Archive for the ‘Couch Critic’ Category
Thanks for the memories, Ben
June 27th, 2008
I decided to let go of my Benjamin Bratt website. This is a big decision. I’ve maintained the website in one form or another since 1996. In the early years, it was hard to create pages for the site because there was so little published about him. I created a page of “Bratt Stats” that gave all sorts of silly, useless statistics about his movies and shows. I paid some crazy price for an old Playboy just to get a photo of him (the magazine had done a fashion shoot featuring stars of tv shows, including Law & Order). Eventually I created a bulletin board (very simple, not like today’s multiple topic forums) that became quite lively. I was the authority on Benjamin Bratt. I received e-mails from his high school classmates, from reporters who wanted my help, and from people who’d encountered him in real life—the most interesting of which was one of the very first public encounters of Ben with Julia Roberts.
But in the past several years my interest has waned. I no longer rush out to see a Benjamin Bratt movie. In fact, I haven’t even yet seen “Love in the Time of Cholera.” I don’t track his television appearances. And I’ve been very, very bad about updating the blog site with info or pictures. So I decided it was time to turn in the towel.
There were times in the past when I thought about giving the site up, but the thought of someone taking over “my baby” was unbearable. Even though I wasn’t keeping up the site, I didn’t want anyone else messing with it. But now I’m ok. I’m in the process of transferring the domain name benbratt.com, and I’m sure it’s in good hands.
I’ll be sticking around the fandom and visiting the new website. I’m really excited about Ben’s new tv series on A&E, The Cleaner. Although the title of the show is less than stellar, and the premise didn’t thrill me, the show and Benjamin Bratt have gotten some excellent reviews and from the little ads I’ve seen for it, it looks interesting.
Posted in Blogging, Couch Critic | Comments (2)
Bleah
May 8th, 2008
I’ve started eating a little bit better in the past week and have felt much better. Basically eating breakfast at home and having a reasonable evening meal. But last night I gave into laziness and ordered a pizza. Ugh. I could really tell a difference, both in how I felt when I went to bed and when I woke up.
I was going to start taking my lunch to work, but I think I’ll just work on breakfast and dinner for now. But the cafeteria at work has been closed for a few weeks. It changed management & apparently they have found several “unexpected surprise guests.” So while the guests are being shooed away, a catering truck, aka “roach coach,” has been supplying lunch. Their specialty is beef hot dogs with all sorts of toppings (I prefer sauerkraut). I love hot dogs, so I haven’t been complaining. Their pork barbeque sandwich is also pretty good, with tasty cole slaw and potato salad.
But I just didn’t feel like getting a sandwich today and ended up eating a lunch of sunflower seeds. We also had a bake sale going on, so I sandwiched the sunflower seeds with two pieces of cake. (Temporally sandwiched, not physically!) 
So of course I continue to feel bleah. Tomorrow is supposed to be the last day for the roach coach, so I think I’ll celebrate it with a couple of hot dogs. Who knows when I’ll have them again?
New Supernatural tonight. It better be better than the last 2! You hear me, Kripke??
Posted in Musings, Supernatural, Work | Comments (0)
I’m a fashionista, baby!
May 7th, 2008
I haven’t worn belts for a long time (because I’m too fat thick through my middle and they don’t fit). But I recently bought a top that came with a belt. (I was going to try to link to it, but the top is gone, i.e., sold out.) I’ve worn the top before without the belt, but when I put it on today, I decided to give the belt a try. Of course, I couldn’t find it. It may even be in the bag to take to Goodwill, but I didn’t look there. However, when I went into the living room, I found the detachable shoulder strap that goes with the new tote I’ve been carrying. (Can’t link to it, either.) I tried the strap around my waist, and it actually looks kind of cute.
On another note, I’ve been very lazy in updating any of my blogs. And I need to, especially Pack Brat, because I’ve made some great progress. But instead, I’ve been spending my time make little tiny pictures for the tv show Supernatural. Yeah, I know I’m obsessed. But right now, I’m probably more obsessed with making the little pictures than with the show itself. The writers’ strike, and the network’s treatment of the show during the strike, didn’t do it any favors, especially when it has to go up against Grey’s Anatomy, Lost and CSI. At least Supernatural’s been picked up for a fourth season already.
Posted in Life in general, Supernatural | Comments (1)
Thursday Thirteen (minus 8)
March 27th, 2008
Because I can’t come up with 13, even though I have several of them in my drafts.
