I love the Discovery Channel. I can watch at almost any hour of the day and be happy. When my rational, responsible side starts making noises about adult things like "going to bed" or "doing the dishes", my irrepressible, geeky side can answer, "but look! SCIENCE!"

"You just want to watch them blow things up/shoot things/fall through awnings."
"No! We need to know these things! Remember that show we did where we had to deal with gunpowder? Also, we're finding out about cool sites around town."

"You just want to watch those hot tattooed guys get the crap beat out of them."
"No! Don't we want to learn a martial art? These guys are showing all kinds! We can get a better idea of what we want to learn!"

"Zambonis?? WTF?"
"It's a major part of our cultural heritage! How many hours have we spent at hockey games, eh??"

So, you see, I am occasionally a couch potato, but I am a couch potato for SCIENCE.

Am fully caught up on Supernatural. Huzzah! Will still have to watch on ahem-delay, though, as reception is for shite. (If I were a True Fan, I'm sure I could rig something up, but that would require Effort as well as Sitting Through Commercials.) Still - new episode tomorrow! YAYS! And oh, Dean, you are breaking me. Breaking, I say.

(eta: DOH! Wishful thinking - the new one doesn't come on until next week. Bugger.)

Will be mainlining S3 of Slings & Arrows the rest of this week, and will taunt computer-unsavvy mother over that fact. Muh-hahahaha.

Have put the Season Summary for Heroes on my Netflix queue.

Friday Night Lights will probably be the next obsession, I think. Thank the gods NBC has seen the Light and decided to stream all of the episodes. So smart! However, I don't know if I'm going to be able to get over the camera work - I had the same problem with NYPD Blue in that shaky handheld makes me queasy. Does it get any better, y'all?

Netflix will also be my good and true friend for the next few weeks - I've got the Branagh Othello coming next, which I'm looking forward to. I watched Interstate 60 (eh) and The Brothers Grimm (a glorious, incoherent, gorgeous mess) over the weekend.

To sum up - yay visual media and pretty, broken boys!

Would someone who has DVD-recording capabilities and access to the Sundance Channel please record both seasons of Slings & Arrows for me? The talented and loverly hecubot and zmayhem kindly gave me a VHS recording of the first season, but hello. Want digital copy so as to index the Paul Gross hottitude. Also badly need to see second season. Macbeth, for the love of all unholiness! Paul Gross being insane and passionate! Theater in-jokes!

I may be obsessed. If so, blame the Zmayhem household. But, pleeeeeeease? bats eyes

***********

"Slings & Arrows," second-season premiere 8 p.m. Feb. 19, first- season encore marathon 3 p.m. Feb. 18, Sundance Channel.

This Canadian import is searingly spot-on and seems effortlessly great, probably helped by having only six episodes per season.

Revolving around a group of actors at the New Burbage Theatre Festival (purveyors of all things Shakespeare), the series attempts to mix art with commerce, real life with drama. It focuses on Geoffrey (the superb Paul Gross), an actor turned director who ran a theater that stood on its values but never attracted an audience.

He was once as thick as thieves with his mentor, Oliver (Stephen Ouimette), and with the love of his life, fellow thespian (and aging star) Ellen (Martha Burns).

But the bitterly mean Oliver was killed while drunk (he now reappears in death) and Geoffrey had to put away thoughts of selling out and instead become artistic director of the New Burbage Festival, where he manages to pull off "Hamlet" despite myriad woes (Mark McKinney of "Kids in the Hall" and indie film guru Don McKellar also star).

In the second season, all hell continues to break loose while Geoffrey must stage "the most jinxed play in theatrical history" -- "Macbeth."

This may be the most perfect television series ever crafted. I am in love with it like woah.

So, does anyone have an opinion on Cingular's service? It seems that I will be involuntarily switching over to them - provided the Cingular - AT&T Wireless merger makes it past the regulatory boards. Hmmph.

In other news, I'm still recovering from last week. Daisy opened well, but damn, it was exhausting. The theater doesn't have an intercom, so I have to haul my butt up two flights of stairs an average of 9 times per performance. With an additional 9 times going back down, too. At least a Stairmaster has been rendered unnecessary for the duration. Phew. Plus, the 90-minute commute each way takes a lot out of a person.

But, we're open, and we close this weekend, and then I don't have to worry about it. Until March 1, when I train the SM that's in charge of the St. Paul run. Easy enough, though. I know the SM, and he's a sweetie. After that, it's all Bees, all the time.


Z & I are looking at an apartment tomorrow. It's with his landlord, so he could move ASAP, with me working out terms with my rental company. I may sublet for the remainder of my lease. We'll see. The apartment is in a slightly busier neighborhood than I'd like, but it's better than being too far out. Much better. It is also on the block where Dale moved after we broke up. That will be slightly weird. Just slightly, though.


The MCTC bus drivers are threatening to strike. Ergh. I completely support the union, Metro Transit is giving them a crapola deal, but I am veryvery glad I live close enough to walk in to work.


Probably won't get the Admin 3 position that I applied for her. Le sigh. Also, I have a Giant Filing Reorganisation Project Of Doom here, and it's failing to excite me. I live for the day when filing is not considered one of my major duties.


Fannish things: I'm sad about Angel being cancelled, but I probably won't miss it as much as most of my friends here. I haven't been able to keep up with it this season, and as such, am not that invested in the show. It saddens me that quality television is clearly not a priority to most TV execs, but we've known that since the 50s. Neil Simon even wrote a smash play about it. So, there it is. No more Jossiverse, at least not regularly. I'll buy the DVDs (eventually), Joss will get something else going (hopefully), and we'll keep on moving.

I am concerned about the impact this will have on b.org, but that will happen as it will, and there's not much I can do about it.