Top Five TV Moments — 11/22/08

Instead of trying to do a weekly TV synopsis wrap-up (‘cause we all know I watch too much TV to do that), I’ve decided to instead do a weekly post with my top five favorite moments of the week. So, for this week, here are the things that made me laugh, made me cry, made me hurl, or just stuck with me in general.

In no particular order:

• Smallville: “Bride” — In the “mid-season finale” (no more new episodes until January 15), Clark escorted Chloe down the aisle to marry her beloved, Jimmy Olson. Despite flushing canon down the toilet, it was still a great ep, especially when Clark and Lois came thisclose to acting on their feelings after sharing a dance. Of course, as always, stupid, stupid, stupid Lana had to ruin everything. (I’ll give the girl bonus points for one thing, though — somebody needed to light into Clark for giving Chloe selective amnesia, and Lana did a great job of it.)



• Heroes: “Chapter Nine: It’s Coming” — While I agree with those who think the show has lost its focus (and I totally agree that Mohinder needs to die!), I also think Heroes is in the process of getting its groove back. And the best example of this is the work done this week by the indescribably talented Kristen Bell and Zachary Quinto. It was pure magic to watch supposedly-evil Sylar help the supposedly-evil Elle get her powers back under control. In the process, he learned both compassion and how to keep his voracious hunger for others’ powers in check — and, I suspect, kicked off a love story that will cause ramifications for all of the other characters for a long time to come. Anyone else thinking that Sylar’s future son, Noah, looked a lot like Elle? Me, too.



• Chuck: “Chuck Versus the Fat Lady” — Yes, sometimes you can see the plot twists coming a mile away. But predictable or not, part of why I keep coming back every week is that Chuck and his portrayer, Zachary Levi, are just so darn charming and lovable. It may not seem so on the surface, but the stories on Chuck are driven by character, rather than plot, and you just can’t help but care about them. This week, the show made me laugh, kept me on the edge of my seat, and eventually broke my heart, as we found out that Chuck’s girlfriend is actually an enemy agent — the realization coming right after he nearly committed treason to save her life. It may be predictable, and Chuck may never catch a break, but it’s kinda like Charlie Brown. I’ll keep watching in the hopes that one day he actually gets to kick that football, ‘cause I just like him that much.



• Pushing Daisies: “Oh, Oh, Oh... It’s Magic” — On the other hand, one of the best things about Pushing Daisies is that it is always unpredictable. It’s hard to describe in terms of genre (fantasy-procedural, perhaps?), but eventually you stop trying to label it, because what matters is that it always delivers. This week, the best thing I didn’t see coming was a “reunion” of sorts between our heroine, “dead girl” Charlotte “Chuck” Charles, and her mother. You see, Chuck just found out that the mother she thought was dead is really her “aunt”, who is alive. And her Aunt Vivian has been mourning the daughter who she raised as a niece, and now believes to be dead. More complicated than your average TV show? Sure. But also more touching, as Chuck’s boyfriend, Ned, and best friend, Olive, arranged for Chuck to talk to her mother through Olive (think Cyrano de Bergerac, except with 21st-century electronics).



• Bones: “The Passenger in the Oven” — My favorite TV moment of the week. Investigating a murder on an international flight, Booth comes upon Brennan, wearing a passenger’s horn-rimmed glasses as makeshift magnifying goggles. Grinning, he says, “Alright. What I want you to do is take off your glasses, shake out your hair, and say, ‘Mr. Booth. Do you know what the penalty is for an overdue book?’” Brennan, of course, simply blinks and asks, “Why?” Booth tells her, “Never mind,” but after they discuss the latest evidence and Booth walks away, Brennan tries taking off the glasses and shaking out her hair. Priceless.

To watch these episodes for yourself, you can check out the links below. All are (or will be) available on iTunes, as well.

Smallville — “Bride”

Heroes — “Chapter 9: It’s Coming”

Chuck — “Chuck Versus the Fat Lady”

Pushing Daisies — “Oh, Oh, Oh... It’s Magic”

Bones — “The Passenger in the Oven”

(For other, free television online, I’d strongly suggest you check out Hulu. They do better with online streaming video than most of the networks.)

Kindlenomics — Amazon vs. Sony vs. Dead Trees

This time last year, I was trying to decide whether I wanted an Amazon Kindle or a Sony Digital Book Reader. Each had its advantages. The Kindle has immediate download and doesn’t require connecting to a computer to purchase books. The Sony is cheaper. The Kindle had a better selection of books. Sony e-books cost less. Kindle has newspaper and blog downloads, and Wikipedia access. Sony allows you to read .pdf files.

A year later, and I’m still on the fence. Two main concerns have stopped me from purchasing either device. The first is being unsure about giving up my paper books altogether. I can’t really pinpoint why it bothers me, although those who know me understand that I have a bit of a problem with books. I’ve lost track of how many I own — EAToo tried to make a spreadsheet once, and gave up. I currently have five full-sized bookcases that are all overstuffed and overflowing, in addition to a few random, overlarge piles of books in closets and such. And that doesn’t even count my pre-high-school collection, which I’ve completely lost track of, except for a few special volumes.

I know I have a problem. I also still have every college textbook I ever owned. And two copies of each Harry Potter book, hardcover and paperback. (Three if you count audiobooks.) And I probably shouldn’t even go into the fact that I subconsciously don’t even crack the spines of paperbacks I read — something I wasn’t even aware of until EAToo pointed it out to me.

But nostalgia for “dead trees” aside, I’m also held back by the economic side of the equation. The Amazon Kindle, originally $400, has only dropped to $360 over the course of a year. The Sony Reader is $270. And I’ve never been sure that the convenience factor would be worth that kind of money. I’m also not sure if “convenience” is a good thing in this situation — I love bookstores, and while being able to buy a book within seconds would be nice, I can’t imagine not hanging out at Barnes & Noble (or “the mothership”, as I have come to think of it).

It turns out, I’m right to be worried about that. According to this blog article on ZDnet.com, an analysis of “Kindlenomics” shows that for the average reader, you must download and purchase at least six books per month, or 72 per year, in order to save enough just to cover the cost of the Kindle itself. The analysis is a bit more advantageous if you are a college student (a literature student in particular), although that logic falls through a bit considering that a lot of college textbooks aren’t yet available in digital form.

I keep coming up with “ifs” — a digital reader would be great if I went back to school... if I found another job that would require me to keep my documents portable... if I traveled more. But for where I am right now, it seems like it’s more economically advantageous to keep killing trees. Physically, I could certainly read six books per month (being something of a natural speed reader anyway), but my schedule doesn’t ordinarily permit me enough time to do so. Plus, I’m not sure I want that kind of pressure, constantly worrying if I had wasted money on a digital reader.

According to the ZDnet article, the current price point to make the purchase of a digital reader reasonable if you read one or two books per month is $125 – $150. If you assume three or four books per month, an appropriate price point is about $200. (Here’s the actual math.) While I’m sort of leaning toward the Kindle over the Sony, I’m positive of one thing — it will make a lot more sense to buy a digital reader when (or if) the current prices drop by about half.

Does Television Cause Unhappiness?

Apparently, I’m terribly unhappy.

I didn’t know I was. I thought I was pretty content. I mean, sure, there are things in my life I would change, given the option — a better job and more money would be nice. And I’d like to get a bit more sleep on average. But here I was, blissfully ignorant of the fact that I must be miserable, despite the fact that I have a great husband, a nice home, and wonderful family and friends that I love and who love me.

And it’s all because I watch too much television.

It’s a good thing I read this story, entitled “Unhappy People Watch More TV.” It led me to this story, “Watching Television, Channeling Unhappiness?” (Clever with the puns, that one.)

According to those stories, the study in question revolved around the question of how one’s level of happiness correlates to the amount of television one watches. It seems, from the results, that happy people spend more time being “socially active”, participating in church activities, and reading newspapers They also voted more. (That last one still mystifies me. I don’t know about you, but voting does not take up a significant amount of my time on a weekly basis.) Apparently, unhappy people watch 25 hours of television a week on average; happy people “only” watch 19 hours.

(At this point it should be noted — the news stories focus on the fact that the unhappy watch 20% percent more television. Setting aside the fact that an increase of 19 hours to 25 is an increase of 31.5%, not 20%, no one seems to be paying attention to the fact that what appears to be a huge increase when described that way is actually only a difference of six hours per week — less than one hour’s difference per day.)

My first thought after reading this was to rail against the biases of the scientists who performed the study. And they do seem very biased — one of them going so far as to take the clichéd (and pompous) approach of calling television an “opiate”, an “addictive activity” that would by definition “produce momentary pleasure but long-term misery and regret”. They also kindly noted that heavy television viewers are just the socially disadvantaged type to become addicted. The abstract seems to suggest that they set out to compare television to other, better activities. Even the title of the study, “What Do Happy People Do?”, suggests a predisposition that television watchers are sad and pathetic.

