My Very Weird Dream About the TV Show "Lost" (with an even stranger sitcom crossover)

It's 4:43AM, and I just woke up from the weirdest Lost dream. The details are already starting to fade, but it had something to do with Locke having written a small book with illustrations.

He's found some way of binding the book with makeshift glue, and is in a hurry to give it to someone before he turns invisible or something. I think at the last minute, while the glue is still drying, he gives it to Charlie, and at that point in the dream, I think I'm Charlie, because it's from my POV that I receive the book.

Then there's a subplot with Hurley. I've already lost half of it, but right before I woke up, it ended with Hurley seeming to have not been on the island at all. Instead he's somewhere I didn't recognize surrounded by young people. It might have been a mental institution, but wherever it was, I only saw it from one angle and it felt like a TV set, as if that subplot was taking place in a sitcom. They were having some kind of party. Right before they give Hurley presents, they turn the lights out for a second. When the lights come back on, Hurley has vanished. Then, there's someone at the door, and that's when I woke up.

The two weirdest things about the dream are: (1) The dream actually felt like it was making total sense up until the moment Hurley vanished; (2) For some reason, half the cast of The Facts of Life were at Hurley's party. I definitely remember seeing Natalie & Mrs. Garrett. Blair might have been there, and I think Jo appeared at the last second. I don't remember seeing Tootie.

My subconscious mixing together Lost and The Facts of Life??? Seriously, what the #@!! is wrong with me?

Top 50 All-Time Favorite TV Shows

Ain't It Cool News has posted Empire magazine's list of top 50 all-time best TV shows. If you look at the plethora of comments by readers, you can tell it's a much disputed list.

The three most notable things about the list is that it has a fair amount of science fiction (something I don't mind); a few shows on the list are either old, obscure, or British (but not as many as you'd think considering Empire is a British magazine); and almost all the shows are from the 1990s or 2000s.

Lists are often fun to read, but they're also hard to create. There are always items that make the list or don't make the list on a technicality. Narrow the criteria for the list, and it's too hard to eliminate some favorites. Broaden the criteria and stuff gets in despite some flaws.

Below is my best attempt to list *my* Top 50 All-Time Favorite TV Shows. Since it's too hard to rank all of them or even pick a top ten, I have divided them up into categories and will also reveal some Honorable Mentions. I've never had premium cable channels, so The Sopranos, The Wire, Six Feet Under, Deadwood, Dexter, Rome, etc. are automatically missing.

My Top 50 All-Time Favorite TV Shows (for now)

Best of Science Fiction & Fantasy

• Alien Nation


• Babylon 5


• Battlestar Galactica (2004)


• Buffy: The Vampire Slayer


• Crusade


• Firefly


• Heroes


• Highlander: The Series


• John Doe


• Journeyman


• Lost


• Quantum Leap


• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine


• Star Trek: The Next Generation


• Stargate: Atlantis


• Stargate: SG-1


• Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles


• The 4400

Babylon 5 is my #1 all-time favorite show out of all genres. Buffy: The Vampire Slayer was drastically disappointing in the sixth & seventh seasons, but the high quality of the first five years makes it too hard to eliminate entirely. Highlander: The Series was one of my favorite shows during college. Terminator: tSCC barely makes the list since it's only had seven episodes so far, but I think it has potential if renewed. Alien Nation, Crusade, Firefly, and John Doe were short-lived shows that deserved better. The 4400 lasted four years but was cancelled before it could get a fifth season or a proper series finale. Farscape probably would have made the list had I watched it more consistently, but I only caught it occasionally and was often lost when I did.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Farscape, Moonlight (current), New Amsterdam (current), Sliders
DIS-HONORABLE MENTIONS: Andromeda, Doctor Who (sorry, I just don't get it), Flash Gordon, Lexx, Painkiller Jane, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise

Best of Action/Suspense/Mystery

• Chuck


• Jericho


• Prison Break

Chuck is the best new show of the 2007-2008 season. After fan support won the show a 2nd season of seven episodes, Jericho is once again and permanently cancelled by CBS. The creator of the show is shopping it around to other networks, but the future is bleak. Many criticize Prison Break for beating a dead horse. While it does seem to depend on coincidences, conventient (or sometimes inconventient) timing, unexpected double crosses, and gimmicky cliffhangers a bit too often, it's still a guilty pleasure that's hard to give up. Alias doesn't make the list or even the honorable mentions because I grew tired of it halfway through its run, but it's worth noting that its pilot episode was one of the best series premieres in the last eight years (surpassed only by Lost and maybe Chuck).
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Standoff (cancelled prematurely), The Pretender, Women's Murder Club (current)
DIS-HONORABLE MENTION: 24 (I didn't like the 1st season enough to stick with it)

Best of Drama

• House


• Rescue Me


• The O.C.


