Sweet!

My new computer arrived today, three days ahead of schedule. It’s so awesome I can hardly stand it!! I haven’t even done too much exploration, but this machine is so quick, it’s insane. It was no hassle to set up my network, connect to the internet, or set up my programs. Plus, I’m using my same network connection as always, and it’s seriously about 6 times faster than my PC.

Time Capsule

This is what Richard Pryor thought a press conference with the first black US president would be like:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_cdbByTeNE]

Gone over to the dark side

Did I tell y’all that I bought a Mac the other day? No, of course not, because I haven’t really been updating the way I should. Moving on…I have wanted an Apple forever, but couldn’t justify buying one. Well, that’s all changed. I saw the new generation of MacBooks, and just knew that I had to have one. They’re so pretty, and so well-constructed. How can you not love a computer that is made out of a solid block of aluminum? Not possible, my friend.

I ordered the 2.4GHz MacBook on Monday morning while processing loans (much to the amazement of my coworker, who does not understand my compartmentalization skills at all), and added a printer, along with a larger hard drive. The printer wasn’t something that I actually needed (and neither was the computer, obviously), but there was a rebate of $100, and it seemed silly not to get something that I would have to buy in a few months anyway when I finally move into my own apartment. The very very very nice guy from the Apple call center (what up, Arnie???) told me that I could process the rebate as soon as I got the printer by going to apple.com/promo, filling out the form, and entering the serial number from the box. Except: wrong!

I really needn’t have waited at all, because the form did not require any information that I didn’t know already when I placed my order. The whole thing took like 37 seconds, and 25 of those were spent entering my name and address. I didn’t even need to put in the serial number, which means I lugged this ridiculously light box to my room for no freaking reason at all, except to admire my adorable, wireless printer (which my dad is already lusting after). Even if the delay had been necessary, it wouldn’t have been very long, as the printer arrived the next day (the computer is coming from Shanghai, so I won’t see that baby until Monday morning). I know it’s a cult, but glory be, I am happy to have finally joined the ranks of blithely dismissive Apple fangirls who simply do not understand why Windows users put up with all the hassle. Thanks, Apple!!

Elizabeth Dole, WTF?

Apparently being decent in a close race is just too much to ask of North Carolina Senator Elizabeth Dole. Instead of bearing down and fighting for her seat on her own merits, she has resorted to making specious and laughably untrue attacks on her opponent, Kay Hagan, based on religion. Dole’s new ad claims that Hagen is “godless,” which 1) what’s wrong with that and 2) is easily disproved. The claim might carry more weight were Hagan not a regular churchgoer who also happened to be a former Sunday school teacher. Shame on you, Ms. Dole! I really admired you before this. Campbell Brown, though, doesn’t let her get away with it. Go Campbell!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMzX_EAfwyc]

The Axe has fallen

Poor Elizabeth Reaser. I hated Jane Doe/Ava/Rebecca, her character on Grey’s Anatomy, but never had a problem with her as an actress. I watched her new show, The Ex-List, since it premiered. I thought it was worth watching, even though Bella, her character did some boneheaded things and didn’t always make smart decisions. I was interested in most of the characters (except for Cyrus, who seemed superfluous), and wanted to see where things were headed. Even though I wondered how long the conceit of Bella always dating a guy from her past could be maintained (and what would happen if the show lasted longer than a year), I was willing not to let my skepticism ruin the experience. So too bad CBS canceled The Ex-List already. The show didn’t even last a month. Boo!

In other tv news, Life, one of the shows that I most enjoy, has (maybe) been given a new lease on…life. Sorry. It’s been moved out of the Friday night ghetto, into a prime Wednesday night time spot. Of course, this means that the show will actually have to earn better ratings, but I hope that the change in night will draw in viewers. Damian Lewis and Sarah Shahi are amazing in their roles, and even though I loathe the part that Donal Logue is playing (what purpose does Tidwell serve?), I always welcome the chance to watch him on tv.

Like rats fleeing a sinking ship

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/10/the-top-ten-rea.html

Project Runway Withdrawal

Despite the fact that Season 5 of Project Runway was not as compelling as earlier cycles, I miss the show. I miss ragging on Kenley, disdaining Suede’s overuse of the third person, oohing over Korto’s colors, and being completely blown away by Leanne’s visions. I am sad that there’s no more Top American Designer Michael Kors to make jokes about “Becky Home Ec-y” and whatnot, and Nina to be so unimpressed that she had no words. Now that the show is over for an undetermined amount of time, what’s going on in the PR universe?

• NBC Universal’s lawsuit against Lifetime TV has moved to federal court!!
• Entertainment Weekly does a Q&A with Leanne Marshall, Season 5 winner
• Chloe Dao (looking HOT), showed her new collection, seemingly to great approval

No more Mrazzy Goodness

I’ve been to three Jason Mraz concerts in the last week and a half, and I’m bummed that this great period in my autumn has come to an end. I enjoyed all three of the concerts, albeit in different ways.

New York was great because it was the first show that I attended this tour and I hadn’t seen Jason Mraz perform live in two years, and also because I’d never been to Radio City Music Hall before. I don’t know how I managed to avoid this in my 27 years, but it was just beautiful and definitely worth the wait. And!! THEY SERVE ALCOHOL. Sometimes they come in faux martini glasses with Rockette legs for stems. Cute, right? So yeah, I was totally lit up for that show. People were dancing in the aisles and I bonded with a group of Boston Red Sox fans in the row in front of me and ended up dancing with one of the cuter guys for a song or two.