But after doing some poking around, I have a slew of problems with the methodology of the study as well:

• The researchers themselves note that their research is inconclusive as to whether television causes unhappiness or whether unhappiness causes television viewership. Which means that even if they’re right, they didn’t look into other potential reasons for unhappiness. (Their “predictors of happiness”, for what it’s worth, were age, education, and marital status.)



• The study doesn’t seem to address at all what kind of television the survey participants watched — for example, I’d bet that watching several hours of television news each day might just cause depression, and quickly. Just as watching several hours of say, professional wrestling each night, might cause significant loss of brain cells.



• The study seems to assume that social activity and television watching are mutually exclusive — that all television watching is done by lonely people, sitting in a sad, empty room, staring motionless at the set, with perhaps a cat or 12 to keep them company. In addition to the possibility of people watching television together, or doing other, more “productive” things with the television on, there’s also the watercooler effect — people watching shows with the intent of discussing them with friends the next day. As I’ve mentioned before, popular culture can be very useful in bringing people together.



• The study appears to be based entirely on self-reporting. I daresay that a lot of people either don’t realize how much television they watch, or, more likely are reluctant to admit it — particularly to Ph.D.-level researchers who will likely look down on them for doing so.

Do I watch a lot of television? Sure. Some (cough — Mom — cough) would say “too much”. But I still spend time with friends, read, participate in other hobbies, and have a very full life in general. It makes no more sense to accuse a television fan of needing a pseudo-narcotic to fill the unhappy void than it does to assume that everyone who enjoys food is substituting cookies for hugs.

Am I just being defensive? I don’t believe so. With all due apologies to Will Shakespeare, the fault, dear Brutus, is not in ourselves, but in the researchers. In looking for answers and enlightenment, I think there is a real danger of trying to pigeonhole the world into easily-quantified divisions — group a versus group b, you must be one or the other, you can’t be both. But that’s not real life. In real life, you can be a happy, productive person who really enjoys television. Or you can be miserable and lonely while appearing to have an active social life. People are all about the gray area, and trying to neatly label them is an exercise in futility.

Besides, trying too hard to quantify our universe generally sucks all the wonder right out of it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a full DVR of television to watch. Right after I go out to dinner with my husband.

Twilight: Reluctantly Jumping on the Bandwagon

Yes, I know.

I’m a bad, bad blogger.

I could give you a line about how September and October are my busiest time of year at work (which would be entirely true), but honestly, I’ve been gone due to a mixture of business, job dissatisfaction, distractions, general malaise, and lack of inspiration. I’ve been thinking that eventually, something would happen that would inspire me to pick back up and post again.

This week, it finally happened.

So, you may ask, what have I run across that caught my attention so powerfully that I was compelled to put fingers to keyboard again? I finally got around to reading Twilight.



As usual, I’m a bit late to the party. I didn’t read Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone until July 2000 — the same week that Goblet of Fire, the fourth book in the series, was published. But, much like my experience with The Boy Who Lived, Twilight has become an instant obsession for me.

At first, I wasn’t terribly excited. I’ve read and seen a lot of vampire stories. And as a veteran Buffy/Angel fan, I assumed that as far as the star-crossed vampire/human love story goes, I’d been there, done that. Plus, I’m still a bit irritable about the whole Harry Potter being pushed back thing.

Sometimes I’m very pleased to be wrong.

Twilight is told from the point of view of Bella Swan, a 17-year-old in the process of moving from her lifelong home in Arizona to live with her father, Charlie, in the sleepy (and annoyingly rainy) small town of Forks, Washington. Arriving in town, Bella finds Forks to be exactly what she expected from her sporadic visits growing up — a small town where everyone knows each other, everyone already knows more about her than she would like, and a school curriculum that runs a couple of years behind her school back home, leaving her completely bored. However, she also finds several surprises in her new home: good friends, a better relationship than she expected with her father, and a lot of male attention.

The biggest, most life-changing surprise of all, though, comes in the form of her new lab partner in biology class — Edward Cullen. At first, Edward confuses Bella. She doesn’t understand why she is attracted to him, especially when he alternates between being interested and friendly one minute and cold and angry the next. Even more puzzling is the fact that Edward always seems to be there at the exact moment that accident-prone Bella needs help. As Bella begins to discover Edward’s secrets, he can’t help but let her in. As their story progresses, their lives become inextricably intertwined, their relationship growing stronger and more powerful than either is prepared for.

In describing Twilight, I hesitate to use the word “epic” — at best, it’s overused. But I cannot think of another word that accurately describes the relationship between Bella and Edward. (It reminds me of a quote from “Veronica Mars” — “I thought our story was epic, you know. You and me…. Spanning years and continents... lives ruined, bloodshed, epic.”) You understand from the beginning of their story that their lives will never be easy again. There will be angst, and pain, and yes, considering that Edward is a 107-year-old vampire, there will most likely be bloodshed. But you also know that their connection is so strong, so undeniable, that it’s already too late to turn back.

Twilight is marketed as a book for kids and teens. But that label doesn’t do it justice, any more than it did for the Harry Potter series. Even at my advanced age of close-to-40 (although I’m not quite there yet!), the themes and characters are completely relatable. (And it’s not just that I refuse to grow up.) I felt immediately connected with Bella, in particular. Brainy, sarcastic, and terribly clumsy, Bella has a difficult time believing that she is particularly attractive. Part of her journey involves trying to truly believe that anyone as physically and intellectually spectacular as Edward could possibly be interested in her. I suspect that struggle to believe in yourself, to see what others see in you, is something none of us ever completely outgrow. I know I haven’t — that feeling can still be just as strong now as it was when I was Bella’s age.

And even if you don’t identify with the clumsy, brainy girl who fully expects to be unpopular, you can certainly identify with the story of two people in love who were never meant to be together. True, Bella and Edward have bigger problems that just being incompatible — their relationship exposes them to literal danger, in addition to emotional danger. But their connection is so strong that it’s irresistible, undeniable. They can’t live without each other. They have the kind of connection that we all crave, in theory, regardless of whether it would truly be healthy in real life.

Besides, there’s nothing wrong with a little obsession. At least, that’s what I’ll be telling myself when I buy the soundtrack and tear through the rest of the books in the series, immediately after I see the movie on the weekend it opens.

Allez cuisine! Iron Chefs Headed to Wii, DS

Move over, Cooking Mama. Mario Batali, Masaharu Morimoto, and Cat Cora are horning in on your virtual kitchen with the new video game “Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine.”

Due to hit stores sometime around October 25, “Supreme Cuisine” offers you the chance to “cook” on your Nintendo Wii or DS game system, much like “Cooking Mama.” This isn’t Mama’s kitchen, though. Not only will you be battling three of the real Iron Chefs in your virtual Kitchen Stadium, but you’ll be expected to work on multiple dishes at once, all while battling the clock, just like contestants on the show.

And the best part? You also get your own virtual Alton Brown as commentator. Virtual Alton isn’t quite as cute as the real thing, but since I’ll probably never have real Alton in my living room, I suppose it’s a fair trade. The Chairman is there, too, as portrayed by actor Mark Dacascos (also recently seen as Sensei Ping in my favorite summer television show, “The Middleman”).

I found out about the game while surfing Alton’s website, but you can get more details at the game’s official site, including an image gallery that shows off the characters as well as the food.

From what I can see so far, the game looks absolutely beautiful. The graphics used for the food are more reminiscent of Pixar’s Ratatouille than “Cooking Mama.” And while the game motions appear to be fairly similar to those required in Mama’s kitchen, it definitely appears to be more of a challenge overall — which ought to be interesting, considering Mama’s not easy to please. Priced at $39.99 for the Wii and $29.99 for the DS, “Supreme Cuisine” costs a bit more than “Cooking Mama,” but is more than reasonably priced compared to other Nintendo games, or even other video games in general.

And to me, at least, it looks to be totally worth it. “Iron Chef: Supreme Cuisine” combines three of my favorite things — food, television, and video games (four, if you count Alton Brown). What more could a geek like me ask for?

Allez cuisine, indeed.

My Favorite Time of the Year — TV Time!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

No, not that time.  No trees, no presents to buy, no joyous music that makes you think you’d rather have a sharp stick in the eye than hear one more chorus of “Jingle Bells.”

No, it’s WAY better than that — a whole season of brand new television to watch!

It’s hard to believe that summer is over already, but the networks will roll out season premieres beginning next Monday.  The first week of premieres will include:

Monday, September 1 — “Prison Break,” FOX, 7 p.m. CDT. Two full hours!

Tuesday, September 2 — “90210,” The CW, 7 p.m. CDT. Also two hours. (Yeah, I’m gonna give it a try.  Watched the old one, too.  What’s your point?) If “90210” isn’t your thing, do yourself a favor and spend that night watching a repeat of the two-part finale of “House” — these two episodes, titled “House’s Head” and “Wilson’s Heart,” are two of the best hours of television ever made.

Wednesday, September 3 — “Bones,” FOX, 7 p.m. CDT. Again, two hours! The television gods are definitely smiling on me.

If all goes as planned, I’ll be inspired to check in with recaps and comments for these sometime next week.  For a full list of fall premiere dates, click here.