• The Practice


• The Shield


• The West Wing

Though not perfect (Rescue Me wasn't that good last season, The O.C.'s third season was hard to watch, and I took a sabbatical from The West Wing during seasons five & six and caught them later in repeats), all six of these shows have excellent writing. Despite the violence & harsh language, repeats of The Shield are surprisingly re-watchable because of the compelling downward spiral the main character, Vic Mackey, takes into corruption. House's procedural format somehow thrives in a world full of arc-driven shows. The recent cast re-shuffle on House may seem like a premature move at re-invention, but it's actually improved the show in its fourth year. The West Wing is a monument to class & intellect that NBC could have used more of in the last two years.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Brothers & Sisters (current), Commander-in-Chief (cancelled prematurely), ER (*only* because of its early years), Grey's Anatomy (current), L.A. Law
DIS-HONORABLE MENTION: Nip/Tuck (thank goodness I stopped watching after the identity of the Carver was revealed a few seasons ago; I've heard it's gotten even worse since then)

Best of Dramedy

• Ally McBeal


• Boston Legal


• Gilmore Girls


• Men In Trees


• Picket Fences


• Ugly Betty

Deserving of their own category, I love shows that blend drama & humor, especially in original, quirky ways. It's no coincidence that three of these shows (Ally McBeal, Boston Legal, Picket Fences) are David E. Kelley shows. He's the master of blending biting social commentary, comforting humanity, and unbelievably eccentric yet relatable characters. Gilmore Girls (for a while there, my #2 all-time favorite show) caught "Buffy: The Vampire Slayer Syndrome" and declined in seasons six & seven, leaving me with mixed feelings about the show as a whole. But, as with B:tVS, the brilliance of the Gilmores' first five years are impossible to ignore.
DIS-HONORABLE MENTION: Pushing Daisies (I'm the only person on the planet who doesn't like that show, and I gave it a chance too)

Best of Comedy

• Cheers


• Scrubs


• Seinfeld


• South Park


• The Golden Girls

A few years ago, I decided to stop watching half-hour sitcoms. I didn't like the directions characters were taking on Friends, Niles & Daphne getting together took the fun out of Frasier, Spin City wasn't going to be the same without Michael J. Fox, and I simply lost interest in That '70's Show. But, I caught up on Scrubs when it went into 2nd-run syndication and repeats on Comedy Central. The writing on that show is extremely sharp, and it's nice not having the laugh track. South Park is hit & miss. It's sometimes too raunchy or juvenile, but other times, it's pure genius. Though they don't age well with time, I could't deny the enjoyment I got out of Cheers, Seinfeld, and The Golden Girls when they were current.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Frasier, Friends (*only* for its early years), Mystery Science Theater 3000, The Carol Burnett Show, The Cosby Show, The Muppet Show, Whose Line Is It Anyway

Best of Talk, Reality, Nature, or History

• Beauty and the Geek


• Dirty Jobs


• Mythbusters


• Survivor


• The Daily Show


• The Presidents

Okay, so this is an odd Frankenstein of a category, but it's also a small list, so it was best to combine these shows somehow. Beauty and the Geek is a reality/competition show that depends on stereotypes at its core and yet still manages to be as heartwarming & relatable as it is sometimes frustrating & silly. The host of Dirty Jobs, Mike Rowe, is quite possibly the most witty & likable person on TV. Mythbusters is both entertaining & educational, and I like how they respond on the show to fan feedback. Survivor, despite some often questionable casting, is an addictive and seemingly unstoppable cultural phenomenon. The Daily Show, while trying to be just a satirical comedy show, somehow manages to be informative & credible. I love presidential trivia, so for me, frequent repeats of the History Channel's mini-series, The Presidents, has high re-watch value.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Ebert & Roeper At the Movies, Face the Nation, Girls Next Door, Kid Nation (hopefully they'll try a 2nd season), Last Comic Standing, Late Show with David Letterman, Meet the Press, Man vs. Wild, Prime Minister's Questions, Who Wants to Be a Superhero

Best of the 1980s

• Airwolf


• Knight Rider


• The A-Team


• The Dukes of Hazard


• Transformers


• Voltron

Although these are shows that I haven't seen in a long time and probably wouldn't enjoy nearly as much today, I can't deny how iconic these were when I was growing up. In a list of *all-time* favorites, these shows win a place for their significance in the past.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: MacGyver, Little House on the Prairie (used to watch reruns of it in between classes in college; don't ask me why)

Merry Christmas; My Geeky Christmas Tree 2007

Merry Christmas!!!

Hope everyone has a safe and happy Christmas day.

Below are pictures of my geeky Christmas tree. It's a little skinnier than the ones I usually get, but it has a more conical shape than the nearly lopsided one I got last year.



The Star Wars section, front and center as always:



A mix of Star Wars and Star Trek stuff near the top (you can also see the Moravian Star on the top):




The Star Trek section, with Worf bridging the gap between the Deep Space Nine and Next Generation ornaments (Worf was on both shows):




The Spider-Man, Batman, and Kermit the Frog section (I think I'm retiring my Superman-related ornaments and all the comic book and Star Wars lunch box ornaments):



The North Carolina lighthouses and Wright Brothers plane section (there's actually one more lighthouse, but I accidentally left it out of the picture):


The angel section (these are the same five Hallmark angels on the 4-foot tree for my mom & dad -- see below):


Fireplace, Stockings, and Nativities:



This is a 4-foot tree I got just for my mom to decorate. It's mostly got angels to reflect my mom's likes (she collects Jim Shore angels). But, there's also a fishing jacket, work stepladder, and paint table for my dad. It's hard to tell but there's also a pair of small deer ornaments, one saying "Mom," one saying "Dad."