1. I was once again taking a look at the houses Sue showed me yesterday. Man, I want this one so badly, my mouth is watering.
2. I signed up for a business course for next week. I’m pretty excited. I’ve been thinking about starting a home business (had a couple very different ideas in mind) for a long time, but it’s mostly been a pipe dream. But I started reading “Home-Based Business for Dummies” and am actually getting pretty excited. (Oh, I guess I said that already.) 
I’ve even been thinking about how to market the business, which is the least favorite thing I want to do.
3. I managed to officially piss off a Supernatural cyber-queen yesterday. (I don’t mean that derogatorily. She really is an internet celebrity in the Supernatural realm, and deserves to be.) I suppose it’s the natural outcome of things. I’d met her last summer when I went to see “A Few Good Men” with Jensen Ackles in Fort Worth, TX. I guess the age thing raised its ugly head, because I felt her friends were very uncomfortable with me around. And when I went to talk with them at intermission, I was totally ignored. I tried to be magnanimous about it, especially when she wrote that she loves meeting new people and welcoming them into her world, but the hurt is always there in the back of my mind. And while I feel a little bad about her being pissed (which was a misinterpretation on her part), I think it’s actually cathartic and will eventually help me give up my LiveJournal activities.
4. Ok, so I can’t count, but this ties in with the attempt to quit LiveJournal. I may be getting a handle on my icon-mania. I did not enter any icon contests (called icontests, isn’t that cute?) this week. I actually made some of Jensen Ackles, but am not going to enter them. I will post them though, because they’re pretty nice, and one of them is (at least in my humble opinion) fabulous. Of course, the subject matter is pretty amazing.
5. I ordered the Dark Angel DVDs from NetFlix. Batch #2 came yesterday. But I’m not watching them in order. I saw the next to the last episode on the SciFi channel a couple weeks ago, and was anxious to see the series finale. Can just say, I was underwhelmed. But then, I think they might have been expecting to have a 3rd season so they didn’t want all the questions to be answered.
Posted in Couch Critic, Musings, Supernatural, Work | Comments (3)
March 1st—good day
March 1st, 2008
Today is my favorite day on QVC, Big Bonanza Silver Day. And this is the first year it’s been on a weekend when I’ve actually remembered it. I must admit, I’ve been watching some of it, but haven’t been totally glued to the tv—yet.
This year QVC has competition for my affection from Jewelry Television. Today is their “Silver Showcase.” I think it actually started last night at 8:00 p.m., but I was busy watching episodes of Dark Angel I’d taped from the SciFi channel’s marathon they had on Thursday.
I think I might be safe from spending too much money. My second favorite QVC day is “Creed Silver Strike” which is sometime early in October; I think Oct 2nd. I know this because I was home all day last year, recovering from my sinus surgery. I was worried it would make a dent in my pocket book, but I ended up buying absolutely nothing. There just wasn’t anything I was interested in. Shocking!
So far I’ve haven’t been too tempted by either channel. There are a couple items that have peaked my interest, but they’re either too expensive (for silver) or (if they’re rings) they’re out of my size. That’s good for my pocketbook; especially since the Jewelry Channel did me in when I was home for 2 weeks with my broken foot. (I just paid the bill today. Ouch! And although I did return a couple of the most expensive items, but the refund hasn’t shown up on the bill yet. Good news for next month, I guess.)
Tags: jewelry, JTV, QVC, shopping
Posted in Couch Critic | Comments (4)
Supernatural thoughts
February 23rd, 2008
Last night I decided to run a small experiment. Granted, it’s not statistically accurate, seeing as it only had a n of 1, i.e., me. But I believe the results are worth publishing.
In essence, I wanted to see what the Supernatural story arc would have been like had they kept the last 3 episodes in their original order. So, I started with “Dream a Little Dream of Me” mainly because the ending of that episode sets up the beginning of “Jus in Bello.” Some people felt the episodes were out of order because “Mystery Spot” ended up being sandwiched in between finding the Colt missing (end of “Dream..”) and searching for it (beginning of “Jus..”)
My conclusions? The revised order was the way to go.
“Jus in Bello” is what I consider an epic episode, one of those shows in which the series’ “canon” changes course. So it was a fitting finale going into the WGA-imposed hiatus. But in addition, the progression of the brothers’ psyches makes more sense by airing “Mystery Spot” prior to “Jus in Bello.”