Saturday Night at Bigfoot Lodge

As much as I detest the constant “what are we going to have for dinner?” debate, I do love that it takes us to some odd places at odd times. Last night, the debate started pretty late, so our options were limited. We wanted Soul Fish, but by the time we got all the way in from the ‘burbs, it was closing in less than an hour and had already emptied out. EAToo said it was a shame we didn’t have our coupons for Bigfoot Lodge with us. I replied that they weren’t good on Saturday, anyway, but that it sounded great and isn’t all that expensive. So off we went.

It turned out to be a great idea. We found a parking spot downtown without too much trouble — kudos to the guy who parallel-parked his ginormous white SUV behind us on Gayoso after the little Yaris left, without messing up our new car. (EAToo did an excellent job with the parallel parking as well.) Even better, after we got inside Bigfoot, our “10-15 minute” wait suddenly morphed into about five minutes. Woo-hoo!

Bigfoot Lodge is one of my favorite places, for several reasons. The food is always good and relatively inexpensive, the portions are huge, and the service is always dead on. Plus, we again defended our title as the “World’s Greatest Aunt and Uncle” the night we took the princess there and got the make-your-own s’mores. Baby girl apparently enjoys fire and toasted marshmallows just as much as her aunt does.

Last night’s trip turned out to be one of my all-time favorites. One reason was the music. Bigfoot has a great digital jukebox, and apparently someone our age had gotten hold of it right before we got there. When we arrived, Journey’s “Faithfully” was playing. A few songs later, “Elvira,” by The Oak Ridge Boys, came on, at which point we could overhear one of the managers explaining that the song was “really big at the skating rink” and yelling, “Wait! Here comes the bass part!” (Admit it – if you’ve ever heard the song, you know you love it.) I, myself, was belting out “Summer Nights” from Grease — fortunately, the place is loud enough that no one could really hear, so we weren’t thrown out.

One thing I don’t always like at Bigfoot is sitting in the front window. The entire front of the restaurant is glassed-in, and I always feel like the exhibit in a people aquarium. So I was glad we were sitting back just a bit last night. Right up until we had a bit of a celebrity sighting outside the window. Watching the people walk by outside, I turned to EAToo and said “That’s funny. That kind of looks like — it is! It’s Joey Dorsey!” My suspicions were soon confirmed by the crowd that was forming around him, cell phone cameras in hand. Just as I have always heard, the 6'8" Tigers’ forward was extremely gracious to his fans, posing for pictures and signing autographs, with that big, sweet, genuine grin he’s so well-known for. It’s obvious watching him that he still can’t believe he’s such a rock star around these parts. Just for a second, I kind of wanted to go outside and get a picture (and I probably would have taken the kids outside if we’d had them last night — they both adore him), but the poor guy was getting mobbed badly enough already. Besides, we had some serious food on the way....

Especially since EAToo and I finally decided to try Bigfoot’s signature appetizer, the “Poutine.” (That’s pronounced “pooh-tin”, by the way.) I wish I could have taken a picture, but I hadn’t been planning on blogging — as far as I knew, we were just as likely to end up at Krystal last night. But I will do my best to describe the Canadian wonder that is poutine in words, instead. The dish begins with a ginormous plate of french fries. (And make no mistake — at Bigfoot, these puppies have never been frozen and do not originate from a plastic bag.) I don’t eat fries out a lot, anyway, but I always make an exception for the handmade ones at Bigfoot.

But these weren’t just fries. Oh, no — these were covered (dare I say bathed?) in a beautiful brown gravy which was perfectly seasoned and not a bit too salty. Also included was a lovely, fresh cheese. I’m still not sure what kind of cheese, but it’s a lovely, fresh one, about the same texture as fresh mozzarella. The curds, like fresh mozzarella, were soft enough to melt just a bit in the hot gravy, without disappearing entirely. And the proportions were perfect — it was possible to get fries, cheese, and sufficient gravy with every bite. EAToo enjoyed them as much as I did, which is a grand endorsement, considering that he has issues with most of the softer cheeses. If I had any argument at all with the poutine, it was that it’s a big enough appetizer for at least four people — and EAToo and I probably shouldn’t have tackled it alone.

We followed that up with a burger for EAToo — the “Four Cheese” — although he would have been happy to skip the American and make it a “Three Cheese” with the Cheddar, Jack, and Swiss. (No, even EAToo wouldn’t try to eat the entire four-pound “Sasquatch” burger alone in an hour, although he has shared it with friends before.) Bigfoot is one of the few places where he can order his burger medium rare and I can order mine well done, and we both get what we want. I had the “Asian Egg Roll Salad.” I’m not normally a salad kind of girl, but who can argue with a salad topped with sesame seeds, fried wontons, and egg rolls stuffed with pork shoulder barbecue and slaw? Not me, especially if the whole mess is covered with Bigfoot’s light but flavorful sesame ginger dressing.

We didn’t have any room for dessert last night, thanks to the poutine. But Bigfoot does have a wonderful dessert menu as well. They also have great sandwiches, including a really good bratwurst and an amazing pork tenderloin sandwich — the night I ordered it, I had to trim so much meat off the thing just to be able to pick it up that I could have had a second sandwich. They also have a really good, reasonably priced kids’ menu. You can check out the entire menu here.

Obviously, EAToo and I don’t really get the idea of “too far to drive for food.” But we hear that some people do, so here’s some good news for those of you who may not want to make the trek to downtown Memphis to sample the wonders of Bigfoot Lodge. According to this post, the owners are currently asking for input on where to locate Bigfoot #2. I’ll keep my ear to the ground and post about it if I hear any further news.

Bigfoot Lodge
97 S. Second Street
Memphis, TN 38103
(901) 578-9800

Open 11:00 a.m. – 2:30 a.m.
Seven days a week

Your Chance to Vote for the Emmys!

Ok, well, maybe not exactly.

Or, you know, at all.

But you can vote in the online contest for “Television’s Most Memorable Moments” — the winners will be shown during the 60th Annual Emmys telecast on Sunday, September 21.

Normally, I don’t pay much attention to the Emmys. They usually only serve to irritate me, as the same few shows and actors win over and over, especially during the last decade or so, when some truly brilliant people and shows have been overlooked just because they were on broadcast television instead of cable. I mean, honestly — someone should get Hugh Laurie an Emmy, about five minutes ago, just for his American accent. Or his gorgeous eyes. But I digress...

This year, I actually have a few dogs in the Emmy fight, including “Lost”, “House”, “Pushing Daisies”, and “Mad Men”.
So I’m watching the press on it a bit more closely than usual, and found this story about the “Television’s Most Memorable Moments” competition. As always, I was a little skeptical, since the Emmys don’t usually congratulate cutting-edge television. But as the article mentioned “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, I decided to at least take a look.

Even if you don’t vote, I’d definitely suggest taking a look at the nominees for a great walk down television memory lane. I recognized many of them from the pictures on the links, but each has a video clip attached as well. The comedy clips ranged from the brilliant (Suzanne Pleshette’s surprise cameo at the end of “Newhart”), to the iconic (Lucille Ball’s candy conveyor belt schtick from “I Love Lucy”), to the downright confusing (“American Idol”? Even if you must lump music moments in with comedy... American Idol?!?!).

I ended up voting for Carol Burnett — even 32 years later, her “Went with the Wind” skit still cracks me up every time; when complimented on her dress made from drapery — curtain rod still attached — she replies, “I saw it in the window and I just had to have it.”

The drama clips cover a bit more random ground, but I guess there’s at least something there for everyone. I’ve never been a big fan of “Miami Vice” or “Grey’s Anatomy”. (There. I said it. I don’t watch Grey’s. I’ll probably lose my girl card over saying so, but it’s true.) But the “Moonlighting” clip of Maddie and Dave’s fight-turned-passion is just as powerful as it was 20 years ago. And they even threw in a smattering of great sci-fi moments, from “The Twilight Zone” (in case you weren’t aware, To Serve Humans is a cookbook), “Star Trek” (Harland Ellison’s legendary “City on the Edge of Forever”), and my all-time favorite scene from “The X-Files”. Was Mulder finally kissing Scully onscreen a “memorable moment”? Why, yes, it certainly was.

Ultimately, though, I had to go with “Buffy.” The “blue ribbon panel” chose Buffy’s death scene from “The Gift.” Now, I’m not convinced that “Buffy” was even Joss Whedon’s best television show. And “The Gift” is easily the second-best episode of “Buffy”, behind “The Body”. But much like my comedy pick, years later, I still cry every time I see Buffy Summers say good-bye to her sister and sacrifice herself to save the world.

My only nitpick with the clips, overall, was that a couple of the comedy clips were far too dramatic, and kind of belonged in the other category. I don’t care if “M*A*S*H” was a sitcom. The scene where Radar enters the operating room to announce Henry Blake’s death? Well, it’s apples and oranges. You can’t really compare it to the funny stuff.

