Let's just get started

Okay. Okay. So it's been like FOREVER since I've had a new blog. So I'm just gonna jump right in with a current "must" list (since they seem to be all the rage).

Things I'm crushing on RIGHT NOW.

1. TiVo. I love it. Best purchase I've ever made. All that TV without all the hassle of setting the VCR every day. Well sort of. Since the TiVo only replaced one of the three VCRs running in home. I TiVo regular (read: Prime Time) TV and I also just TiVo funny stuff that interests me, like I Spy (Bill Cosby, Robert Culp) and the old British series The Saint (Roger Moore, pre-James Bond) and Welcome Back, Kotter (do I really need to list this?). But I've also caught a lot of Batman cartoons, Spiderman cartoons, some Mucha Lucha and I'm getting sucked back into Made on MTV. And...it's got a DVD burner built in, so there's a few concerts (Billy Idol acoustic, Morrissey in England) and some old movies (Notorious, North By Northwest and The Asphalt Jungle) laying around now.

2. TV. Everyone knows I LOVE TV like a new puppy but right now I'm particularly enamored with Nip/Tuck, Prison Break, Surface, Bones, Gilmore Girls & Two and A Half Men. I really thought my interest in Nip/Tuck would wane a little this season, but no. It really hasn't. The show continues to shock me and with it's wild plot twists and seemingly out of nowhere story lines I'm still as enthralled as I was in the beginning. Must see TV indeed. Prison Break is just awesome. Equal parts suspenseful, creepy, brainy and intriguing. The thing I like best about Surface is that it deals with a "new" species and it doesn't automatically treat it as a monster. That and Lake Bell. Nice name too, no? My personal hero, TVGal, says she doesn't see the spark between David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel but I think she's kinda nuts anyway. In a good way though. And (nice segue here...wait for it) so is the show. The Gilmore Girls has brought me back after last seasons lackluster-y-ness (although surprising and shocking season cliffhangers). Still the best writing on TV. I've been under the impression that Two and A Half Men is guy's TV but really I think it's just the funniest thing on TV. Naturally, I have a soft spot for '80s stars (Patrick Dempsey not-with-standing) so I'm gonna obviously be into something with John Cryer (and I'm sure everyone remembers Charlie Sheen as the bad boy in the police station with Jeannie in Ferris Bueller's Day Off but that's not enough of a qualification for me and also Charlie's maid on the show is the pizza place owner in Mystic Pizza (I'll learn her name soon, I promise) and if you know me, you know how I love that movie too). This show is full of physical humor but it's really at it's funniest when it revels in sibling rivalry. I'm so happy for Chuck Lorre again.

3. Something Corporate. And a lot of the less screamo emo but not quite as whiny as Bright Eyes. People all around me have been pointing out that I seem lost since I appear to have no musical direction these days. There's no genre pulling me in with any kind of force. I'm definitely digging on emo though but without much direction. Guidance anyone? I'm liking EVERYTHING Something Corporate, about two-thirds of Dashboard Confessional (the slower stuff) and stuff like Taking Back Sunday's "Cute without the E" and Matt Nathanson's "Church Clothes."

4. My iPod. There's something new that I love about it nearly every day. This is the best toy I've bought in ages. And keep in mind I just bought TiVo too. I went on a trip a while ago and while my traveling music used to take up about half of my backpack, this time it all fit in my pocket. With iTrip (or the Monster radio transmitter thing) I can listen to it in my car. I just also figured out it works with my little tape adapter. I'm loving it. All that music in such a tiny package. You can tell how happy I am. I'm sure of it.

5. Winter is almost here. It's supposed to start snowing tomorrow and keep snowing right through Saturday. Okay, so it's Friday night and it didn't really snow today but today's paper had a sweet picture of skiing at the River so Jill and I are planning to head up Sunday morning. And then Dark Star Orchestra on Sunday night. That should be one heck of a day.

Okay, there we go. Let's hope it doesn't take me 4 months to post again.