(Edit: Just to clarify... My parents and most of the rest of my family are from the NC Piedmont Triad area, where I still live. My parents moved to Morehead City, down at NC's "Crystal Coast," a few years ago, and they stay at my house whenever they are in town, including Christmas. Since they're here for Christmas, they don't bother getting a Christmas tree of their own, and since my tree is full of geeky stuff, I started a new tradition last year of letting mom decorate a small tree with ornaments that reflect her & Dad's interests, angels for Mom, home improvement stuff for Dad, and one fishing ornament for both of them.)



Over the years, certain Hallmark ornaments have become so big, heavy, expensive, or cool that I've decided to start displaying a few on my bookshelf year-round instead of on the tree only once a year. I'm guessing some of the 2007 ornaments (if I get any on sale before they run out) will end up here too.



Here's a little 2-foot, pre-lit, pre-decorated Christmas tree I found at an arts & crafts store in Kernersville for only $20. I love the blue & silver color scheme (which matches the blue, gray, and white in my kitchen -- although putting it on top of a red & green plaid tablecloth makes that a moot point). Couldn't resist it. There's also a 3-foot tree in the guest bedroom. It's the skinny tree I used last year for mom & dad's first batch of ornaments. It's not even lit, and I just threw some leftover ornaments on it, so it's not worth photographing. But, all total, I ended up with four trees this year.

I Got a Job!!!

I finally got a job! A few months after my previous employer laid me off thanks to the overly popular business trend of off-shoring, I have a job again.

This has been a crazy week. On Wednesday, I was in contact with two job placement agencies, one of which knew of a job at my old company that was tailored to fit an ex-employee that might be willing to go back. The agency sent my name to them without my permission, which I wasn't happy about. But, I remained *somewhat* openminded about the prospect since I've been out of work for so long (plus the job would be contract this time around, so I'd get paid for overtime).

Then on Thursday, I had a phone interview with one company, a follow-up phone call with the agency trying to get me re-hired, and yet another phone call from yet another job recruiter that I've been working with for a while telling me I could get at an interview on Friday at 2:00 with the company I really did want to get hired at.

The recruiter said that he would have nearly instant feedback from the company as to how my interview went. I was a little worried. For starters, I thought I'd only be interviewed by two people. Instead, there were four people in the room and one person conferenced in on speakerphone. Urgh, no pressure. Plus, I fumbled one question pretty bad and felt like I could have answered others a little better.

Well, I must have done really well on all the other questions because they liked me, and by the time I got home, my recruiter already had the news that I had the job.

So on Friday, not only did I get a job at a really good company, in the same day I got to turn down a job at my old company that laid me off after 8.5 years of service because someone in India doing my work is supposedly cheaper. Call it karma, dramatic irony, convenient timing, whatever--Friday was a really good day.

I don't know when I start, but it's a relief to know that in a week or two I'll be employed again at a good company making more than I was before, using some transferable skills that I already have but probably picking up some new skills too. The *only* downside is: now I have to go back to work. ;) Well, it was a nice extended summer vacation while it lasted. I just keep reminding myself that I'll probably have to work a total of 40 or 50 years of my life, so the last six months were just a strange anomaly. Besides, the job search process and the lack of income can get kind of stressful desite all the free time. In a way, I almost feel like I need to go back to work to relax--in a way.

Eyeborgs Preview & Teaser Trailer

I just reviewed the TV movie Highlander: The Source, starring Adrian Paul. It's obviously a bad review, but I don't blame that on Adrian Paul. He's a great actor, I loved him on Highlander: The Series, and I've heard that he takes all his work very seriously.

I actually got a chance to meet Adrian Paul recently. There was a low-budget science fiction movie called Eyeborgs that was filmed here locally in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in July 2007, and Adrian Paul was the star of the film (not sure if he was playing the lead role, but he was at least the biggest name actor in it).

My friend and local director/producer/writer/editor Ike Quigley was the script supervisor on the production. So, when I and the other producer on our 48 Hour Film Project entry had to meet with Ike (our director on our 48 Hour project), he let us come by the Eyeborgs set and watch the crew blow up a van and set a guy on fire for some pyrotechnic scenes.

Adrian Paul was not in the scenes but eventually came out of his trailer to watch the pyrotechnics. Ike introduced Paul to myself and our producer's husband who also got to hang around and help with still photography. I only got a chance to say, "Hi, nice to meet you," to Paul before he went back to talking to Ike about the previous day's footage. I get to meet famous people so rarely that even that was kind of cool.

Anyway... While looking up Highlander and Adrian Paul stuff online while writing my Source review, I came across the Eyeborgs preview at its official site. There are several shots of the Winston-Salem skyline throughout the preview. There's a scene in the preview of a "Spy-der" robot harrassing a pedestrian. The pedestrian looks like Eyeborgs' director/co-writer Richard Clabaugh, who I think is also a film professor at North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem.

And, just now, I dug a little further and found the Eyeborgs teaser trailer on YouTube. It's different from the preview, which has a more documentary type feel to it. The teaser trailer is embedded below:



I recognize The Depot in Greensboro, NC, as one of the shooting locations for the teaser trailer. We got clearance to use The Depot as one of our shooting locations for the 48 Hour Film Project too. In fact, I scouted The Depot for 48HFP the same day that either Eyeborgs or another local production was filming in the building.