So vote now, and go back and vote again when the second round picks up on Tuesday, September 9. Even if the Emmys ultimately get it wrong (again) this year, they’re making an effort to celebrate great television, and I think we should reward them for it by participating.

Unfortunately, there’s no ballot to vote against Ryan Seacrest as one of the Emmy hosts. Oh, well. I guess you can’t have everything.

Harry Potter and the Ginormous Marketing Blunder

Okay, let’s get it out of the way — I’ve been a bad, bad blogger. My only excuse is the insufferable wall of heat that hits Memphis every year, making everyone (meaning: me) not want to do anything until it's over. And lucky me, it came early this year.

(Well, it’s not exactly my only excuse... but more on that later in the week.)

But the heat wave has broken now, so it’s time to blog again. Plus, I’m really mad and I need to rant.

It came to my attention on Thursday night that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, previously scheduled for a November 21 release, has been pushed back to next summer, and is now set to premiere on July 17, 2009. This irritates me, for a multitude of reasons. Not the least of which is that it totally ruins my plans for my birthday this year, on November 22.

But even more irritating than finding out that I would have to wait an extra eight months for the movie was the way in which the news was presented. Now, I understand the decision from a business perspective — sort of. Obviously, the writers’ strike took longer to become obvious in movie theatres than it did on television screens, due to the exponentially longer production schedules, so it makes sense that Warner Bros. wants to spread a bit of the wealth into next year. Of course, I’m sure The Dark Knight is partially responsible as well, causing those at the WB to be concerned about keeping their overall profits up next year.

That’s all well and good. It doesn’t excuse the fact, however, that Warner Bros. announced their decision in what can only be described as a textbook example of how to outrage their customers. So, just in case a situation like this arises again, I’m offering the guys in charge at the WB some free advice on public relations:

1.     The fans are not stupid.

In an effort to put a happy face on the news, Jeff Robinov, president of the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, was quoted as saying that “The good news (for fans) is that the gap will now be shortened between ‘Half Blood Prince’ and the first part of ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.’” Oh. So we should be grateful to the studio for putting off the premiere. They’re just doing us a favor.

I hate to be the one to tell Mr. Robinov that most Harry Potter fans are smart enough to figure out that it also lengthens the gap between Half Blood Prince and Order of the Phoenix. If you must give the fans bad news, at least don’t underestimate their intelligence and try to convince them to be happy about it. The only people grateful to Warner Bros. over this move are the people who produced Twilight.

2.     Don’t taunt the fans.

Warner Bros. president Alan Horn took a different approach in trying to reassure fans. He told reporters that “I’ve seen the movie. It’s fabulous. We would have been perfectly able to have it out in November.”

Now, I’m not advocating lying to the fans, or trying to mislead them in any way (see no. 1). But really? You honestly think it softens the blow to mention that you’ve already seen it, and it’s great? I imagine that quote spoken in the voice of Nelson from The Simpsons, followed by “I’ve seen it and you can’t! And I could have let you if I wanted to! Ha ha!” I mean, really?

3.     Don’t make matters worse by embarrassing your own company.

Not handling your fans well is one thing, but hanging one of your corporate subsidiaries out to dry? Of course, we don’t know exactly when Warner Bros. made this decision. But you would hope they would have done so early enough to get out ahead of the annual “fall movie” media blitz. And if not, you’d think they still would have had enough class to give a “heads up” to the folks at Entertainment Weekly. Also a division of Warner Bros., EW put out their annual Fall Movie Preview issue this week, only to be embarrassed Here’s the cover:





Um, yeah. ‘Cause that’s not embarrassing or awkward. At all.

Of course, I’m still planning on my usual ritual of re-reading all of the books, followed by seeing the movie as early as I possibly can. Preferably in IMAX. (Did I mention that I’m a geek?) But I refuse to be happy or grateful about the delay, no matter what anyone at the WB says.

If they wanted fans to keep the fans happy (or at least relatively non-violent) despite the postponement, it would have been much easier to deflect the bad publicity by focusing on this. If it’s true, I’m pretty sure it will definitely make everyone forget about the release date.

The Wait Is Over — Rock Band Track Pack Is Here!

I think Nickelback said it best:

Hey, hey, I wanna be a rock star...

Really, don’t we all? Unfortunately, as I mentioned previously, playing Rock Band is pretty much as close as I’ll ever get.

But while I am only a legendary vocalist (and bassist) in my own mind, like all great rock stars, I still need new material to keep things fresh for my virtual audience. That’s why I was so excited that MTV Games finally released Rock Band Track Pack: Vol. 1 this week for both PS2 and Wii. So excited that I went to three stores on Tuesday looking for it, and spent a good portion of the day on Wednesday hitting refresh on the Best Buy website trying to buy it. Sure, I know I’ve only had the first Rock Band for eight months, but you have to keep working on your art, right?

Priced at $29.99, the Track Pack is a pretty good deal, considering that it contains 20 songs, all recorded by the original artists. Downloaded individually for Xbox or PS3, that would run you about $40. On the other hand, that only seems fair, considering that neither PS2 nor Wii players have ever before had access to the now 156 downloadable tracks that have been offered to Xbox and PS3 users since November 2007.

The song list for Track Pack Vol. 1 is pretty satisfying. I’m not a big fan of David Bowie in general, and it’s much harder to sing along with the Grateful Dead than I imagined. But there are a lot of tracks that I love. “Crushcrushcrush” by Paramore is my new favorite to sing, although I also absolutely love Weezer’s “Buddy Holly”, “Move Along” by the All-American Rejects, and 30 Seconds to Mars’ “The Kill” (although I kind of wish that last one was the acoustic version I’ve been listening to on the radio). The one that surprised me a bit was how much fun it was to sing Blink 182’s “All the Small Things”. (It would have been fun even if I hadn’t scored 100% on medium on my first try — but it probably helped.) I also like “Live Forever” by Oasis, now that I’ve moved from “I don’t think I know that one” to “Oh, yeah — I remember now!”

There are still lots of downloadable songs I want — AAR’s “Dirty Little Secret” and Weezer’s “El Scorcho” come immediately to mind — but I’ll try to be patient. After all, the best thing about the Track Pack is that it’s Volume 1. So Volume 2 has to be on the way. Although it can’t get here soon enough for me.

After all, my imaginary fans will expect new material at some point, and you have to give the people what they want.

Television News: Ausiello’s Back!

Or should that be “Television News News”?

My favorite television journalist, Michael Ausiello, has finally completed his move from TVGuide to Entertainment Weekly. His new online presence, The Ausiello Files, launched on Wednesday, July 2.

I have enjoyed Mike’s work on TVGuide.com for years. It’s not just that he provides enough television scoop to keep an obsessive fangirl like myself happy. He’s funny, snarky, and does not tolerate fools well — so I’ve always considered him a bit of a kindred spirit.

Both loyal fans (aka “Ausholes”) and newbies who love television should rush right over. You can once again get your fill of television scoop, have your burning questions answered at Ask Ausiello, and guess at new blind items. (One of which he even answered in Ask Ausiello – a first!)

At first I was sad to hear that Mike was leaving TVGuide.com. But it appears that the news is all good for us Ausholes. Not only has his blog been updated more regularly than his old site was (even on weekends), Mike premiered his new “Ausiello TV” weekly vodcast on Friday. And unlike his weekly vodcast on TVGuide, you can actually download the ATV video without any trouble at all — no need to post comments begging the privileged few viewers for a transcript anymore! (The first edition was a hoot, featuring some really special guest stars — definitely worth checking out.)

Welcome back, Mr. Ausiello! We missed you for those few weeks between gigs, and I can’t wait to read your first postings about the Television Critics Association Press Tour this week.

Playing with My Food: The Memphis Farmers’ Market

Part 1: Peaches

On Saturday morning, despite his better judgment (and with promises of a nap later), I drug EAToo out of bed and downtown to the Memphis Farmers’ Market. Just a couple of blocks from the Mississippi River, the Memphis Farmers’ Market is a bit of a drive from the suburbs, but it’s worth the trip. Located at the old Central Station pavilion on Front Street, the MFM is open from April through October, and offers entertainment and family activities in addition to the opportunity to meet and buy food from local growers. They also sponsor events out in the community, such as their Dinner Tour this summer (the next one is at Restaurant Iris this summer.

We arrived at the MFM around 9:00 a.m. — not as early as I had hoped, considering it opens at 7:00 a.m. — but it was still fairly cool and pleasant for a July morning in Memphis, owing to the clouds that were threatening rain. My main intentions were to buy peaches and cucumbers, before heading to breakfast at Café Ecletic (more about that another time). I had bought both items a few weeks before, but had not gotten around to using the produce due to a rather unfortunate incident involving my (now former) car and a light pole on I-240.

I did get my peaches (purchased from the lovely folks at Jones Orchard) and some lovely pickling cucumbers (from the Ly Vu family farm). After some discussion, and a promise from EAToo that he would help me keep it alive, we also bought a basil plant. Our final stop (which required very little discussion) was at Bun in the Oven bakery and catering, for the best carmelitas I have ever had. (Sorry, Mom.)