The second show, which was at Brookdale Community College, was interesting because I’d never been to this particular school before. The energy of the college students was pretty great (except for this weird section of people who could not get enough of sitting on their butts and never stood until Mraz told them to get on their feet). I saw a Brooke Hogan lookalike in a way too short dress, and felt inexplicably cheered every time our paths crossed.

The Boston show was pretty fun, too. I was with a friend who is also a huge Mraz fan (and her much less fan-like but good sport fiance), so that was awesome. We’ve been to several shows all over the eastern seaboard (and Wisconsin), and it was nice to be back at a show with my #1 Mrazzy buddy. I brought my camera to this show, but left the freaking memory card in New Jersey. I missed most of the opening act searching high and low for a place to get a new card. Why do stores in Boston close at 7 pm? What kind of a city downtown closes so early? Just terrible. Anyway, I stumbled upon CEX, a British store just starting to appear in the US. It seems that pretty much everything they sell is used, but who cares when you can get a 4GB memory card for $20. Almost never happens at a brick and mortar place without some kind of an insane sale going on. I got back to the show in time to hear the last few songs of Lisa Hannigan’s set. and and took some pictures and video.

Here’s a video I took during the song “Live High.” All you Barack Obama fans, pay attention starting at the 1:15 mark.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4mkn516OK8]

Minnesota Politics again

Who’d have thought that I’d talk about Minnesota politics even once on this blog, much less twice? This time, though, my primary focus is Michele Bachmann, a member of the House of Representatives and a total idiot. Representative Bachmann went on Hardball and said that Senator Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, held anti-American views and that they could not be trusted in the Oval Office. Representative Bachmann then went on to say that the media (now she trusts the media??) should thoroughly investigate other members of Congress to determine whether they held anti-American or pro-American attitudes.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_pN2IPAw6E]

Just to give you some context, here are other videos of Representative Bachmann:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wX1UnAtynU]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTdbCbbEr64]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJdRHE3ppj4]

I’m pretty sure that Michele Bachmann didn’t get the memo; you’re supposed to imply that the Obamas, Democrats, and liberals are somehow less patriotic than the McCains, Republicans, and conservatives, but you’re not supposed to come right out and say it. Tsk, tsk, Representative Bachmann.

Blood Noir Review

I recently finished Blood Noir, the latest book by Laurell K. Hamilton. Last week, I discussed my impressions of the series and my fears about how this book would be. Blood Noir was a lot like what I expected, but also somewhat better. There was a lot of sex. Sex sex sex. Anita has sex. With men. And weres. And vampires. Did you know? Anita has sex. Good for her! But sometimes you wonder what else she has in her life except for hot guys and lots of sex (NTTAWWT). There was also the repetition of phrases and concepts that I am convinced Hamilton has trademarked, such as:

• “Pretty to think so”
• “…things low and tight in my body”
• moving in human form with muscles that are not found in the human body

This time, though, there was also some genuine character development to go along with all that sex. Most of it was reserved for the character of Jason, but even Nathaniel, who wasn’t around for a lot of the book, was shown to have grown up. Even Anita seemed more likely to think her actions through. I like that she doesn’t take anybody’s crap, but that she is also able to understand how certain situations require a level of diplomacy and compromise that do not come naturally to her. Also, I like that she still sometimes mucks up really important situations. It keeps her interesting.

I hated that so much exposition and calling people by their full names. I know that we’re about fourteen books into this series at this point, but these instances were glaring and really detracted from the story. I would prefer a brief character index or something, because these kinds of insertions are never seamless. Or maybe the newcomers should step away from this book and look at at least half of the preceding books. If you come into a series late and make no effort to catch yourself up, you deserve whatever confusion you feel. Also: congratulations on discovering the internet. You win a Google.

I have to say that I kind of hate Richard now. He seems really unable to focus on anything other than Anita and her sex life, and the fact that he hasn’t been able to accept how she’s changed over the last gazillion novels really makes me think poorly of him. He either needs to accept how Anita’s life is going to be and participate or remove himself as much as their triumvirate bond will allow. He’s tiresome. Being hot and angry will only get you so far, and then you’re going to need something to fall back on. A crushing sense of guilt and self-loathing are probably not the crutch you want to reach for. Jean-Claude, the third and most powerful member of the triumvirate (so far, Anita’s gaining power pretty rapidly), didn’t play much of a role in this novel, either, but the news that Anita’s actions had far-reaching consequences for him at least set the stage nicely for future installments of this series. I’d also like to know why Marmee Noire is all up in Anita’s (dream) grill. It would be great to find out eventually why Anita is so special, and that her accumulation of all these powers is leading somewhere interesting (other than a bedroom).

I haven’t given up on Ms. Blake & Co., even though each glimpse of their lives seems a lot like the episode before it. Is Hamilton sick of this character? Has she had trouble writing Anita lately? Something’s off, but I’m hanging on for at least one more installment. I’ll have to read the next book in the Meredith Gentry series, because I’m not actually sure whether those books are any more convincing than these.