In further Eyeborgs/48HFP crossover trivia, several cast & crew from Eyeborgs worked on our team, 9 lb. Hammer, in the 48 Hour Film Project this year. In fact, the lead actor in our entry, entitled Dekay, was Juan-Carlos "J.C." Guzman, who is also in Eyeborgs. Also, several other crew members of Eyeborgs were veteran directors of the 48 Hour Film Project in Greensboro as well as other local productions.

---

[UPDATE] After even more digging, I also found an extensive Yes Weekly article about Eyeborgs by local movie reviewer Mark Burger, who had full access to the Eyeborgs shoot (I also got to meet him the night I visited the set). The article was written back in June and includes a lot of details about the cast, crew, and shooting locations of Eyeborgs.

Near the end of the article there are a few mentions of the Millennium Center, one of the movie's shooting locations. The Millennium Center is an old, large, historic building in downtown Winston-Salem which used to serve as the central post office a long time ago and looks a lot like a museum from the outside. It's been used as a shooting location for a variety of movies, from student films to big-budget productions.

The Millennium Center also happened to be the primary shooting location for our entry in the 48 Hour Film Project in 2006, entitled Gone to Ground. Ike Quigley was also the director on that project, and I was one of two assistant producers. If you've ever noticed the video of Gone to Ground on the right column of this blog or in my MySpace profile, that's why it's there. I was also used as an extra in the boardroom scene. You can see the side of my face as a few other people talk. Originally, I had a line of dialogue, but we had to scrap it to conserve on camera setups.

Nerd Test

I took this Nerd Test after seeing the scores of Cat, a.k.a. SciFiRanterGirl, on her blog.

My scores are in the graphic below:





It's not a perfect test. Considering that I majored in math in college, technology is a big part of my life, and that I'm very shy & introverted, I would have expected the Science/Math, Technology/Computer, and Dumb/Dork/Awkward scores to be higher. Also, I'm not a huge comics reader, so my high Sci-Fi/Comics score is based solely on the science fiction portion. I'm also surprised my History/Literature score isn't even lower than it already is.

Click on the graphic to take the test yourself.

Grammar Quiz

You Scored an A

You got 10/10 questions correct. It's pretty obvious that you don't make basic grammatical errors. If anything, you're annoyed when people make simple mistakes on their blogs. As far as people with bad grammar go, you know they're only human. And it's humanity and its current condition that truly disturb you sometimes.

The It's Its There Their They're Quiz

My TiVo Plan for Fall 2007 TV (so far)

Now that all five networks are done with "upfronts" (announcement of fall schedules), I can now plan how I'll program my TiVo for the new 2007-2008 fall TV season.

Last season I gave a lot of shows a try, and many of them were canceled quickly (such as Smith on CBS and The Nine on ABC), tauntingly taken away then brought back then taken away again (Standoff on Fox and Six Degrees on ABC), or allowed a deserving full season and then canceled anyway despite ending the season finale on a cliffhanger (the beloved Jericho on CBS).

So, I'm keeping a lot of new shows on the back burner until I know whether they're worth it or not. I want to learn more about them and read more buzz from sources like TV Guide and Entertainment Weekly before I bother investing the time to watch shows that may last only a half-dozen episodes.

From the buzz I've read online, Pushing Daisies on ABC is supposedly the next big thing. I'm really looking forward to seeing if the remake of Bionic Woman on NBC works as well as the remake of Battlestar Galactica did on Sci-Fi Channel. And, Private Practice seems to have potential, thanks to having an impressive all-star cast and being a spin-off of Grey's Anatomy.

From the clips and previews I've seen at TVWeek.com, the show I'm now most anticipating is, shockingly, a reality show. CBS is premiering Kid Nation, a show about 40 kids from 8 to 15 years old inhabiting an abandoned Old West town and forming their own society without the help of adults. They have to have council meetings, they have to have leaders, their performance in challenges determines who is designated with certain societal class distinctions for the next three days, and the head committee of the council must decide every three days who gets a gold star--a heavy 5-point star made out of real gold and worth $20,000 (an excellent start to a kid's college fund). The preview alone looked intriguing, exciting, entertaining, frustrating, inspirational, and nearly tear-inducing, all in one. In my book, *this* show is the next big thing.

Going on just the information I have so far, the lists below show how I plan to program my TiVo in the fall. Things may change as I find out more about certain shows. Surprisingly, I have no three-way conflicts so far and very few two-way conflicts. Luckily, I have a dual-tuner TiVo, so a two-way scheduling conflict is a moot point, which is why some time slots have two shows divided by a slash.

Personal Interest Rating System
[5] = Established Favorite (will definitely watch)
[4] = Established Honorable Mention (will definitely watch)
[3] = New Show, High Curiosity (will definitely try)
[2] = New Show, Moderate Curiosity (will possibly try)
[1] = Low Interest or Need More Info (might watch if bored)

Bold: Returning Shows
Italics: New Shows
s#: # = Season Number

SUNDAY

08:00 PM -----
09:00 PM -----
10:00 PM [5] Battlestar Galactica (s4, Sci-Fi) / [4] Brothers & Sisters (s2, ABC)
Possibilities:
* 08:00 PM [1] Life Is Wild (CW)
* 08:00 PM [1] Viva Laughlin (CBS)

