what i've read/seen/heard

An update for posterity, more than for anything else:

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
I think I got this rec off Jennsyvania's blog, and it was pretty good. I had reserved it at the library, and let it languish on the shelf for almost three weeks (now it's languishing, overdue, in the front seat of my car. Sigh). A rainy Sunday meant no flag football, but it did mean time to read this! It was a very quick read- I had anticipating it lasting all day, so I could stay curled on my couch under a blanket, but I think I finished it in two or three hours. Quick. It has some grotesque freaky pictures, which I believe are the basis for the story, but overall it was interesting and I would recommend it.

The Glass Passenger
I actually downloaded this off iTunes a few years ago (after seeing him on John Stewart) but I lost it when my Mac crashed. I just re-ordered the CD, spurred on because I saw Jack's Mannequin last month opening for Guster, and I remembered how much I love love love their music. Highly recommend it.

Pilot
I think I love New Girl! This is an Amazon link (full disclosure!) but it's available FREEEEE which is amazing if you didn't DVR it like me. What is not to love about New Girl? Zooey Deschanel is probably the cutest person on the planet, and she's 110% awkward in this show, and yet the guys still like her. It's just like real life! Except not at all.

And the guys: David Krumholz-Lite (IMDB tells me his real name is Jake, but it also tells me he lucked out landing a ZDC (Zooey Deschanel) show), The Actor Previously Played By Damon Wayans Jr. But His Other Show Got Picked Up So He Has Been Recast, and the one and only Officer Leo from Veronica Mars! As if you needed three (okay, like 1.5) more reasons to watch this show.

I DVR'd but haven't watched any other new shows except 2 Broke Girls, which I want to like because I like Kat Dennings, but the multi-camera laughtrackness of it makes me not want to like it. I caught the first three minutes of Whitney, and the fake laughtrack was SO fake and horrible I couldn't turn it off quickly enough. That show is Not. Funny.

So that's what I've read/seen/heard so far this week. If I remember, maybe I'll post another sometime before November.

well that was kind of a let down

So....the Oscars 2011...not quite so young and hip, eh? I stayed up Sunday night to watch and ended up fast-forwarding through quite a bit of it. I'm not even sure "boring" accurately describes it. I mean, it seemed like a good idea. Adorable, funny, if somewhat smug performer Anne Hathaway paired with adorable, funny, if somewhat smug and wacky actor James Franco, and yet....FAIL. When Billy Crystal got up on stage I thought, "Yes! This is what I've been waiting for! Bring on the song and dance number." And yet...not. Overall, I was bored by the red carpet coverage (except for those adorable youngsters from PS22) and the telecast. To top it all off, after staying up late waiting for King's Speech to win, we had massive storms in Indiana. These storms brought flooding rains, hail and tornados! in February! It was great. The entire city crammed into Sbux the next morning, hoping some caffeination would prepare them for a loooong day of sleep-deprivation.

And so, after a mediocre awards season draws to a close, it's on to bigger and better things. Did I mention Downton Abbey? I simply had to finish it prior to the Oscars Sunday night, and I'm glad I did. I can't wait for Season 2. To tide me over, I'm getting my British aristocracy fill by watching Season 2 of The Tudors. I watched Season 1 on a plan to/from China a few years ago and am now getting caught up. I do love Anne, even though she is power-hungry, mad, and controlling. We all know what happens in the end (spoiler alert!), so that part is kind of anti-climatic. I have two episodes left this season and then it's on to Season 3.