At the beginning of MS, Dean’s attitude is cheery and playful, and Sam’s attitude is light enough to appreciate Dean’s silliness. Of course, Sam becomes more and more agitated and desperate as the show progresses; and although things work out in the end, he is worried about the future.
The beginning of “Jus in Bello” has the boys tending to business (at least in the Winchester sense of “business”), trying to find the missing Colt. Things go to hell very quickly, and while Dean is able to continue making his patented wise-cracks, he is scared and nervous. The episode is very serious, and at the very end, the brothers are devastated.
It wouldn’t have made sense for Dean to be all bright & cheery at the beginning of MS, given his utter sadness at the end of JiB. And Sam’s more solemn demeanor in JiB was totally in keeping with his experiences in MS.
So all in all, my research indicates that Kripke and company did the right thing.
Posted in Supernatural | Comments (1)
*heavy sigh*
February 22nd, 2008
And so, Supernatural goes out with a bang for the WGA strike-imposed hiatus. It’ll be gone for about 2 months. And then we get, what, 4 new episodes (or is it only 3) before the season end?
Yes, it was a worthy quasi-season ending show, but not without its flaws. At least in my mind. Sadly, the killing off of interesting guest characters has become much too predictable, especially when Sera Gamble writes the episode. It’s especially sad when I know Eric Kripke and company are capable of so much better story-telling.
But the bigger flaws for me were the beginning and the end.
Backstory: I was irritated when the show was said to be bringing on two new female “regulars. ” I was told they would be only recurring stars, and yet their names appear before the “guest star” credits, above such venerable favorites as Jim Beaver’s Bobby Singer and Samantha Ferris’ Ellen Harvelle (who, although being a fan favorite has been sorely missing from this season, due most likely to her “old” age of 40).
Most fans are warming up to Ruby. Not me. Granted, the character was somewhat interesting in her first few episodes, due mainly to the mystery surrounding her. But now that the mystery is over, where’s the interest? To bitch at the brothers, telling them what they’re doing wrong, scolding them like misbehaving 10-year-olds? And now that it’s been made clear that she has no plan to save Dean from his fate, what purpose does she have? She says it’s to get Sam ready to fight the coming war on his own. I think last week’s episode showed us that Sam will indeed be able to not only survive, but “thrive” in ridding the world of the bad guys. Yes, he’ll lose his humanity, but the world will become a safer place because of him. So now, what purpose is it exactly that Ruby has? None that I can think of.
I might be more willing to accept the character if it were placed in the hands of a better actress. Katie Cassidy seems to be incapable of playing anything beyond a one-note bitch with a raspy voice. Eric Kripke says she’s growing into the role, but the way I see it, the role is becoming more one-dimensional, probably because they’re writing to the actress’ “strengths.”
As for the Bela character, she just sets my teeth on edge. Supposedly the writers loved writing her, and can’t understand why the audience hasn’t accepted her. Well yeah, writing nasty characters is fun. You get to put in all those traits you wish you could show, but are just not really acceptable in real life. The problem is, she’s a “regular.” The audience knows they’re stuck with her week after week after week. They’ve made her such a selfish, conniving, smart-ass, I really don’t give a crap what her back story is. Lately, her appearances have seemed forced, and she’s been nothing more than a plot device. Such a character does nothing to enhance the show.
One of the posters at Television Without Pity (which I swore I’d stay away from, but just can’t seem to) said something I think bears repeating:
That? That’s called jumping the shark. It’s officially no longer the Winchester brothers show. Crap. Here I was defending the changes season to season, the evolution–but Bela at the end taking control? That just sucks. I’ve just really lost interest, though I’m sure I’ll keep watching.
I actually felt something similar. Not so much that the show had jumped the shark, but I had the very same feeling that if the show continues on its current path, I’ll most likely lose interest, and might even stop watching.
Tags: episode comments, jus in bello, spn season 3
Posted in Supernatural | Comments (3)
My new television love
February 12th, 2008
It looks like I can add a new sub-category under “Couch Critic,” Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles. But since that’s such a long title, I’ll just be calling it Terminator. Not to be confused with the (original) movie, of course. I’m pretty sure I mentioned this elsewhere on the blog (I did! I just found it), but “Terminator” (the original) is one of my all-time favorite movies. So I was really excited that we were getting a tv series. However, the series starts after “Terminator: Judgment Day” (or T-2), which is my least favorite and thus least watched of the T movies. I suppose I ought to join NetFlix so that I can order it.
