It's a golden age of television for the geek. Or maybe it was. I'm not sure I don't watch television all the often and haven't watched it regularly for the last 10 years or so. I do know that in the last 15 years we've had some iconic shows. Some programs that have almost become mainstream acceptable, others that have. Now I don't normally wax pedantic about tv shows. Like I said, I don't watch a lot of actual television. If I watch a tv series it's usually on DVD or streaming on Netflix well after the fact. But holy hell, look at what we've got, here are some high lights.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It's getting on in years, and yeah it's silly but some how it still remains poignant and popular and geeks (and some non-geeks) just love it. The writing is pretty sharp, the acting is pretty good, and the plots are seemingly epic if not just far fetched, but ridiculously so.
Firefly. If ever there was a tv series that died too soon, it was this one. It's fun. Smart. The plots aren't as silly as Joss Whedon's earlier stuff, but the writing is just as good or better. We did get a movie. A short series of comics, but I'm not sure if this one will ever come back. I hope it does. I'd like to see another season or two. Of course they killed off the two best characters in the feature film (Serenity) but maybe we could see some of their earlier adventures? Or maybe we could just follow Shepard Book around for a season or two and see what cool stuff he did before the series.
Babylon 5. This is a nerds sci-fi show. It's brilliant in it's way, and it did somethings that until that point no other program had done. Ok, it's a bit of a cheat to include it here, but the last couple of seasons ended about 15 years ago (1998) so I think it deserves to be here. It's not easy to watch now thought. The producers insisted on using CGI for exteriors and space flight shots and honestly it looks like a bad video game. The acting is pretty horrible at times too, but it can all be forgiven because they actually included a defined meta-plot. Yeah. There was a plot outline for 5 seasons and they stuck to it. Thank you. It's a fantastic idea and not enough other series have done it. If you can get over some of the hammy performances and bad CGI though this is a series worth checking out.
Stargate SG-1. This baby went for 10 seasons, created 2 spin off series and 2 straight to DVD movies. I always thought the feature film was a little... I dunno, sparse? It seemed like it needed more. Probably because it did. There was a defined story there but it was begging for a sequel. Instead we got a television show. It, like most sci-fi shows, was ridiculous. There's only so much suspension of disbelief that we can attain. That being said as the show progress it became more enjoyable. The characters became more fleshed out and quite honestly you stopped caring how ridiculous it was that the 4 main characters managed to thwart the plans of ancient god beings season after season. They also revealed that there's another universe beyond the Go'ald and the Asgard even if we only got glimpses of it. If you're a sci-fi fan yes, this is one you should watch.
Stargate-Atlantis. This is a spin off, and is probably in some ways better than the original. Of course they had 8 seasons of the previous series to build off of at this point. But another fine addition to the geek/nerd library.
FarScape. Holy shit, the what a bizarre menagerie this is! A lost astronaut stuck on a living star-ship with a bunch of escaped convicts: an angry tentacle man, the miniature obese corrupt and hedonistic despotic frog creature, an oversexed plant woman, and shortly into the first season a grey skinned fugitive who seems to be horny all the time. It's all piloted by... a giant four armed lizard/octopus man. If you haven't seen FarScape, I'm sorry. It's probably one of the most brilliant science fiction tv programs to ever spring forth from the mind of anyone. A joint venture between Australia, Canada and the Sci-Fi channel (back before the Y's) with effects by the Hensen company (of Kermit the Frog fame) it is different visually and stylistically from every sci-fi series ever. These guys are the good guys. They're not bad or evil. Some of them are downright despicable but this is definitely one group that's fun to fly with. The first season has a few terrible episodes but about halfway through the first season it hits it's stride and carries itself through to the awkward cliffhanger finale.
Lost. You can hate this show. I'll respect you for it. But you know what, it was awesome. The acting was good, the storytelling was compelling, and the damn series left those who loved it sitting on the edge of their seats until the end of the finale. So maybe they dropped the ball with the finale. Maybe the answers to the questions you had weren't satisfying (they did answer most of the questions though) but you know what. I felt like I was watching one long ass movie with tons of characters and a ridiculously convoluted but awesome plot. So yeah. You can hate it, but you have to give it props for trying.
