Merry Festivus!

With the holidays drawing near and my being able to avoid the current MTA strike due to being off for a few days,this seems like a good time to dive into what's left in the
bottom of the pop culture popcorn bowl and nibble on some choice bits:

TV:Now that we know who the Carver is(still wish it had been Sean but I guess he renewed his contract good and proper),the world will be at peace...or in pieces!
Lame jokes aside,the Matt/Cheri subplot with Crazy Nazi Dad really made the show
for me-it totally slipped under the wire with all the Carver hype and made me
eager for the show next year. John Hensley is real damn compelling as Matt and
hopefully,he'ld get some really good plotlines and more screentime. Julia's Rose
mary's Baby nightmare went on too long but am curious to find out if she'll have
the baby. Poor Kimber...that was quite harsh what was done(and undone)to her this
season.

Music:Glad to hear that Gwen Stefani is "alledgedly" pregnant(is that like being alittle bit pregnant?). I'm pretty sure she won't name her kid something like Peach
Cobbler or DSL like some people:)

Books:I'm reading Anya Seton's Green Darkness(and also have Catherine and Dragonwyck
on my reading pile)right now and oddly enough,I got my hands on an ARC for A Rose For
The Crown by Anne Easter Smith which has a cover letter from her editor,Trish Todd
that links Seton to this book. Let me qoute:

"I would compare Anne Easter Smith to another great historical fiction writer,Anya
Seton...Like Seton,Anne's writing is clear,accessible and commercial,and her plot
never falters in pacing and interest. In fact,much of A Rose for the Crown is set
at the lovely English house,Ightham Mote-the same setting used by Anya Seton for
her Richard III novel,Green Darkness."

Now,this is not surpising considering that Trish Todd is Philippa Gregory's editor
and Philippa wrote an afterword and intro for the new reprints of Seton's novels by
Chicago Review but I was still touched by the kismet of me getting ARFTC while just
discovering Anya Seton,particularly Green Darkness. My taste in historical novels is
more Philippa Gregory than Dorothy Dunnett-character driven narratives are my literary sweet tooth. I was looking forward to the Easter Smith book anyway when I
saw it in the Simon & Schuster catalog but now,I'm much more pumped for it.

Movies:Little Sister and I plan to check out Brokeback Mountain soon,just to see
what all the fuss is about. Hopefully,it'll be something truly worth the hype and
not just the Indie Flavor of the Month. Also,is it just me or does that South Park
joke about "gay cowboys eating pudding movie" seem like a prophecy come true?

DVD: Sin City:the Extended Cut really should've been released sooner or with the
bare bones edition at the same time but buyer's remorse doesn't help here. Besides,
the longer version also has a mini graphic Sin City novel(The Hard Goodbye) included
and you can watch the film with an audience reaction track(from the Austin film
festival),so it's worth the trouble.

Well,Happy Whatever Folks. Oh,and if you click the title link,you'll see a cute Christmas short made by a guy named Brendon Connelly. It's called John Vs. Laura
and has a nice Tim & Eric meets Spy vs. Spy vibe to it-enjoy!