Saturday afternoon, I began my first project, a peach cobbler. Since I hadn’t made a cobbler in years, I did a bit of recipe research online, but couldn’t find a cobbler recipe that sounded right to me. I finally gave up and went with my old standby, the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. (A wedding gift in 1993, mine is the updated version of my mother’s BH&G, which I used to read over and over as a child, the way normal kids would have read a favorite storybook.) It’s a great starting place for just about anything I want to cook, and very useful for conversions, ingredient substitutions, etc. However, as always, I couldn’t help but going off book a bit. Here’s the recipe as I actually ended up making it:

Peach Cobbler

EA’s Peach Cobbler
(as adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook)

Ingredients for filling:

4 c. sliced peaches (about 8 or 9 medium peaches)
1 c. sugar
1 tbsp. corn starch
1/4 c. water

Preheat oven to 400°. Peel and slice peaches into a 2-quart baking dish. (I suggest doing your peeling and slicing over your baking dish, so as not to lose any juice.) In a separate bowl, mix the sugar, corn starch, and water to form a slurry. Stir the slurry into the peaches. After the oven has fully preheated, go ahead and place the baking dish into the oven to allow the filling to cook a bit while you make the dough for the topping.

Ingredients for topping:

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
5 tbsp. butter
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 to 1/2 c. milk, as needed

Combine flour, sugar, and baking powder. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a separate bowl, combine eggs and ¼ cup milk. Stir into flour mixture until just moist. Add milk as needed until dough is completely moist and a workable consistency. Drop topping dough by spoonfuls onto hot filling. Spread to cover — the crust won’t spead much as it bakes. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick in center comes out clean.

The cobbler turned out pretty well, although I really think it needed more sugar (I added more in the recipe above). The BFFs definitely seemed to enjoy it, and didn’t force me to take the leftovers home with me, which I think is a good sign.

My project Sunday afternoon was to use at least some of the remaining peaches for ice cream. This time, I did go with an internet recipe that I found on AllRecipes.com. After much looking around, I went with this recipe. Yes, I know. It calls for eggs, and yet the custard isn’t ever cooked. But EAToo and I weren’t scared, and you shouldn’t be, either. (It’s not that I laugh in the face of salmonella — it’s just that food borne illness from uncooked eggs is unlikely. If you’re worried, buy pasteurized eggs.)

It was during my ice cream making adventure that I had my only unfortunate incident of the weekend. Saturday afternoon, EAToo kept offering to peel and slice peaches for me. He swore he was just offering to help so I could work on something else, but I’m pretty sure he thought I was going to hurt myself. On Sunday, while peeling and cutting the peaches for the ice cream, I thought I had slightly cut my thumb. Except there was no blood. Turns out that I had given myself a little splinter from a peach pit, once again ensuring my title as “Queen of the Freak Accidents.”

For some reason that I can’t properly explain, the ice cream didn’t freeze in my ice cream maker. Now, I don’t mean it didn’t get hard. I mean it was still liquid. Not one to give up, I went ahead and froze the mix in a bowl in the freezer, with pretty decent results:

Peach Ice Cream

It’s extremely rich ice cream, with the eggs and heavy cream. But that’s fine — I managed not to overindulge. You don’t need a lot at one time with the kind of flavor you get from the Jones Orchard peaches. And let’s face it — if I wanted to worry about the calories, I’d have skipped the ice cream making in the first place.

Stay tuned for Part 2: Adventures in Pickling!

A Gift of History

Yesterday, I received one of the greatest gifts anyone has ever given me. My mother had mentioned last week that she had a box in her workroom that she needed to give me; yesterday, when I was at her house, she reminded me to go upstairs and get the box out of her craft room. I did, and found this:


My present

Pretty, right? I was wildly curious. Knowing my mother, it could have been literally anything. Unable to help myself, I opened it immediately, peeled back the layers of tissue paper, and found...

... my grandmother’s recipes.

Not copies, mind you, or a compilation. These are the actual recipes that she had scribbled down on whatever was handy, or clipped from magazines or old cookbooks. This was bits of my childhood, the origins of my passion for cooking, wrapped up in a box. My love of cooking began in my grandmother’s kitchen. It was there that I made my first solo dish, French toast. It was there that I learned to make biscuits, spaghetti, fried chicken, all of the basics. It was there that I learned to equate food with love and family, as cooking brought me closer to my grandmother, and as the food we served brought the whole family together.

Doing my best not to get too emotional since we had guests, I closed up the box, pushed back the tears that were threatening, and closed up my treasure to have a closer look at home, in private.

At home, I found a lot of great recipes that brought back wonderful memories. But my favorites were those I recognized as being in my grandmother’s own handwriting.

My grandmother’s jam cake recipe

Jam cake has always been a holiday recipe for my family. Growing up, my mother’s family had very little; she and her four brothers and sisters might get one gift at Christmas. But my grandmother always made up for that by making the holidays special with food — more cookies, candies, cakes, and pies than you could imagine. I lost my grandmother over twenty years ago, but we still have jam cake for Thanksgiving or Christmas nearly every year.

Even more than the history, though, this recipe was special to me for another reason. One of the things I remember most about cooking with my grandmother is how frustrated I would get when I would ask her a question and get a vague answer. “How much milk?” “Oh, enough.” “How long do I cook it?” “Till it looks right.” It drove me nuts back then, but now I get it. And it makes me smile to read the instructions for the jam cake, which after a brief description of how to mix the ingredients reads simply “Bake — 350 — until done.”


My grandmother’s pickle recipe

With very few exceptions, I spent my summer days with my grandmother until I started high school. My grandmother had the most amazing green thumb, and her tiny yard produced an amazing array of flowers, four fruit trees, and a prolific garden. Every day we would pick vegetables from the garden, and when the cucumbers were ready, it was time to make pickles.

Pickle-making is still one of my strongest memories of summer. I remember the smell of the pickles before they were canned. I remember jumping up and down on the dining room floor to make the pressure cooker whistle in the kitchen. And most of all, I remember stealing the freshly cut cucumber slices out of the ice-cold brine, as often as I could without getting caught and risking my grandmother’s wrath. (She never once spanked me, but I truly believed it was an option.) I’ve never been good with plants like she was — I’ve actually killed cacti and aloe plants — so I don’t have a garden. But I plan on hitting the Farmer’s Market next weekend so I can try out her pickle recipe.


My grandmother’s macaroni salad recipe

I have to confess, macaroni salad was never one of my favorite things to eat. I’m not sure why, given my lifelong affair with mayonnaise, and considering that I make a somewhat similar recipe now. But I do remember helping to make it for all sorts of occasions. Mostly I remember taking it to our annual family reunion — always a loud raucous, fun time as we reconnected with my grandmother’s seven siblings, their children, and their grandchildren.

But that’s not why this recipe is my favorite of the bunch. I love it best not for the recipe itself, but for everything else about it. First, true to my grandmother’s style, there are no real directions, just a line separating the salad ingredients from the dressing ingredients. Even better, it contains one of my grandmother’s intricate, swirly doodles. Plus, the added bonus of what looks like the scores from a game of rummy between her, my mother, and my aunt. All scribbled on the back of an insert that came out of my grandmother’s Scrabble set, which brings back a whole other set of memories.

I need to thank my mother again. This little box was more than just recipes. It’s a piece of my family, and my history, that I can carry with me. It’s a piece of myself, very much connected to the experiences that made me the woman I am today. And more than that, it will be a part of my future, as I begin to use these recipes to cook for the people I love.

Friday Night at the Drive-In

In the last several years, EAToo and I have gotten to where we rarely see movies out. In addition to the expense, I just don’t need the stress of trying to watch a movie while surrounded by people who don’t know how to behave themselves in public. (I think I gave up in 2002 when I took off work early to see Star Trek: Nemesis. I remember sitting in the theater, when I heard a cell phone ring. “Hey... not much... at the movie... Star Trek... well, it’s ok....”) So I kind of need it to be a pretty special experience if I’m going to see a movie with the unwashed masses.

On Friday night, we definitely had a special experience. We went, along with the whole family (the BFFs, and the “niece” and “nephew”), to the Summer Drive-In. As you can see, our double feature for the evening included WALL•E and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.


The box office at the Summer Drive-In

The first time I went there, with my parents, it was still the “Summer Twin”, with only two screens. It opened in the late ‘60s with one screen, and by 1985 had expanded to four screens, two of which had traditional speakers, and two of which worked with short-range FM broadcasts for sound. I think the first movie I saw there was Star Wars, but I definitely remember seeing Grease there, too. Later, as a teenager, I remember going there with friends to see Dirty Dancing (with the same aforementioned BFF — one of three times we saw it at the theater) and on a date, to see Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.


