as I was tag surfing earlier, I found a fellow wordpresser's blog, fine filter. from this blog, i found easily one of the coolest sites on the interweb:The Breaks, an online database of samples used in Hip-Hop. I searched through some Kanye songs to see where he got some of his samples. from there...i started searching youtube for the original songs, and stumbled upon DJ Funktuall and his "Top 10 Samples in Hip-Hop" series- here is Part 1 :

guy cracks me up. i've thought about it before...what would it be like learning how to scratch, dj..this makes me want to learn

THEN i found this reaaallly interesting video from DW (Deutsche Welle) about how the English language is taking over German business' advertising, and the consequences it could have on the German language.

I love Germany. and Germans. and the German language.

and Gummibaeren, of course.

and why do white people whisper the word "black"? Macon D (from stuff white people do) guest wrote a post on racialicious:

What interested me, of course, was that whispering by a white person of
the word "black." I've heard white people do that many times, and I'm
not fully sure why they do it. Not that all of those who do it
necessarily do it for the same reason. Or reasons.

One probable
reason that a lot of white people whisper the word "black" is that they
think it's impolite to mention race. America is supposed to be
"colorblind" now, and so, the common white thinking goes, "we" are not
supposed to notice race, let alone point it out. Or even name it. So,
when we do point it out, we we should do that . . . discreetly."

i have to admit, I have done this before. Why? I don't find using the term "black" instead of "African-American" to be wrong, or hateful, or racist. I feel like the term is an identifier....and there are many people of color, who may or may not be assumed as "black", who would not identify themselves as "African-American". I do know that the word can be used as a racist term...maybe I am digging myself into a ditch here. I do know that I am oftentimes afraid of others misunderstanding my passion about anti-racism, me always talking about race...so when they (whomever "they" is) hear me say the word black, I guess I don't want them to get the wrong impression...

*so perhaps i DO care what others think of me

Sons of Anarchy continues to impress.  We got another solid episode with tidbits building into a bigger, season long story arc.  I am really pleased with this show and have recommended it to anyone who will listen.  SPOILERS: The blond girl Jax picks up...anyone else think she is a plant?  To me, it feels like she is either a plant by the feds, or she will turn to the feds.  She may simply be a window into the way biker gangs view women, and this episode fit with every documentary I have ever seen regarding the subject.

The Mentalist, much to my surprise, was quite entertaining.  I dubbed it "the serious Psych" before it aired, but I was quite surprised by the amount of humor.  The promos did not do it justice.  It's definitely worth a watch...heck, I'll even give it a commitment for three more episodes.  You'd better keep it up, Mentalist.

More SPOILERS.  Has SVU jumped the hark?  I can't really tell, yet.  I have gone back and forth on this issue but have been unable to decide.  The melodrama can overwhelm at times, other times it simply whelms.  Also, every time there is a big name guest star it is so easy to figure out the case.  Robin Williams last season, Luke Perry this season.  Previously, we've seen Henry Winkler, Richard Thomas, the list goes on.  If the big name star is not a lwayer, he/she is the baddie.  Come on, give me a bit of a mystery,  Oh well, I'm going to keep watching anyway so just call me a lemming.  Maybe they'll jump back the way the original Law & Order did.

Caught It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, damn that show is funny.  You'd better start watching it.  I am serious.  Go to hulu and catch up.

Edit: Except I've already seen the last episode and this one. Dang.

Everything has consequences. Of course Assistant District Attorney Casey Novak and Detective Chester Lake are gone after last year’s season finale. Det. 'Fin' Tutuola is still around, even though he requested a transfer and we find out at the end of the show that he will be staying for a while because his transfer is being delayed by a cop with a grudge against him. We also get to meet the eager new ADA, Kim Grayleck, played by Michaela McManus. She says she is a defender for the people and seems to really want to get her feet wet, but we do not get to see her in court. Her character seems pretty excitable and the actress comes from One Tree Hill, so it will be interesting to see how she will act when the time comes. Throughout the show Olivia Benson is struggling with her sexual assault from last season while she was undercover. I am sure it will become a bigger issue in a later episode, but I hope Mariska Hargitay ends up staying for a few more seasons.

I will not spoil the story because it was good. It started off being bland for SVU, but it ended with a result that made my skin crawl a little, which is what you expect from this show. There are some relatively well known guest stars: Luke Perry, Julie Bowen (Boston Legal, Ed) and Sara Gilbert (Roseanne, 24). Usually the guest stars have intense characters that allow them to appropriately overact, but the guest stars’ characters actually stayed fairly calm and collected throughout the episode. Not to say the story does not become intense, it just does not become the usual yell-fest you that get in many other episodes and it was nice to watch. I think this premiere shows that SVU is still going strong and I will definitely be watching it in the coming season.

