you read this...."

In one day I read JJ compared to Cary Grant and Ewan McGregor... all is well with the world.

BWAH! Y'all are going to love this summary of the DC finale:

"NYTV Left Coast correspondent Alexandra Jacobs took time off from her packed schedule of writing, editing, hosting media salons and couching with Jenny Aniston to weigh in on last week’s epic Dawson’s Creek finale:

Fans of the young-adult television drama Dawson’s Creek—indeed, citizens of the world—can be divided into two camps: the "DJ"ers and the "PJ"ers. "DJ"ers are the cerebral, sexless idealists who thought that Joey Potter should wind up with that insipid broad-browed beta-male Dawson Leery. "PJ"ers are quick-pulsed emotional types who kept hoping, against all reason, that Joey would find a way to be with that handsome devil, Pacey …. What was his last name, anyway?

Well, no matter. The series finale last Wednesday marked a resounding victory for the "PJ"ers, still basking in the afterglow on the show’s teeming on-line message boards. After an excruciating two hours— during which that soporific blond chick took waaay too long to die (with obligatory plastic tube up her nose) and there were more same-sex clinches than in The Hours—Joey, now a sophisticated book editor, is spotted in her improbably luxurious Manhattan high-rise watching TV with … Pacey!

Phew! One might venture that Dawson’s Creek is this generation’s Philadelphia Story, with the tomboyish, holier-than-thou Katie Holmes in the Kate Hepburn role, James Van Der Beek as a bumbling Jimmy Stewart (albeit with a big forehead and zero charisma) and Joshua Jackson settling Cary Grant’s ermine mantle over his shoulders. Thanks for six special years, guys, and this Janey-come-lately fan will see you over on TBS."

Well said...

Stolen from the whole lot of you:

What song reminds you of your father? Of your mother?
Easy answer is anything by Hall & Oates - my first concert was when my mom was 8&1/2 months pregnant and she and Dad went to an H&O show. That music is just in my blood. I'd also have to say "Unconditional" by Willy Porter and "Now & Forever" by Carole King because I have such a wonderful relationship with my parents that it perhaps verges on unhealthy. Also, my parent were in a vocal group when I was growing up and I went to a lot of shows with them, so just about any Southern Gospel style song will make me think of them. Following that train of thought all Elvis songs remind me of Dad cause he's got that Elvis quality to his voice. Shut up, it's so true. Hee - I was just reminded of this time someone heard a tape of them and exclaimed to the bass singer (who had a VERY distinctive voice) that she never knew he had sang with Elvis. Heh.

What song reminds you of your sibling(s)?
The kids love the Motown and love that Temptations tv movie from a few years back. And I can just see them both kinding jiving along to "Papa Was A Rolling Stone". Good taste in music is SO genetic. And "Kryptonite" by... some generic poprock band reminds me of my little bro cause he just LOVED that song.

What song reminds you of elementary school?
"Hanging Tough", "The Right Stuff" - any New Kids song, really.

What song reminds you of junior high?
"When I Come Around" - Green Day and "Life Is A Highway" by Tom Cochran.

What song reminds you of high school?
I went to more concerts while in HS then since I've been out. For that reason alone I have to say "Blister in the Sun" by Violent Femmes and any song off Green Day's 'Nimrod' album. And "(Don't You) Forget About Me" by Simple Minds as my gang claimed that as our class song over the crap they choose. Hee, my gang - we had our own theme songs. See if you can figure out the common thread to these: "Brass Monkey", "Margaritaville", "Two Pina Coladas"... and to think I never even got pass-out drunk until a couple months AFTER graduation. I also have to include anything by Sublime to that list. HS boyfriend loved that stupid band. And The Offspring. I shoulda bailed on him a lot earlier... Oooh! The song's off of "Wide Open Spaces" also belong in the gang list, as we wore that cd out when we went anywhere together. And Rage, can't forget the RATM - or the Kid Rock. "Yo-Da-Lin In The Valley" inded.

What song reminds you of college? (or the years just after high school?)
"Scar Tissue" by RHCP and since I've only been out of HS for four years I guess everything I listen to now could be added to that list, but the HS one is long enough...