MONDAY

08:00 PM [5] Prison Break (s3, Fox)
09:00 PM [5] Heroes (s2, NBC)
10:00 PM [2] Journeyman (NBC)
Possibilities:
* 08:30 PM [1] Aliens in America (CW)
* 09:00 PM [1] K-Ville (Fox)
* 09:30 PM [1] Sam I Am (ABC)

TUESDAY

08:00 PM [4] Beauty and the Geek (s4, CW)
09:00 PM [5] House (s4, Fox) / [2] Chuck (NBC)
10:00 PM [5] Boston Legal (s4, ABC)
Possiblities:
* 08:00 PM [1] New Amsterdan (Fox)
* 10:00 PM [1] Cane (CBS)

WEDNESDAY

08:00 PM [3] Kid Nation (CBS) / [3] Pushing Daisies (ABC)
09:00 PM [3] Bionic Woman (NBC) / [2] Private Practice (ABC)
10:00 PM [4] South Park (Comedy Central)
Possibilities:
* 10:00 PM [1] Dirty Sexy Money (ABC)
* 10:00 PM [1] Life (NBC)

THURSDAY

08:00 PM [4] Ugly Betty (s2, ABC) / [4] Survivor: China (CBS)
09:00 PM [4] Grey's Anatomy (s4, ABC)
09:30 PM [5] Scrubs (s7, NBC)
10:00 PM -----
Possibilities:
* 10:00 PM [1] Big Shots (ABC)

FRIDAY

08:00 PM [5] Men In Trees (s2, ABC)
09:00 PM [2] Women's Murder Club (ABC) / [2] Moonlight (CBS)
10:00 PM -----
Note: Stargate: Atlantis automatically takes precedence over the other 9:00 shows if Sci-Fi Channel keeps it at 9:00 on Fridays and premieres its 4th season in the fall.

You Might Be a Child of the '80's If...

I was just listening to the Cooper Lawrence Show on the radio (at low volume while reading a chapter about static variables, static methods, and number formatting in Head First Java) when Cooper read off a list of things that might indicate if you were a child of the '80's. I could relate to lot of the things on the list.

Cooper didn't say where she got the list, so I looked it up online. Of course, this is one of those lists that has many different versions, but I think I've found the one that's closest to the one she read.

Anyway, here's the list (as I found it online) with my comments in italics:

You Might Be a Child of the '80's If...

• You know what a "burnout" is.
  Not positive. Is that from Breakfast Club? I'm possibly the only person on the planet who didn't see it until I went to college and haaaated when I did.


• You owned/operated a 'Trapper Keeper'
  Oh, of course; new one every year. Always filled with Lamborghini Countach folders.


• You know what "Psych" means. Unfortunately, yes.


• Once, while spending hours in the arcade, you actually lined up quarters on the top panel of the game -- to "reserve" your spot.
  Lining up quarters? Probably, but isn't being in an arcade enough of an '80's indicator on its own?


• You know the profound meaning of "Wax on, Wax off".
  How Mr. Miagi trained Daniel to block punches in Karate Kid.


• You know that another name for a keyboard is a "Synthesizer".
  Yeah, I guess.


• You can name at least half of the members of the elite "Brat Pack".
  Not off the top of my head.


• You know who Tina Yothers is.
  She played Jennifer, the youngest (and later next-to-youngest) child in Family Ties. Then... She fell off the face of the planet. ;)


• You wanted to be a Goonie. Sort of.


• You felt ashamed when Rob Lowe got in trouble for sex with minors and videotaping it, because you liked him.
  Uh, no (I think some items on the list are geared toward women).


• You had top-of-the-line Commodore 64s in your jr. high computer lab. Worse, TRS-80's. But, I had a Commodore *128* at home. :)


• You know who Max Headroom is.
  Yeap. I even watched his short-lived TV show.


• You even wore fluorescent, neon if you will, clothing. Uhm, maybe.


• You could breakdance, or wish you could. Wish, maybe.


• You wanted to be The Hulk for Halloween.
  Not really. Spider-Man, actually.


• You Believed that "By the power of Greyskull, you HAD the power!"
  No, I did watch the He-Man cartoon, but I wasn't a freak about it.


• Partying "like it's 1999" seemed SO far away. Probably.


• You thought that Transformers were more than meets the eye.
  Definitely thought they were awesome. Kept all of them in storage until just recently when I sold them on eBay. Parting with Optimus Prime, Jetfire, Metroplex, Soundwave, the Constructicons, and the Combaticons was not easy. Like selling a piece of childhood (but, I can't help it, Transformers, even out of the box, still sell surprisingly well on eBay).


• You can, right now, hum to yourself the theme to 'Inspector Gadget'. Yeap.


• You wanted to be on Star Search. Nooo.


• You can remember what Michael Jackson looked like before his nose fell off.
  Probably; did't pay much attention.


• You wore a banana clip at some point during your youth, or knew someone who did.
  Uhm, no. Another girl question.


• You knew what Willis was "talkin' 'bout". Yeap.


• You HAD to have your MTV.
  As Cooper and her sidekicks stated on the radio, you're a child of the '80's if you remember when MTV played music.


• You remember when Kramer was on a show called 'Friday's'. Nope.


• You hold a special place in your heart for "Back to the Future".
  Oh yeah. The third movie is actually my favorite. Whenever it comes on TV, my body and mind become paralyzed, and I simply *must* watch.


• You know where to go if you "wanna go where everybody knows your name".
  Cheers. I don't think you have to be a child of the '80's to know that one.