More often than not, what viewers (interchangeably, "consumers") tune in to doesn't line up with what is most relevant, or of greatest importance to their individual needs. Rather, people tend to watch what is most viscerally attractive - that is, anything that really gits ya in the gut. Human interest stories are always up there - American human interest stories, that is. Things that people think they can relate to, however irrelevant on the grand scale they may be. Anything that recreates a "Law and Order" episode is generally a good bet. People are a lot more interested in Scott Peterson ("He looks like the guy down the street!") than the tens of thousands killed in American carpet bombing. Don't kid yourself about Abu Ghraib, either. It wouldn't have had a snowball's chance in hell of making a national story without those juicy pictures.

Along those lines, anything that appeals to people's sense of patriotism or nationalism is also a consistent bet. Remember how newspapers forgot to call Bush out on anything (Patriot Act, etc.) he did after September 11th and then, conveniently, acted as if they weren't as complicit as every other lily-livered member of Congress in having such laws pass the test of public confidence? Media agencies will always go with the man on top during national crisis, even if the man on top is in the process of inserting himself into the country's collective rectum. It's not good business sense to risk offending viewers (and losing customers) for something as irrelevant as what's actually happening.

Sex, as always, reigns supreme among news' desirable qualities, so long as a news agency can justify covering it. I am willing to believe a paper would publish "Republican Presidential Committee Aiming For Critical T & A Swing Vote," if it meant they could publish a picture of Sarah Palin in a bikini. Sarah Palin herself is a prominent beneficiary of such additional, unmerited focus. She would definitely be less of a hot news cycle ticket if she looked, for example, like Rosie O'Donnell. Sex sells. I bet you went straight for this paragraph just because it has a sexy picture next to it.

Despite its ultimate goal of accumulating capital, it would be accurate to say our media sometimes runs liberal stories and sometimes runs conservative ones. These days, it has uncovered a fair amount of shit on our current administration (though not nearly enough; that would be unpatriotic). One might even be tempted to say it has a tendency to highlight its shortcomings (unless we have our heads in our asses after something like Sept. 11th, that is). One would be remiss, however, to say such focuses are evidence of liberal bias. News agencies naturally cover (and react to) whoever is in power. Since Bush has been president for the last eight years, and Congress controlled by Republicans for its majority, conservatives can rightly be considered the top dogs at the moment. As such, their fuckups tend to make the front page. This would be the same if a Democrat were in office. Does anyone remember how brutally Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky was covered? He didn't have a chance in hell of escaping the public eye. It wouldn't have mattered if he were Jerry Falwell or Karl Marx. People will tolerate a story (and watch TV) way past their normal breaking points when sex and power are involved. Ultimately, it is a victory for a news agency if it gets you to watch. Their advertisers (who provide, in turn, their payrolls) could care less if you're intellectually fulfilled.

Rupert Murdoch encouraged the perception of collective political bias in the media by creating Fox News, which adopted the misnomer, "fair and balanced." This is itself a shrewd venture: by appealing to a conservative point of view, whether or not it is legitimate, Murdoch captured a consumer group that mighth not otherwise have watched the news. Assumedly, "fair and balanced" means objective reporting, devoid of political tilt. Quite the opposite: Fox News goes out of its way to provide some sort of commentary, regardless of whether the point of view being defended or attacked is ludicrous or credible. The idea that both sides of a story should be aired, regardless of how many legitimate points are made, is new. If a story breaks the news that no weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq, that's not liberal, that's simply the truth. That it happens to go against what the current administration's policy dictates should be beside the point.

Don't tell me CNN's looping footage of Sarah Palin "Miss Alaska" photos is evidence of conservative over-coverage, or their in-depth book review of The Audacity of Hope shows them to be hopelessly liberal. In a business sense, a story's primary function is not to enlighten, but to get the consumer to tune in. Media agencies are only following good business strategy and going where the money is. What could be more American than that?

"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" não é apenas mais um seriado investigativo americano. Este spin-off de Law & Order é diferenciado na teoria, na prática, e em seus mais profundos desdobramentos. A série se iniciou em 1999 e continua até os dias atuais, estando portanto na pré-10ª temporada. Trata-se do dia-a-dia da unidade nova-iorquina de polícia que lida com crimes sexuais: Estupro, pedofilia, incesto, estupro presumido... E assim vai.

In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories.