The concession stand

Things have changed a lot since then. Once one of two drive-ins in Memphis, the Summer is now the only drive-in left in all of West Tennessee. (According to driveinmovie.com, Tennessee is still one of the best states for drive-ins, although as of their writing, 14 of 15 operational drive-ins in the state were in Middle and East Tennessee.) Known as the “Summer Four” in its glory days, screen 2 was lost last year in a fire. Only its skeleton remains, and owner Malco has no plans to rebuild:


The former screen 2

But many things are still the same. (And not just the asphalt, which I’m pretty sure hasn’t been re-paved since the first time I was there, in the ‘70s.) The Summer still hosts rows and rows of families, sitting in their cars or outside them in lawn chairs with their picnic coolers. Parents still feel safe enough to let their kids (at least the bigger ones) run back and forth to the concession stand on their own. Intermission still brings the series of goofy nature pictures which has nothing to do with anything. And a lot of the kids still fall asleep before intermission (or “halftime”, as the princess called it when she woke up as we were packing up to leave, wondering how she had missed so much).


Our view of screen 1

All in all, it was a great, relaxing evening. We saw two good movies, and it was very comfortable and breezy, despite the Memphis summer heat. Sure, there were a few minor issues, all having to do with being around other people, some of whom were apparently not raised right. You know who you are — the people next to us who left your empty soda cans rolling around on the ground, for instance. Or the people next to us whose exhaust fumes we had to smell when they kept their engine running for twenty minutes. Or the people who didn’t know you were supposed to have your lights off the whole time. (Thank you, though, for finally turning off your parking lights after we asked.)

Despite the minor irritations, it was a night I wouldn’t trade for anything. Going to the drive-in is a quintessentially American experience, and a part of our history that is slipping away as more and more of these theaters close. Honestly, I’m not sure how the Summer Drive-In stays in business — they charge only $7 for a double feature, kids are free, and the concession stand can’t be all that profitable with everyone bringing their own food with them. I count myself lucky, not only that I can still enjoy the drive-in myself, but that the Summer Drive-In stayed open long enough to share that part of my childhood with the kids.

Summer Drive-In
5310 Summer Avenue
Memphis, TN 38122
901-767-4320

Nathan Fillion Is Everywhere!

Okay, maybe he’s not everywhere. (Although he should be.) But Nathan Fillion is a very busy boy.

The star of my beloved, gone-but-not-forgotten “Firefly” and one of my all-time favorite movies, Waitress, has got a lot going on this summer. Ain’t It Cool News reports that we can now view the teaser trailer for his summer internet series “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog”, which co-stars “How I Met Your Mother” comedic genius Neil Patrick Harris. More importantly, the series was created by Joss Whedon, creator of all things good and pure and holy. You know, like “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”. And “Angel”. And “Firefly”. (Not a sci-fi/fantasy fan? Joss also wrote a little movie you may have heard of called Toy Story.)

Also out this summer is DC Comics’ new animated Wonder Woman DVD, which you can read about here. In addition to Nathan Fillion providing the voice of Steve Trevor, this project boasts the lovely Keri Russell as Princess Diana. Considering these two were magic together in Waitress, I’m really looking forward to this as well. (Did I mention what a great movie Waitress is? Seriously — rent it, buy it, borrow it, Netflix it — whatever you have to do not to miss out on it.)

In addition to these projects, my beloved “Captain Tightpants” also has a part in the upcoming romantic comedy Chilled in Miami with Harry Connick, Jr. and Renée Zellweger. He also has a television show in development, called “Repo Brothers”, but there’s not a lot of information out there yet about that.

Like I said, he’s not quite everywhere, just yet. But at this rate, hopefully he will be soon.

In memoriam: George Carlin (1937 – 2008)

George Carlin died yesterday.

That seems so wrong to say, on so many levels. But there you have it — a legend, arguably the greatest stand up comedian ever, is gone as the result of heart failure at age 71.

I have so many memories of watching George Carlin on television and in movies. In the ‘70s, I watched him on “Saturday Night Live,” even though I was way too young to completely understand his material. In the ‘80s, I watched many of his HBO specials, and of course remember him as Rufus in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, as well as its sequel. In the ‘90s, I loved his short-lived “The George Carlin Show” on Fox, and more recently I adored his performances in Kevin Smith’s movies, especially Dogma. I still have my copy of his comedy book, Brain Droppings.

I couldn’t have explained it properly as a child, but I know now that I always loved George Carlin’s work because he shared my love of language and writing. Sure, he was very much known for his riff on the “Seven Dirty Words” (written long enough ago that you can actually use a couple of them with regularity on broadcast television today). But his use of profanity and his disdain of politeness never limited his ability to express himself. His work was genius, completely aside from his use of “inappropriate” language.

Some of his bits that stick in my mind include his questioning of why we “park on driveways but drive on parkways,” his rant about how spoiled we must be as a country to have eating disorders while so much of the world is starving for lack of food, and of course the perennial favorite “A Place for My Stuff.” I’ll never forget the line on his sitcom about how his character, New York cabbie George Grady, was so enraged when “Star Trek” was cancelled that his angry letter to the network was “still etched into the bar.”

But it was always the little observations that really got to me, and his gift for wordplay. “Pacifism is a nice idea, but it can get you killed.” “Most people with low self-esteem have earned it.” “As a matter of principle, I never attend the first annual anything.” “The planet is fine. The people are...” — well, I can’t really repeat that one here. He did occasionally use profanity, you know.

George Carlin had no patience for sentimentality. He would probably be irritated at all of the people eulogizing him — if for no other reason than he’s not around to hear it — but he will be missed. He was an inspiration, and the world is a far less interesting place without him in it.

TV News: (Blank) to Air Updated “Match Game”?

I was a huge game show fan as a child, and the original “Match Game” was one of my favorites. I remember watching it every morning at my grandmother’s house; I’d watch the “P.M.” edition at home, too, if my father was busy enough reading the newspaper to let me have control of the television. I even watched it on a nearly daily basis when Game Show Network began airing reruns of it in the late ‘90s.

As game shows go, Match Game wasn’t exactly “Jeopardy!” Heck, not even “Wheel of Fortune,” really, in terms of intellectual value. But it was always a blast. Host Gene Rayburn would ask contestants a question that included a “blank” — some were mundane and obvious, like a bonus question of “filthy _____”, while many were intended as opportunities for naughty answers. The fun came as contestants attempted to match answers with celebrity panelists. It was far less about the contestants and how much they won, and far more about the banter amongst panelists, which most notably included Brett Somers, Richard Dawson, and Charles Nelson Reilly.

Now we have news that Robert Smigel (writer for “Saturday Night Live” and sometimes collaborator of Adam Sandler) has created a “revival” Match Game for TBS, using the sets from the late ‘70s version of the show. Celebrities on the panel for the first taping, last Thursday, included Sarah Silverman, Norm MacDonald, Niecy Nash (of “Reno 911”) and “Kids in the Hall” comedian Scott Thompson. (Interesting side note via IMdB — comedian Carrot Top’s real name is also Scott Thompson. I find that strange and somewhat disturbing.)

To be honest, I was a little worried about the new version when I first read about it on AICN. The ‘70s Match Game worked because television was a completely different culture back then — this was a time when only three networks existed, married couples were just beginning to be shown sharing the same bed, and lingerie was advertised on mannequins and not models. Most of the funny came from celebrities and contestants coming up with naughty answers while trying not to be too blunt about it. I had to wonder whether that same vibe could be recreated in today’s society, where thanks to Trey Parker and Matt Stone, you can say pretty much anything, even on basic cable. (Not that I’m complaining. I still love “South Park”.)

And apparently, my concerns were warranted, if the “eyewitness report” that has been added to the AICN item is any indication. There may still be hope — apparently a few of the celebrities’ answers were genuinely funny. But I don’t think I’ll watch for very long if it turns into an exercise of celebrities being dirty just for the sake of being dirty. The original Match Game may not have required its contestants to be particularly smart, but it worked because of the smart comedy. If the revival version can’t develop that, I’ll just stick to the GSN reruns.

AFI’s 10 Top 10

Tonight was the first night that EAToo and I had alone together at home after a particularly traumatic weekend. Although we should have occupied ourselves watching some of the mess on our overcrowded DVR, we instead allowed ourselves to be distracted by the three-hour presentation of the American Film Institute’s 10 Top 10 — the AFI’s list of the ten best movies in ten different genres.

Obviously, there will be disagreement and discussion regarding any such list, which is part of the point — pop culture unites us, but touches each of us so individually that there will always be strong and diverse opinions. That said, I couldn’t believe some of the movies that were left out of the “10 Top 10”, many of which are included in the also-interesting list of 500 nominees that AFI members had to choose from.

Many of the movies that I felt were unduly dismissed were, admittedly, newer classics. For instance, in the “Animation” category, I couldn’t possibly argue with the inclusion of Bambi or Cinderella, or newer Pixar favorites like Finding Nemo and Toy Story. However, on the nominee ballot but left off the top ten was South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut. I know it’s not a traditional choice, but I hate that they didn’t recognize any adult animation at all in the top ten.