• You thought Molly Ringwald was REALLY cool. Not really.


• You actually thought "Dirty Dancing" was a REALLY good movie.
  Never saw it; never wanted to.


• You heard of Garbage Pail Kids.
  Yes. Didn't collect them, but my cousins did. Very gross.


• You knew "The Artist" when he was humbly called "Prince".
  Sort of. Not much into music in the '80's.


• You actually saw Ted Danson as the MacDaddy he played "Sam" to be.
  Uhh. "Watchu talkin' 'bout, Willis?!?"


• You remember when ATARI was a state of the art video game system.
  Yeap. In fact, it's the only one I ever owned. Never did get a Nintendo, Sega, XBOX, or anything else since then. I remember my parents becoming un-characteristicly addicted to the game Asteroids. They probably played even more than I did, to the point that my mom actually got a common '80's affliction--"Atari Thumb".


• You own(ed) any 'cassette singles'.
  Just a few. Usually better to get the whole album on cassette, and only if you knew at least three of the radio releases were "awesome" or "radical" first.


• You were led to believe that in the year 2000 we'd all be living on the moon.
  Not necessarily living on the moon, but where's my freakin' flying car?


• You remember and/or own any of the Care Bear Glass collection from Pizza Hut. Or any other stupid collection they came out with.
  No, but I think I did collect the Shirt Tales stuffed animals (when I was really young). I think they were available via a restaurant; not sure it was Pizza Hut though.


• Poltergeist freaked you out.
  The bits and pieces I saw did, when my cousins were watching at the beach on a family trip one year. In general, horror movies still freak me out (or anger me if they're just stupid).


• You carried your lunch to school in a Gremlins or an ET lunchbox.
  Possibly. It was probably Dukes of Hazzard, Knight Rider, or Transformers instead.


• You have ever pondered why Smurfette was the ONLY female smurf.
  Yeah, that is a good question. What a shallow gene pool. Do you think she was responsible for birthing the entire population of the village? We never did see her pregnant. Maybe Smurfs gestate in the womb very quickly. Weren't all Smurfs adults? I wonder if they were born as adults or if they had accelerated aging. Maybe there were other Smurf villages, and there was one Smurfette per village. But, then where did all the Smurfettes come from? Maybe Smurfs did not gestate inside a Smurfette womb but instead grew in "fibrous husks" like the J'naii, the androgynous race from the Star Trek: The Next Generation fifth season episode "The Outcast". This is all definitely, very worth pondering. Don't you think?


• You know what a Doozer is. Uhh. "Watchu talkin' 'bout now, Willis?!?"


• You wore bike shorts underneath a short skirt and felt stylish, or knew someone who did.
  You know, not really. Neither the bike shorts nor the skirt, not in the '80's or ever.


• You ever had a Swatch Watch.
  Don't think so, but I was always tempted to spend actual money on one of the giant size Swatch Watch wall decorations.


• You remember when Saturday Night Live was funny.
  I was probably more of an early/mid 1990's SNL watcher. But, I do remember when Benny Hill still came on late night TV. The Benny Hill theme music never ceases to be funny. Speed up almost any video footage and set it to Benny Hill music and it's funny. As long as there's farting and Benny Hill music, comedy will never die.


• You had Wonder Woman or Superman underoos.
  Wonder Woman, uh, no. Superman, maybe. Batman, far more likely. Spider-Man, very good chance. Robin or Aquaman, I was a kid so I didn't know any better.


• You know what a "Whammee" is..
  I think it's a reference to the cartoon monsters that stole your winnings and made you lose your turn on the game show Press Your Luck. Is there another kind of Whammee?

If you can identify with at least half of this list then you, my friend, are a "Child of the 80's".
Of course, if you were born in America in the mid '70's to early '80's and your parents didn't keep you under a rock, you really don't need the list to prove it. ;)

Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?

Take the quiz to see if you're smarter than a fifth grader.

Incredibly enough, I actually got 100% correct out of the 20 questions. So, maybe I'm also smarter than a sixth or seventh grader too. ;)

I'm surprised I got them all right, though. There were several hard ones, including a couple I had to guess at after narrowing down the answers to two possibilities each.

Easter Eve in God's Acre

Yesterday, the day before Easter, my family braved the chill and wind to fulfill our yearly ritual of cleaning gravestones and placing flowers on graves of family members buried in God's Acre in Old Salem and the adjacent Salem Cemetary.

Unfortunately, because of the unusual coldsnap this year, some flowers probably died last night, and some were already wilting yesterday. A few people may have even decided to skip flowers this year. And yet, God's Acre is still a beautiful site at Easter anyway.

So, I decided to take a few pictures. You can click on each picture to see a much bigger version.

Lower Section of God's Acre (in Old Salem)


Old Salem is very close to downtown Winston-Salem, so you can see some of the skyline in the background. The white, round-top building is the Wachovia Center. The roundness of the building's top is inspired by an arch, a shape utilitized on many Moravian churches. I'm not sure I've seen it before, but I've read that a marble mosaic in the building's lobby is inspired by the Moravian Star, a prevalent decoration seen during Christmas.



In the background of the photo below, you can see the back of one of the buildings in Old Salem. I believe the rear of the building is an expansion since it looks so new. You can also see a parking lot used by Salem College, which is also located in Old Salem.