A idéia de lidar com crimes sexuais é inegavelmente ousada. A série não apela para cenas de nudez, ou cenas sexuais mostradas com detalhes que possam ser constrangedores (só lembro de uma única cena do tipo sendo mostrada, e mesmo assim realmente não foi nada demais), mas também não poupa em termos de enredo. As situações que SVU (como a série é chamada popularmente) impõe ao telespectador são de sensibilizar até a sujeirinha da sua unha. Choca mesmo. Eu já vi e ouvi muita coisa em SVU: desde uma mulher que foi quase que totalmente queimada gritando ao ser "lavada" (existe um termo para isso?), até detetives e uma legista comentando de um inchaço na vagina de uma criança - Não, não é pelo fato de ela ser estuprada e, portanto, ferida. Bem pior do que isso... Mas deixa pra lá.

A série conta, hoje, com um elenco interessantíssimo, de pessoas bastante talentosas, que fazem personagens extremamente ricos em constituição. A belíssima Mariska Hargitay, vencedora de Globo de Ouro e Emmy, interpreta Olivia Benson, a detetive inteligente que é capaz de se aproximar das vítimas e, com seu poder agudo de persuasão, obter coisas importantes para cada investigação que as mesmas escondem involuntariamente, por conta de traumas em seus passados. É filha de uma mulher estuprada. O detetive Elliot Stabler, de origem irlandês-americana, é interpretado pelo eficiente e grandalhão Christopher Meloni. O cara é um sem paciência, parece o meu pai. É especialista no combate corpo-a-corpo, em pressionar o criminoso para obter a verdade e, se a sua parceira Olivia tem a habilidade de compreender e interagir livremente com a vítima, Stabler o faz com o criminoso em diversas vezes. Isto é, quando não tortura psicologicamente, é incansável quanto a tentar compreender e absorver os porquês dos atos dos covardes, praticamente se confundindo com eles e simulando fazer parte dos universos macabros de cada um. Embora estes estejam presentes desde o primeiro episódio e sempre em primeiro plano, os nada menos importantes John Munch - o homem culto da delegacia, com suas análises perspicazes das situações e humor negro absoluto: "A única coisa que tenho em comum com o judaísmo é o fato de não trabalhar aos sábados..." - e Odafin "Fin" Tutuola - este com um conhecimento maior das ruas, notavelmente quanto a informantes e habitantes dos guettos americanos - também integram a unidade de vítimas especiais. O líder e capitão Don Cragen é o gênio que guia os policiais e, juntamente do agente do FBI e psiquiatra George Huang - que é mais um a contribuir com a unidade, ao se utilizar de perfis psicológicos e tentativas coerentes de previsão dos atos dos criminosos - é quem dá as cartas, direcionando as ações da equipe. E ainda há Melinda Warner, a legista que sempre dá boas novidades ao grupo quanto a pistas deixadas pelos criminosos.

Em termos de crítica, a série sempre foi muito bem apontada. É a mais bem-sucedida das franquias Lei & Ordem e, pela sua natureza, também possui a característica de sua "série-mãe" de apresentar não só as investigações policiais, mas também as conseqüências na corte, em cada episódio. Para isso, conta com a promotoria (que já foi representada por três pessoas: Diane Neal como Casey Novak, Stephanie March como Alexandra Cabot, e Angie Harmon como Abbie Carmichael), que mais diretamente tenta fazer "o último passe" para que a justiça seja feita pelo júri.

SVU tem um poder incrível, o de não deixar que o espectador tenha um só personagem predileto. Embora o foco seja inegavelmente Liv e El (Olivia Benson e Elliot Stabler, como são apelidados), inclusive fazendo com que alguns fãs exagerados e loucos (hauhauahua! Brincadeira :P) achem que os dois darão em par romântico, a verdade é que todos os personagens possuem um enorme carisma. Não houve um só episódio, dos vistos por mim, que fosse ruim - E já vi vários, de várias temporadas. Pra mim, esta é a melhor série americana já criada, a mais inteligente, a de mais original identidade.

E o digo com segurança por um só motivo: É algo único, e mais do que recomendado por mim.

A série passa no Universal Channel:

Episódio inédito - Terças, 22h. Alternativo - Domingo, 17h.

Horário normal (temporadas anteriores) - Segunda a Sexta, às 19h, meia-noite e 6h.

Experimentem ver um episódio qualquer, e então me digam o que acharam. Esse post ficará uns dias a mais que o normal em primeiro plano, porque SVU merece.