“Fantasy” was the most disappointing portion of the show for me. I completely agree with giving props to classics like The Wizard of Oz. But being made after the year 2000 shouldn’t somehow disqualify newer classics like the Harry Potter movies, Pirates of the Caribbean, or Spiderman 2. Most of all, I don’t see how you can have a top ten list of fantasy movies without The Princess Bride, which is just one of the best movies, ever, of any genre.

I’ll let the “Sci-Fi” list go, so as not to geek out completely. But I can’t ignore the obvious omissions in the “Mystery” category. Again, some of the most obvious omissions (despite being complete works of genius) are newer films, such as L. A. Confidential and Memento. Heck, The Sixth Sense wasn’t even one of the possible nominees.

I really believe the “Courtroom Dramas” top ten should have included A Time to Kill — if only because it took such an honest look at the racial problems that still plague the South. But I couldn’t possibly argue with the top two movies on that part of the list: Twelve Angry Men at number 2, and the obvious To Kill a Mockingbird at number 1.

“Romantic Comedies” provided the single biggest disappointment for me. Say Anything is not only one of my favorite movies, but is one of the first movies that defined my generation. I don’t think there were many girls my age who didn’t fall in love with John Cusack (and Lloyd Dobler) watching that movie. On the other hand, after looking at the nomination list, this category also provided me with one of my happiest moments of the evening — the realization that Pretty Woman had been nominated, but hadn’t made it to the top ten. I mean, seriously? She was a hooker. Not romantic.

Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with the ultimate 10 Top 10 list, I’d suggest going to AFI’s website and checking out this and their other lists (free registration required). If nothing else, maybe it will inspire you, as it did me, to re-watch some old favorites. First up for me is going to be The Philadelphia Story, which is going on my Netflix queue as soon as possible.

“Office” rumor: Rashida Jones to head spinoff?

This is the best news I’ve heard about the proposed spinoff of “The Office.” Even if it’s not official news yet.

Although previous reports stated that it wouldn’t exactly be a spinoff, with no established characters moving over, now it appears that the lovely and talented Rashida Jones (daughter of Quincy Jones and Peggy Lipton) will head up the new office — which makes sense, considering Jones’ character, Karen Fillipelli, was last seen managing the “Utica” branch of Dunder Mifflin.

Sounds like a great idea to me. I always liked both Jones and her character, and thought she did a great job with what was always doomed to be a short-term role as the “spoiler” in the show’s main romantic storyline. I hope the rumor is true, so that both Jones and her character have a second chance at Dunder Mifflin.

What do you call a “Battlestar Galactica” fan?

Sorry, no punchline. I seriously need to know. For example, I know for a fact that I’m a Trekkie. (For the record, I hate “Trekker”. It’s pompous, and I fully accept that I’m an obsessed fangirl, so why sugarcoat it? Heck, search Trekker in Wikipedia and see what happens.) I also know that I am a Browncoat... you fans of “Firefly” know what I’m talking about. But I need to know what to call myself now. I’m apparently pretty far gone with “Battlestar Galactica”, too, because I’m considering buying this:



I’m also thinking about the entire series of Colonial Fleet propaganda posters as well.

At least I have the “mid-season” finale of BSG to keep me occupied while I make up my mind. It airs tomorrow night on SciFi — read all about it (spoilers included!) here. If it lives up to all the hype, it promises to be a game-changer worthy of “Lost”, with plenty to keep fans talking. Which will be great, since it looks like the last half-season won’t air until 2009.

TV News: “Veronica Mars” reunion on “Heroes”

With the writers’ strike over and the rumored Screen Actors Guild strike looking unlikely, I’m finally letting myself get excited about the upcoming fall television season.

And here’s the most exciting news so far: “Heroes” has apparently signed Francis Capra (Weevil from “Veronica Mars”) for the new season, reuniting him with his Veronica co-star Kristen Bell. (Check out the full story here.) It doesn’t make up for the fact that Veronica Mars was cancelled years too early, but I’ll take it.

Now if Heroes can just make room for Jason Dohring now that “Moonlight” is cancelled….

Fuse TV: It’s like MTV, except with videos!

At our house, summer is the time we look at television that we might not ordinarily watch during the regular season. Not like “American Gladiators” or “So You Think You Can Dance” — I do have some pride — but often we pick up interesting basic cable stuff that we might not ordinarily watch, or things like Jeopardy.

So far this year, we’ve been filling up a lot of time with Fuse TV. I discovered it a few weeks ago, on a Saturday morning, when I first stumbled across a show called “Loaded”. “Loaded” offers a thirty-minute block of music videos from a single artist. I happened upon it toward the end of a Fall Out Boy block. We have since DVR’d and watched blocks from Stone Temple Pilots, Foo Fighters, Weezer, and others.

Other shows on Fuse include “Video Yearbook”, a compilation of videos from a specific year, and a daily “No. 1 Countdown”, which rotates daily amongst rock, alternative, hip-hop, or “viewer’s choice.” All of these shows, including Loaded, appear to be different compilations each time you watch — we’ve recorded a few episodes of Loaded twice to check, and were rewarded with a different mixture of videos from Weezer and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

It’s not all music videos, of course. They play movies in the evenings, although these “Full Volume Flicks” are often guilty pleasures. (But how could you not love Empire Records?) There is also the occasional unfortunate reality show or “documentary”. But if you’re a member of the original MTV generation (who remembers when Video Killed the Radio Star), it’s refreshing to actually be able to see music videos regularly. Or even have them on in the background while you’re doing other things, like writing.

Sure, part of it is nostalgia. I’m old enough that I remember having a three-hour-a-day MTV habit as a teenager in the ‘80s. I’m old enough that I’ve watched both MTV and M2 turn from all-music-all-the-time rock fests into crappy reality channels. I’m old enough that I remember feeling old when I started to enjoy VH1 more than MTV, only to have it follow in its younger sibling’s footsteps.

But it’s more than that. After all these years, I still love new music — especially alternative and modern rock. So it’s nice to have a place where I can both keep up with new music and rediscover old favorites from the ‘90s and ‘00s. And it’s somehow comforting to know that while change is inevitable, there’s still a place where a nerd like me can just enjoy the music without all of the other distractions.

A Very Happy Anniversary

I really have been trying to be a better blogger, posting more regularly. But this was a rough week at work, combined with two baseball games, and visiting with out-of-town family. Oh, yeah… and there was the matter of our anniversary.

On Thursday, EAToo and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary. (Happy anniversary! Love you!) Just saying that out loud makes me feel much older than I am, and makes me have to keep repeating to myself that I just got married very young. So, how to celebrate — and cheer me up? Food, of course.

When we started making plans, EAToo mentioned hopefully that the traditional 15th anniversary gift is “crystal”. After I patiently explained that this did not mean that I would be amenable to celebrating our anniversary with small, square hamburgers, we talked more about where we should go to dinner.

I made several suggestions, from which he chose Restaurant Iris. (He is ultimately responsible for choosing where to take me on Valentine’s Day and our anniversary each year. And for killing spiders. And changing lightbulbs I can’t reach. I’m pretty sure that was all in the wedding vows.) He made reservations for Friday night — Thursday was a baseball game — and we were off.

I simply cannot think of enough good things to say about Restaurant Iris. Owner and chef Kelly English, a transplant from New Orleans, opened his restaurant on Monroe Avenue in the space formerly occupied by Memphis culinary institution La Tourelle, which closed last summer just after celebrating its 30th anniversary. Chef English had a lot to live up to, and definitely rises to the occasion.

The evening began with an amuse-bouche of crab, in a homemade mayonnaise with horseradish, on a small crostini. It was just beautiful. If you have never had homemade mayonnaise, I can’t possibly explain it to you — with apologies to Elvis Costello (or perhaps one of my favorite movies), it’s like dancing about architecture. You’ll just have to experience it for yourself.

Things got more difficult after that, since the only bad thing about our trip to Restaurant Iris was having to choose what to order. Both EAToo and I are somewhat indecisive by nature, and it didn’t sound like there were any bad options on the menu. After much deliberation and negotiation (I even offered to try the oysters three ways if EAToo wanted), he finally chose the fried Boudin, a pork and rabbit sausage with caramelized onion and ravigote. The bit I tried was delicious, thoughts of fluffy bunnies notwithstanding.

I chose the Brussels sprouts salad, a warm salad with chunks of bacon in a sherry vinaigrette. I know Brussels sprouts aren’t for everyone, but they have been one of my favorite vegetables since I was a very little girl (surprisingly, not nearly the strangest thing about me). These were the best I have ever had, beautifully sautéed and tender, and the bacon and tangy dressing provided the perfect counterpart to the slight sweetness of the sprouts. I am going to have a difficult time passing them up next time in order to try something else.

Next up was entrées. Again, too many choices. Shrimp and grits always sounds good to me, and the grilled bass over lobster mashed potatoes sounded excellent as well. The server had kindly warned us that the amberjack was a more “fragrant” fish than the bass, and might not be to everyone’s liking. Undaunted — actually even more eager — after this description, EAToo chose the jack (amberjack the night we went), with ratatouille and bordelaise sauce. He was not disappointed.