Upper Section of God's Acre (much, much older graves)





Salem Cemetary (right next to God's Acre)


In the photo above, you can see how close the public Salem Cemetary is to the Moravian graveyard God's Acre. Moravians use a standard, plain white, rectangular gravestone, and arrange the dead by age and gender. In Salem Cemetary, you'll find gravestones of all different sizes and shapes, including above-ground crypts. There are, however, some Moravians buried in Salem Cemetary, and many of them use the standard Moravian gravestone, including several of my family buried there.


Graves of Family Members

My grandmother, "Mama Reid." She and my grandfather are buried, practically in opposite corners, in the lower section of God's Acre.

My grandfather.

My great great grandmother, buried in the older, upper section of God's Acre.

My great grandmother, "Nana Land." She, my great aunt, my great grand father, and my two great uncles are all buried adjacent to each other in Salem Cemetary. Three out of the five still use the standard Moravian gravestone. My two great uncles have gravestones that look similar but are smaller versions to the standard Moravian stone.

My great aunt, Barbara.

My great grandfather.

My great uncles.

It's Layoff Day

Well, it's over. Today was my very last day at a company where I spent 8 years, 6 months, and 22 days. I am now officially laid off. In case you didn't read my previous entry from Sunday, many of us at my company found out about nine months ago that our jobs are going to India.

Nine months is a long enough wait that you almost think it's never going to come even when it's two weeks away. The fact that the wait is over, as of today, may still not feel real for a few more days.

There wasn't much time to let it sink in either as I still had work to finish up this morning--after working a 10 hour day yesterday. I scrambled the rest of the day to tie up loose ends (that I hoped to get to earlier in the week) including cleaning out my hard drive, cleaning out my e-mail, finishing cleaning out my desk, forwarding any personal files or e-mails to my home account, turning in one piece of paperwork, saying last minute goodbyes, etc., that it wasn't a totally relaxed last day, and I didn't get out of there until 5:45 (some people started trickling out by 3:00).

On the off chance that someone from my previous job or a prospective future job may be reading this, I'm neither naming my company nor going into detail on the good and/or bad things about my former job.

All I'll say is that I'm hoping/expecting/assuming/praying that my next job will be better, and I'm eager to find out if things will end up like that.

My plans... Obviously, continue looking for a new job. Since you can't look for a job 24 hours a day, I also hope to catch up on some personal projects around the house, perhaps some spring cleaning inside and almost certainly some yard maintenance outside. I also want to read more often, blog more often, and exercise more often. I still have a free one-month pass to the YMCA that I won in a raffle at work and still need to use before the expiration runs out.

In a way, April 1 is like a different kind of New Years Day for me, so hopefully I'll start some good resolutions that I'll actually stick to (even after I get a new job, which hopefully won't take forever).

-----

Ironic how in my last blog entry I also mentioned Hanes as being a steady presence in Winston-Salem, NC. Just today, I heard the news that they are also having layoffs. According to the website of local new station WXII, 600 people will lose their jobs in the "restructuring" in which their textile production will move to the Caribbean area and Central America.

So, if all our country's jobs keep going to other countries because it saves money, then that means someday all Americans can quit their jobs and pay hardly anything for their products and services since they'll be done so cheap elsewhere--right??? Yeah, I didn't think so. We're on a sad path. :(

America Is No Longer Made in the U.S.A.

I'm here at my workplace on Sunday to catch up on cleaning out my cubicle, retrieving personal items, and collecting anything like past performance reviews that might have helpful information for my resume, cover letters, and interviews. You see, last June, I found out that I was getting laid off on 31 March 2007 which--after a long wait--is now only five business days away.

I'm not exactly broken up about it. I had plenty of warning, the severance is decent enough, and I'm confident my next job will likely be much better. The part that bothers me the worst is why I'm getting laid off...

My job is getting outsourced, uh, I mean, off-shored to a company in India.

The even deeper irony is that the department I work in specializes in clients outsourcing a part of their business to us. Now we're outsourcing part of our business to someone else. Since it sounds funny to admit that we're "outsourcing our outsourcing," and since the destination of the work is another country, the new vocabulary is "off-shoring."

It just bothers me that so much of this country's jobs and services are moving overseas. We keep producing less and less in our own country, then we wonder why unemployment is rising and the value of the dollar is dropping. I don't think we should be so dependent on the rest of the world, especially when much of the world isn't too thrilled with us right now (or ever, for some parts).

The other reason this is fresh on mind is I was at Kohl's earlier today because I needed a couple new short-sleeve polo/golf-type shirts. I was just about to pay for the two nice looking, reasonably priced shirts that I found when I noticed some writing below the fabric content: "Made in India".

Those were the two best shirts I had found in the store, but just in case there were other nice shirts with a "Made in the U.S.A." label, I thought I'd be willing to compromise even if it cost a few dollars extra. Instead, I found:

• Made in Cambodia


• Made in China


• Made in Egypt


• Made in Guatemala


• Made in India


• Made in Indonesia


• Made in Jordan


• Made in Lesotho


• Made in Pakistan


• Made in Philippines


• Made in Vietnam

And, did I find a single "Made in the U.S.A." label? No.

I confess, I went ahead and bought the shirts anyway--this time. But, this is something I want to get better about noticing and planning around in the future.