What song reminds you of the happiest time of your life?
What time would this be? Hmmm. I don't know how to answer this.

What song reminds you of the hardest time of your life?
Any song off of JoDee Messina's "I'm Alright" album. And "I Don't Want To See You" by Martina McBride. It is obvious that the hardest time of my life was a bad relationship? I've gotten off easy so far.

What song makes you laugh every time you hear it?
"Strokin'" by Clarence Carter - which also reminds me of high school. Heh.

What song makes you cry every time you hear it?
"Everything I Own" by Bread reminds me of my grandfather's funeral. It was the song my uncle had played and knowing my uncle and his life the words just really make me ache - for the loss of my grandfather and for my uncle. And Pearl Jam's cover of "Last Kiss" came out the same time that a close friend of mine died in a car accident and I've never been able to forgive them for that. And "Please Remember Me" by Tim McGraw joins the list for the same reason.

Imagine a time capsule, to be opened in two hundred years. You have to put five albums into the capsule – not necessarily your favorites, but the ones that will say the most about your life thus far. What five do you choose?
"Born To Run" - Bruce Springsteen
"Bramble Rose" - Tift Merritt
"Tapestry" - Carole King
"August and Everything After" - Counting Crows
"Radiance" - Athenaeum

Go to This Day In Music, plug in your 16th birthday, and find out what song was #1 on the US chart that week. (Or, the UK chart, if you're in Europe) If you recognize the song, what memories does it evoke?
Physical by Olivia Newton-John - hee! - The UK had the cooler answer of Under Pressure by Queen and David Bowie

I'm a tard. I did those for my day of birth - anyway... 16th birthday was "Candle in the Wind (the Diana's Dead Remix)" by Elton John. My 18th b-day was "Smooth" by Santana, and I can dig that. Let's see - memory-wise I remember coming home from an outing with a girlfriend to see all the news coverage about Diana. And I remember being completely gobsmacked when they announced she had died. I was just talking to One about that the other night... And "Smooth" - heh. I remember a huge flood we had that fall and I was filming the creek rising up and completely surrounding our house. "Smooth" was on the radio as I was filming...

Do the same for your 21st birthday, if you've passed it.
Lose Yourself by Eminem - thank God America's musical tastes have improved... while I've never even heard of the UK hit.

What CD are you currently listening to, or did you last listen to? Is it from a genre you listened to as a teenager? (If you're still a teenager, would you have listened to it three, four years ago?)
Well, my playlist is set to scramble, but the current song is "Anna Begins" by Counting Crows - and I totally listened to this album then. The last album I listened to straight through would have to be Willy Porter's self-titled, and I'm not sure I'd have listened to it a few years ago, because it took me a few months to warm up to it.

What CD in your collection would your teenage/younger self laugh at? (Boy bands and sparkly girls don't count – most of my friends list could say that!)
Sade - Lovers Live, Journey - Greatest Hits


What CD/artist did you love when you were younger that you now cringe at?
I kinda cringe at my Kid Rock cds. Kinda a lot.

If you could buy everyone on your friends list one CD, what would it be and why?
Oooh. "Radiance" by Athenaeum, cause I've already bought it for two of them. ;) They're a fabulous, underrated, underplayed, catchy, good-feelin' band and I wish more people knew about them. That and "Bramble Rose" by Tift Merritt.

Bonus question: what band most deserves a tribute album? What current artists should cover their songs?
INXS. Shut UP! I'd love to hear an all acoustic album of INXS songs - a little Ryan Adams, John Mayer, Howie Day, Willy Porter, India.Arie, Jason Mraz - it could be fun! I'd also love an all hair-band tribute album full of ... hair-band covers.

Tuesday was a wacky one.

It's was insanely wet and rainy, yet that didn't stop Josh's softball game from going on. *sigh* I don't mind the softball games, they were a highlight of my childhood, but seriously. In the rain? In the cold June rain? None of the other gals even showed up, so I had no one to commiserate with, but good for them. I wouldn't have went except that Josh had made plans for us to meet friends for dinner after the game. On a Tuesday. On "Keen Eddie" premiere Tuesday.