Supernatural. Two brothers hunting down demons, ghosts and other weird shit out of myths, fables and fairy tales? Hell yes. The fact that the studio decided to keep going after the 5th season is a bit of a let down not that I don't love the brothers Winchester, but that it'd be nice to see the original vision of the creators fulfilled and put to rest. The series is going strong, and for being a fantasy/horror series is pretty mainstream. I have co-workers that love it. I don't think I can say that about any of the series I've mentioned so far. Yeah, there's some criticism. It's amazing how homogeneous America looks in that series, but I suppose I can't begrudge the producers for being on a budget. Plus this has inspired a copy-cat or two Grim being the first one to come to mind.
Alias. Now if you want to argue about this being a science fiction series, one word. Rimbaldi. If it weren't for the introduction of him and his inventions and the absurd technology they come up with from it, then it wouldn't be a science fiction series. Once could argue that it takes place in a parallel universe where Rimbaldi existed but Rimbaldi takes this from a simple spy show to full on sci-fi. You know what, that's ok. Admitting your sci-fi is the first step. Embracing it is the second. Alias never really embraces that fact but it's still a fun show to watch and it helped pave the way for series' like Lost and Battlestar Galatica. Speak of which...
Battlestar Galatica. Holy hell what a bleak show. It's amazing the actors didn't kill themselves off before reaching the end of this one. Now if you can get past how absolutely depressing the premise is, it's pretty fantastic. There's some brilliant moments and the fact that the Cylons look like us is AWESOME! Well, maybe I'm being a little too enthusiastic. It did show us what was possible in a full science fiction series. And that's refreshing.
Dr. Who. If you haven't watched the new Dr. Who, shame on you. Go and watch it now! This British program is silly, and cheesy and fantastic. The writing is top notch, as is the acting. The plots are a little... far-fetched seems to be the wrong word but it's the best I can muster. You don't watch it for the plots (only) but for the characters. Each actor who has portrayed the Doctor has done a fantastic job so far, hopefully we have four or five more before they decide to put the series to rest. There's some pretty kick-ass monsters too (I'm looking at you Weeping Angels) and some not so kick ass monsters (Exterminate). This series is becoming more and more popular, and it should. If you like sci-fi, go and watch this if you haven't. If you like British television, go and watch this.
There are a lot of others, new series include Once Upon a Time, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, True Blood. I'm sure there's several current series' I've completely missed. That being said there's a lot of older shows I haven't touched. (Lexx, Merlin, Star Trek this and that). Science Fiction is becoming more mainstream, I'm going to tackle a few of these series in more depth in the future, plus some I didn't mention, until then...
PUDDING.
Labels: Geek, TV Reviews
itchy finger blues
My finger itches.
My pointer finger on my left hand. It itches whenever I touch it. It's not a constant itch, only present on physical contact, typically with myself, but I can almost always start scratching it and have the itch rise to the surface and become intolerable.
The thought has crossed my mind that this may be a bad thing.
It's been going on for.... months. Maybe even a year or more. I'm not sure exactly when this started but it's seems to be a constant. There's almost a dull pain to it. Even that's not a constant, but it's still present. With all that in mind what does it mean? I dunno. Maybe I have a brain tumor. That would suck, but I don't have any other weird neurological things going on that would make me worry about that. Maybe I'm just crazy. That thought has crossed my mind and given my family history of mental illness isn't entirely absurd.
I've consulted my dog on this manner and she is strangely silent on the subject.
So with the pad of my finger itching, when it's being touched (there is a subtle itch when I think about it as well, but not so much that I have the urge to scratch) I find myself scratching it with ridiculous pressure and vigor. I'm reminded of the folks on bad acid trips scratching their skin bloody because of the ants they can see and feel. Or the story of the woman who had a constant itch on the top of her head and scratched a hole through her skull.
That's serious business.
I've thought about the possibility that I may scratch a trench in my finger tip. That would be a hard one to explain to the doctor. "It itched so I scratched it till i hit bone." Yeah. Probably not a good idea. That may lead down the path of institutionalization.
I suppose I should seek medical help. But I suspect the doctor's will want to run a smorgasbord of tests on me which I am mostly convinced are only be requested to line their pockets with insurance money. Not that they wouldn't be sincere in wanting to help me, they would be. But the actual help that I would get would be a recommendation to a specialist. Yeah. That's what I thought doc.
I suppose if it becomes any more... intense I will seek out medical help. With out that finger I won't be able to accurately point to shit when gesturing.
And learning to type with out it will be a real pain in the ass.
Labels: Personal
Come on get down with the fatness.
Ahhh... the fatness.