I did feel a little bit better when I bought a six-pack of white crew socks that I also needed. Not only did they say, "Made in the U.S.A." but they were Hanes brand, and Hanes is headquartered right here in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Thank goodness we have at least one thing we're known for other than cigarettes (and don't get me started on that topic).

If anyone knows of any stores that carry--or even specialize in--products made in the United States, leave me a comment or send me a message on my MySpace page (www.myspace.com/umberhaven).

My Top 10 Movie List of 2006

Okay, now that I totally bashed A. O. Scott for his top ten list in my last blog entry, now it's time to give my own top ten list, which may be equally as frustrating to some.

I'll have to confess right up front, that I only saw about 20 movies in the theater this year. All of them, except Talladega Nights, are reviewed at my MySpace page, and some of the more recent ones are included here at Blogger as well. I hope to see The Queen some time in the next few days. If it or any other 2006 movies I see later deserve to be in the top ten, I'll update my list accordingly (but will probably only go to the trouble if I see it in the theater in January or February, not on video several months later).

Anyway, out of only 20 movies, a top ten list is really more like a "Better Half" list, but I gave all ten of these movies between a B+ and A rating, which all rank as 4-stars or 5-stars on my 1-to-5 star system (no half-stars). But, at least it's a fairly mainstream list, something the average person may be able to appreciate (no documentaries or foreign language films in the bunch).

[10] The Nativity Story

Although you can often tell when a biblical city in the distance is really a matte painting or computer graphic, the movie delivers an interesting and faithful portrayal of the birth of Christ. The movie helps flesh out the political climate of the time, people's skepticism toward Mary's claim of her virgin pregnancy, and a theory as to what kind of husband Joseph may have been. While connecting all the dots from the Bible as carefully as possible, the writers take creative license with the wise men from the East, lending to the movie some humor, a demonstration of faith, and a sense of wonder.

[09] My Super Ex-Girlfriend

Panned by many but strongly recommended by a friend of mine at work, this movie takes a comical approach to the concept of superheroes, and for me, was more entertaining and enjoyable than Superman Returns. Uma Thurman is perfect as the mentally unstable female superhero struggling to have a relationship with an average man.

[08] V for Vendetta

Based on a graphic novel, V for Vendetta paints an intriguing picture of a fascist, future Britain in which one masked radicalist wants to complete a feat attempted by Guy Fawkes several hundred years prior--blowing up the Houses of Parliament as a political statement. Although a bit too violent at times, the film is unique, unpredictable, thought-provoking, and enjoyable.

[07] World Trade Center

An emotional story about two police officers trapped in the rubble at ground zero on 9/11, World Trade Center delivers excellent performances, especially from Maggie Gyllenhall and Maria Bello, who play the wives of the trapped officers.

[06] Pursuit of Happyness

Will Smith skillfully carries this movie, portraying an intelligent man extremely down on his luck financially. Forced to raise his son alone on almost no cash while enrolled in a prestigious, non-paying internship at Dean Witter, this is a great story about dreams, determination, and survival. Will Smith's real-life son does a great job in the role of the main character's son.

[05] Casino Royale

A re-boot to the long-lived James Bond franchise, Casino Royale delivers action, drama, romance, and even a little humor with Daniel Craig playing a new 007 of less experience, fewer gadgets, and a cat-like physicality. Royale makes one look forward to future Bond movies which may delve into a continuing story arc, if internet rumors are correct. Men, beware the torture scene; it's not easy to sit through.

[04] Cars

A movie in which humans don't exist and automobiles are the people is made believable through some of Pixar's best computer graphics yet and excellent performances from the voice cast. Visually impressive, funny, and heart-felt, this movie delivers for viewers of all ages.

[03] The Lake House

While never explaining just how a man from 2004 and a woman from 2006 can communicate to each other through a magical mailbox at a lake house they both own (at different times), this movie delivers believable romantic drama. In addition to excellent performances by Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves, the movie includes superb camerawork and a real architectural appreciation for the city of Chicago.

[02] The Prestige

With a double twist that no one should spoil for you, this is a must-see-twice story about obsessed magicians competing over the perfect magic trick in turn-of-the-century London. Written & directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johanssen, and the excellent Michael Caine, this movie has enough intrigue, mystery, and overall quality for two movies. I was really tempted to make this my #1 pick for the year.

[01] Akeelah and the Bee

Yes, that's right, a movie about an 11-year-old girl from South Los Angeles training and competing her way to the National Spelling Bee is better than all the superhero movies, better than James Bond, better than Pixar, etc. I never would have thought it.

Severely overlooked while it was in theaters, I watched Akeelah and the Bee again on DVD today (thank goodness I got it as a Christmas present), and it confirmed how much I liked it in the first place. The publicity it got made it sound like an artsy fartsy film, but it really feels more mainstream than that. In a way, it's like a sports movie, only instead of playing football or basketball, this underdog spells words.

It may sound boring, but it's not. Skillfully written & directed by Doug Atchison and starring Keke Palmer, Laurence Fishburne, and Angela Bassett, the movie has a good pace, smart dialogue, and excellent performances. It tugs at the heart but in a way that feels genuine. The movie earns every laugh and--okay I'll admit it--every tear. While not as intriguing or visually impressive as The Prestige, it is the unexpected emotional impact in Akeelah and the Bee that put the movie over the top for my #1 spot.