Now, the game was played a good twenty minutes away. After it was over we took another twenty minute ride to my folks' house so Josh could change out of his wet uniform. At that this point, it's already after eight, approaching 8:30. And we had a half-hour drive before we reached the restaurant.

"But Trix, "Keen Eddie" started at 9:00! What did you do?"

VCR to the rescue. MommaTrix was kind enough to tape it for me so that I could go off and have a fabulous dinner at ... Chilis. *looks around* I do love their Southwestern Eggrolls. YUM! But our poor waiter... must have been new. He totally dropped half of our dishes to the floor. (Not mine - heh - he wanted to live.) Just *crashclangthud*. Heh. Anyway, dinner was otherwise uneventful and we rolled just after 10. Still enough time for me to slip into Barnes and Noble and grab a few new titles for my collection. (Shameless promotion: Look for the "Vicious Trollop Book Exchange & MixCD Swap" - Coming soon!) After much debate, I left without Empire Falls for the fourth or fifth straight time. Soon though. Soon.

Anyways, the journey home first had a detour at MommaTrix (as if I were going to leave Eddie there overnight!), and when we finally got home I had four minutes before "Farscape". The new quote is from tonight's episode. *sob* Love that show.

As for "Keen Eddie"... after waiting for more than a year to see this show, I'm thrilled. I got goosebumps when I saw Mark Valley's name first in the credits. I've been a fan since I saw him as Jack on "Days", and I've kept an eye out for him ever since. Loved him on "O&A", on "Pasadena", in "Wallace" - heck, he made "The Siege" worth the price of admission for me. And now he's the star of the show - I am proud of him, dangonit!

I also got goosebumps when I saw Mark Valley in Fiona's robe. Hee. And don't get me started on the gun-pumping action. It seems as though I've known all this time that there would be gunplay at some point - it's a cop show, dramedy or not - but I was not prepared for it to happen so soon. Thrilled? Yes, very yes. Prepared? Not at all. My biggest fear was that "Keen Eddie" would pale in comparison to "24", since they share the timeslot, but gun-pumping Mark is just as hot as gun-pumping Kiefer. Thank god for guns. Weeeeeee!

And the show was great too. It set the feel of the series the way all good pilots should, and while I could stand for less of the jumpcut-flashy-MTVvideo editing, I wouldn't lose it altogether. That stylistic approach works for this show and it separates it from ... anything else out there right now. Pippin is a great character - so glad they didn't go for the "opposites attract" method of pairing characters as working partners. And I don't even hate Fiona, even though I assumed she'd be the love-interest we'd have forced down our throats. She's a total looker, and the actress didn't play her as shrilly as the lines might have been interpreted, which my eardrums appreciate. Anyway, I say Eddie has a thing for brunette's and that Moneypenny better look out. Or just jump him, whichever works for her...

And the chase scene with the cabbage and Grandma? Priceless.

And because today is "Keen Eddie" day:

"Keen Eddie" article.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! I've been waiting for this show since last spring, please let it be as good as I'm hearing...

My frelling browser crashed in the middle of an actual update, but since it was all just sports related rambling, I'll spare you all the gory details.

Let's just say, Mo Cheeks belongs in Philly and Larry Brown is a frelling prostitute. And hockey doesn't belong in Anaheim, but since it's there, they'd better win the Cup as, for the most part, I cannot stand to see non-Philadelphia Eastern Conference teams win championships. Especially when they've had two since my Flyers last finals appearance. Greedy jerks. That whole Eastern Conference thing goes for basketball as well, and extends to NFC football and National League baseball teams also. Unless they are playing the Lakers or the Yankees (sorry SM). I hate dynasties and I especially hate New York teams. All of them. And New Jersey counts as New York. I have more teams I root against than teams I root for... which is good for all the teams I don't care about one way or the other, because the teams I really care about haven't won a title in twenty years. Twenty years as of Saturday past.

I'm going to go read my new quote again, smile, and relax...