I missed the series pilot, coming in on the second episode. But apparently Fox heard my pleas, because they rebroadcast the pilot the week before the Superbowl. So, now I have the “complete” series on my DVR, soon to be transferred to DVD.
I’ve been enjoying the show. I really like this Sarah. Lena Headey has a somewhat husky voice that’s great for the voice-overs. (Otherwise they probably wouldn’t work.) And Thomas Dekker is a very appealing John. Although there is talk on some boards that he’s too pretty for the role, I say, he should be pretty! Kyle Reese was his father, and he was quite pretty. (I’m also surprised to find out that I’m not the only one who had a major Kyle Reese crush in the day. Good to know.) And Summer Glau as Cameron, the robot/android/machine (I don’t really think I can call her a terminator, since that’s not her purpose) is not only awesome, but provides some great comic relief.
And while I’ve been enjoying the series, last night’s episode turned the corner. I loved it! It had some wonderful key plot twists (about 4 that I can think of) which I hope will be built on. Let’s see if I can name the twists: 1) the mysterious stranger turns out to be not only the 4th resistance fighter, but also 2) one of John’s best soldiers from the future (per Cameron), and 3) Kyle Reese’s brother (!!); 4) T-888 is terminated, and 5) Charlie now knows Sarah is alive. And the final twist? Who knew David Austin Green could actually act and be kind of menacing? 
Posted in Couch Critic, Terminator | Comments (4)
Friday’s review of Thursday
February 8th, 2008
1. First of all, let’s talk Supernatural, because in my universe there’s nothing more important (and soon, more rare) than a new episode on Thursday night. “Dream a Little Dream of Me” was a great episode, one I definitely need to watch again. And probably again and again. And holy-foreshadowing, Nuj! Last week Nuj talked about how hot Dean with demon eyes would be. So I started working on an icon for her. And this week? There he is! Demon-eyed-Dean! Will we start calling him DED? Because we all know Dean is so hawt he killz us ded.
2. While in the cafeteria yesterday for lunch, a man behind me saw my boot and said “Please tell me you received that on your time off and not at work.” I looked around, smiled and said, “Nope. I fell down those stairs right there.” Turns out the guy is the safety manager for the place where I work. He didn’t know about my accident because all my workman’s comp paperwork went through the place where I’m employed, which is not my “place of duty.” (It gets even more complicated than that, but I’ll spare you the gory details.) He was great. He wanted the details and took my name & number. I told him about how I really don’t like that particular stairwell because the steps all blend into one another. He said that’s precisely the type of thing he needs to know about so that he can do something about it. *facepalm*
3. I had a hell of time with Thursday Thirteen yesterday. First of all, about 90% of the participants use Blogspot, which I can’t access at work. (Ok, so I shouldn’t be blogging at work, I know.) And when I tried commenting on WordPress.com blogs, my reply timed out. And a few choice blogs I wanted to comment at had not updated. Guess it just wasn’t my day for T13.
Posted in Blogging, Supernatural, Work | Comments (6)
WP vs LJ
February 5th, 2008
I’m in a rather crappy mood today. I think I may have reached my breaking point with the Supernatural fandom. Perhaps today will spur me to come to my senses and stop my crazy obsessing. But probably not.
I made a list of all the non-Supernatural web-related things I’d like to do, and it’s pretty extensive. If I’m ever going to get serious about designing a WordPress theme, keeping up the sites I already have, and creating new websites for cohorts, I need to stop hanging out at LiveJournal, “fangirling” about Supernatural and attempting to make cute, little icons.
The things I like about LJ are the friends list and the communities. I don’t know of anything comparable with WP. Sure, I can delineate the folks on my blogroll into certain categories, but where can I find an actual community that comes together to share a similar interest?
The other thing that concerns me is possibly losing touch with a couple of the “friends” I’ve made at LJ. One of the friends has followed me over here, so I’m not worried about her, but there are 2 other posters I really like, but they don’t seem to be interested in keeping in touch outside of LJ. But who knows. Maybe I’ll be able to lure them over here. If not, were they all that good of friends?
Posted in Griping, Supernatural | Comments (5)