I ultimately went with the scallops. They were grilled to perfection, and plated with house-made potato gnocchi in a vodka cream sauce, topped with a bit of fennel and citrus salad. “Good” doesn’t even begin to cover it. I have not had good kitchen luck with scallops, although my homemade gnocchi are passable. But these — well, I can say unequivocally that Chef English is simply a genius. I have never had gnocchi so light and perfect before, and by this time I was totally jealous of his kitchen skills. Again, I fear having a difficult time trying any other entrée the next time we go.

By the time we ordered dessert, I was toying with the idea of passing on it altogether, or at least sharing. Right up until the server described the bread pudding. One of my stranger food quirks is that I don’t like raisins in my bread pudding. (I also drink my tea completely unsweetened. I swear I really am from around here, I promise.) When the server mentioned that there were no raisins (his preference as well), I had to have it. And all to myself. It turned out to be one of those desserts that I get way too involved with, like crème brulée, the other option I had considered. I could have spent the rest of the evening with that brown butter caramel sauce. EAToo chose the molten chocolate cake, despite being mildly disappointed that it was paired with berries stewed in wine, rather than the blood orange sorbet he had read about on the website. He quite enjoyed it, and I’m pretty sure the promise of the blood orange sorbet will help me tempt him back another time.

In addition to exquisite food, the service and atmosphere at Iris were perfect as well. I can’t think of anything I would change about our experience there. As I may have mentioned, EAToo is a big eater (partially my fault for introducing him to good Southern food in the first place), and he often worries too much about the price-to-amount-of-food ratio at nicer restaurants. Fortunately, three courses each at Iris was plenty of food for both of us — in fact, I could have stopped about halfway through my bread pudding. Didn’t, mind you. But could have.

For those who do want to try more than three courses, Restaurant Iris offers a five-course “dégustation” menu. It sounded lovely, but honestly, I can’t imagine that sort of sensory overload.

I left Restaurant Iris immensely pleased and excited to return (hopefully soon, and possibly for brunch). I’m not above making up another special occasion to do so — I just know I don’t want to wait for our next anniversary.


Restaurant Iris
2146 Monroe Avenue
Memphis, TN 38104
(901) 590-2828

Seven Deadly Sins

Well, okay… three of them, anyway.

Last night it just happened that the nephew was spending the night at a friend’s house, and his sister, the princess, threw a fit to go spend the night with her grandmother. As the BFFs suddenly found themselves temporarily childless (a rare occurrence), we set out to have a night of grown up fun (an even more rare occurrence).

What to do? Being us, the obvious answer was “eat.” So we headed down south to Tunica. Our destination? Harrah’s Casino (formerly The Grand), where the Paula Deen Buffet had opened a couple of weeks ago.

I enjoy watching Paula Deen on television. People have told my mother that Paula reminds them of her, although I really don’t see it. Although my mother is absolutely Southern and a wonderful cook, and enjoys the slot machines like Paula apparently does, so I guess the similarities are there. And at my mom’s, everyone tends to congregate in the kitchen while she cooks, which is one of the things I like about “Paula’s Home Cooking” — she invites you into her own home.

Paula’s Buffet in Tunica is, in fact, a large-scale model of her home, divided into areas modeled after Paula’s dining room, porch, etc. (I assume Paula’s home doesn’t have an actual gift shop, but you never know.) And the food is exactly what you’d expect from watching her shows and reading her cookbooks, with a few surprises along the way.

Now, I’m not normally a big fan of buffets. I can’t exactly explain why, except that I tend to think the food suffers from not getting a lot of attention from those preparing it. (There’s also my tendency to not like being in close proximity to a bunch of people I don’t know, but that’s just a personal thing.) And if Paula’s buffet does suffer at all, it is from the fact that it is, by definition, more institutional than a traditional restaurant. (That’s not a criticism — any restaurant meant to serve over 500 people at a time is, by definition, not going to involve any single plate of food getting hands-on attention from a chef.) But as buffets go, Paula’s is top-notch. She had her kitchen manager come out from Savannah to instruct the staff (and had the buffet’s kitchen manager come to Savannah for training), and the level of attention shows.

There are five basic areas to the Buffet. Granny Paul’s Garden is the salad bar. Most of the ingredients there were what you’d expect on a salad bar, although everything was fresh and of great quality. Some of Paula’s specialty salads were interesting, including a marinated asparagus salad, mushroom and tomato salad, and a Vidalia onion slaw. The seafood gumbo was excellent.

Next up is Uncle Bubba’s Oyster House. Here, I was a little disappointed. I tried the crab legs, knowing full well that it was going to be a lot of work for a little food. Unfortunately, there were no crackers in sight, so they ended up being a lot of work for a little food and messy hands. The fried shrimp were also a bit disappointing, being a little bit tough and slightly greasy. (EAToo noted that the fried potatoes and catfish were a bit greasy, too.) The peel ‘em and eat ‘em shrimp, however, were absolutely wonderful. The oysters and frog legs both looked good, as such things go, but I can’t make any personal recommendations, as neither is exactly my cup of tea.

The next food station is based on The Lady and Sons, Paula’s home-cooking restaurant in Savannah. I didn’t stop there, as the line was a bit long. But I am assured by the BFF and EAToo that the cheesy meatloaf was really good, and that the chicken pot pie is to die for. EAToo also very much enjoyed the lima beans —something he just doesn’t get at home. Ever. So I was glad that he enjoyed them without me having to deal with them.

For my part, I skipped on to Captain Michael’s Smokehouse, named for Paula’s husband. There I tried the wet ribs (they had dry, too, but they just didn’t look as good). They were really good, with an excellent smoke flavor in the meat, which was, appropriately, falling off the bone. The Smokehouse section also had some Polish sausage and a brisket. I skipped these, largely because the brisket looked a bit overdone to me (and since I like my steak well-done, that’s saying something). However, the Smokehouse section also boasted some excellent cheese grits, and, inexplicably, some really, really good crab cakes, made fresh on a griddle at the bar. Go figure.

Before I get to the desserts, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the bread station. Two types of bread are available there — hoe cakes and garlic cheese biscuits. The garlic cheese biscuits ranged from sublime to overdone and a bit too hard, depending on which batch you got. If you got one of the nice, fresh, soft ones, they were wonderful. The highlight, though, was definitely the hoe cakes. These fried corn cakes, which resemble pancakes a bit, were absolutely perfect specimens. Butter and syrup are available, but I don’t know why you would need to add anything at all.

Of course, we saved the best for last — although I kind of wish we had gone to Little Jack’s corner for dessert first. And last. And in the middle. There were only about a dozen things I wanted to try: hand dipped ice cream (including sundaes and banana splits), cakes, pies, cookies, brownies, puddings, and even large jars of “penny” candies. I held myself back, however… limiting myself to only three choices. The black forest cake was wonderfully light, which made me feel like I had plenty of room for a small bit of really excellent bread pudding and part of a lovely (and oversized) chocolate truffle. Alas, I did not notice the crème brulée until it was too late. I’ll catch that and the gooey butter cake the next time.

Paula’s Buffet is a bit pricey on the weekends, at $25 per person. However, the quality and quantity of the food were definitely worth it. If you’d like to pay a bit less, the weeknight cost is about $18, and breakfast is only $9. We arrived at about 8:00 p.m. on a Saturday night, and there was about an hour wait — which probably would have happened at most restaurants in the Wolfchase area (where we live), so that was no big deal. At least we had plenty to keep us occupied in the meantime.

So, back to those deadly sins. Obviously, gluttony was the order of the evening. (EAToo does tend to take “all you can eat” as a personal challenge.) It could have been worse, though, since we did enough walking around the casino before and after eating to take the edge off a bit. Ultimately, I don’t figure the occasional splurge really hurts — and I don’t remember the last time I ate that much, so it’s probably ok.

But you can’t go to a casino without doing a little bit of gambling… at least, I can’t. Hence the greed. Now, my father is a blackjack dealer, and I am well aware that casinos don’t make payroll for a couple of thousand people by handing out money to everyone who walks in. But it’s still fun to try, with just that little bit of hope that you’ll be the one to get something for nothing. So we tried out our luck (on a very small scale) on slots and video poker. Having tested my luck, I am reassured that it is still nonexistent.

Which brings me to that last one, envy. The BFFs had better luck than us. Well, at least they managed to play a lot longer on a lot less money, one of them turning $10 into $60 (and back into none) before dinner, and the other playing for the better part of an hour on $2.50 at a nickel slot machine. EAToo tried a similar machine — and even playing 20 lines at a time couldn’t hit anything. I don’t mean he didn’t win big. He didn’t win anything. At all. I was a bit jealous, sure, but on the other hand, my lack of luck was no big surprise, so it wasn’t too upsetting.

All in all, we had a great time. The drive down and back alone is fun if you have good company, on top of a great meal and time to just hang out and play without having to be anywhere at a specific time or put anyone to bed.

And the people watching at casinos is fascinating, too. But I’ll save my rant about how I’m worried that some people can’t afford mirrors for another time. “Tacky” is a deadly sin, too, right?