I'm overweight. And by that I mean I'm fat. Now don't comment to say that I'm being hard on myself. I don't need a pep talk, I'm not depressed. I'm actually in a pretty good mood. I'm stating a fact. Perhaps a more PC term is obese, but that sounds vulgar to me. I'd be lying if I said I struggled with my weight. Oh, I do occasionally get on a health kick and try to "straighten up" and "eat right" and it lasts anywhere from a month to three, but I decide I want a kitkat and before you know it I've ate three. I know that dieting doesn't work, so I'm not wasting my time with it.
No dieting doesn't work. You have to change. You have to change your outlook. I have a coworker who, like me, is a pretty big guy. Real nice guy. Sweet and likable, bit awkward. He's been looking at different diets. He's -not desperate- perhaps anxious to lose weight. He's in his early 20's and is considerably larger than I was at that same age. I hope he's successful but without a completely different outlook he's doomed. He does have a cousin who's pushing him. She's making him walk for two mile each day and encouraging him to keep at it. His attitude about it so far is very positive, but he's still looking for the diet aid or fix to help him out.
I suppose I had my bout with that too. They weren't successful, I become realistic about that path several years ago and have just resigned myself to being me. But my outlook is changing. I work early in the mornings about half the time, as I mentioned, I fell back into drinking energy drinks. After six months it occurred to me that the things were making me feel funny. They didn't really help me stay awake and they were only contributing to me feeling stoned at work. I gave them up. I gave up soda as well. Ok, to a point. I have no problem drinking soda now and then, but for the most part it's gone. I haven't had one 2 weeks. Before that it was another 2 weeks. I've begun to pay attention to my portions and actually stop eating when I feel full. As for sugar, well candy doesn't hold the same appeal. Whenever I have it, I regret it and if I'm going to indulge I'd rather have cake, pie or pudding (PUDDING!) over simple candy or chocolate. That being said I do feel better, and that's the important thing.
It's a slow process. One has to change their entire perspective in order to lose weight. Which is something skinny fuckers have no understanding of. Yeah, I'm lazy I freely admit, but don't for a minute think that it's simply sheer laziness that has made me fat. My entire outlook on life is twisted, as well as my appetites, and anybody who's overweight can relate to this. You feel defeated before you even begin.
Babysteps.
If you can do one thing each week to make yourself a healthier person then you should do it. If it takes two or three weeks to implement that one thing? That's fine too. You can't let yourself become defeated. If you have to take small steps, that's what you do. Maybe it's giving up soda at first. Then walking. Then giving up sugar and subbing fruit...WHOA! Hold on. Babysteps. Let's start by introducing fruit in lieu of some of the sugar, and go from there. That's what I'm doing. That's my goal. My goal isn't to lose 100 lbs by this time next year. My goal is to start walking a mile each day. My goal isn't to eat only healthy food. My goal is to eat more fruits and vegetables than I do junk food on a daily basis. My goal isn't to diet. My goal is to change my outlook so that my natural inclination is to make the right choices.
The reality show The Biggest Loser is notable in that it helps people make these kind of changes. Very rapidly. Kudos for that show for making such an impact on the culture and bringing the obesity epidemic to the forefront of the American conscious. I fucking hate it. I don't hate it despite the fact they help people. The trainers are very sincere, 99% of the people on the show are sincere in their desire to change. I hate it because it turns it into a competition. Maybe that's the only real way to get so many diverse individuals to make the changes they need to make in that short of time. I find it as capitalizing on those individuals suffering, and when confronted by said suffering it is a painful reminder of what we personally have as weaknesses. In other words, it's for ratings. People love to see other people have emotional breakdowns.
What you skinny fuckers need to understand, and what you can see in The Biggest Loser, is that for we the obese to make such drastic changes requires an enormous change in not only perspective about who we are as individuals, but how we physically exist as humans. Our bodies have become accustomed to certain things, more calories than we need, relative immobility, and to change that makes them scream out as if somebody were to take your skin off starting at your face. It's not easy, and despite my loathing of the show it does do some good. If only for the few months it's on it helps to inspire some people.
As to my co-worker. I hope he succeeds. He's heavier than I was at his age and it scares me to think of where he'll be at in 10 years when he's the age I currently am. We both work a very seditary job and it's easy lose oneself in the cycle of unhealthy snacks while at work and relative laziness outside of work. To be honest, most of us at work are overweight, and my co-worker isn't the only one whose desperate to lose weight. But for me. There's no desperation. I'm not going to discuss it with anybody but the ethernets for now. No there's no desperation. Just babysteps.
Labels: Personal