]]> http://hiryguy.wordpress.com/?p=16 Sun, 07 Sep 2008 16:03:13 +0000 hiryguy http://hiryguy.wordpress.com/2008/09/07/we-just-got-propositioned-or-worse/ Yesterday, I am pretty sure me and my finance were solicited in a familiar way by our butcher.   And when I say "our butcher", I mean a butcher I had never previously met at the grocery store we frequent.    Let me explain.    We go to the same grocer for the majority of our meals because its close, family owned, and they have a truly great selection of food.   What they lack, is the ability to hire a butcher with emotional and mental stability.   Maybe a slight toxic gas gets released during the slicing of meat.   These guys inhale enough of it over time until inevitably getting the crazies.  (Then my grocer hires them).    

With everything we have seen, it will take an impressive track record to take down the craziest of them all.   Frank.   I am not changing his name because he is not innocent, and he is definitely not online.   Let me quickly caveat that the meat is worth the abuse suffered during the ordering process.     They have e v e r y t h i n g and its all so good.   And its not just me saying it.    On multiple occasions I have witnessed profanity-laced tirades, and verbal assaults directed at customers who aren't ordering the way Frank prefers.  We all keep coming back.   (Mind you, the soup nazi mentality is not as funny in real life).    Frank was eventually fired for striking a co-worker.    Can't really say we miss Frank, he was a miserable prick.   But he was the first, in a rapid succession of meat-related firings.     The butcher with the gambling problem - gone, the stealer - gone, Frank, the enraged lunatic - gone.     Ok, ok....we are getting to being picked up part.  

This all recently occurred and obviously, the turnover means new butchers.   Twice this week, my girl came home and told me that she felt a little weird because the new butcher kept commenting on how nice she looked while he prepared her meat.    (That even felt weird writing)   At the time, we ultimately dismissed it for two reasons:   1.  Its the natural reaction guys have to my girl's hottness.   2.  Its the enthusiasm and possible over-excitement that comes with landing a sweet new job.   Fast forward to Saturday.

We wanted a meat plate and headed off to the butcher.  Unfortunately, it wasn't busy because of the rain, so we were all alone with him in the back of the store.  Seeing this guy for the first time was just creepy.  If its possible to give off a sexual predator vibe, this guy could patent it.   The encounter at the counter started uncomfortably.     He proclaimed he had convinced his boss to allow him to place the tip cup next to the scale.   Ok, so he expects payment for this.   Then he demands we stick out our hands.   He gives us this little rolled meat/cheese snack that he had been preparing to lure unsuspecting children into the walk-in cooler.    He treated it like he was handing us each a birthday gift.   At this point, I feel terrible for having ever negated my girl's feelings of uneasiness earlier that week.    We quickly shift strategies and order only the essentials to get the hell out of there.   He must have sensed our readiness, and inform us he has just made cookies.   This is odd because he works in the meat department.   There are no ovens around.    Anyways he continues to stall us by making us taste what we order so he can watch us put meat in our mouths.   Finally, its time to be on our way, and he asks if we are busy next Friday.   Our sodomy detectors go off simultaneously and we declare we already have plans.    He informs us that he just moved into a new home and wanted us to come over for the house warming party.    We could meet his wife.    

Is this guy serious?    Would you invite someone to your home that you had met three minutes earlier, during a business transaction?    This was so weird.    At best, it was an open invitation to a swingers party, and at worst, you would never hear from us again.   Kramer said "If you buy enough meat, they'll give you anything"   I doubt he was thinking of getting a broomstick.     If we had said yes, that would have been the prelude to Stabler & Benson material for next season.    

We now either become vegetarians or need to find a new meat market and I am not happy with either choice.   We are currently checking the sexual predator websites, and in the mean time if you come across this guy, don't give him our address! 

ps- he actually did have homemade cookies, two kinds.  He pulled out a double chocolate, and an oatmeal raison and exclaimed "Lady's Choice!"

Though some of Ted Allen’s fans may remember him from his days as the restaurant critic for Chicago magazine, most of us know him from stints on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Iron Chef: America, and Food Detectives. But Allen has been a nationally respected food and wine expert since joining the editorial staff of Esquire magazine eleven years ago.

Ted studied psychology at Purdue University, where he received a B.A. He also has an M.A. in journalism from New York University, as well as an advanced certificate from NYU’s Science and Environmental Reporting Program.  His 2000 Esquire article “This Man Survived Breast Cancer” was a finalist for the National Magazine Award, the magazine equivalent to the Pulitzer Prize. 

Allen’s culinary talents and literary acumen have never been better emulsified than in his 2005 Clarkson Potter book The Food You Want to Eat: From Créme Brulee to Cocktails: Delicious Recipes for Entertaining and Everyday.  In The Food You Want to Eat, Ted rethinks calssic recipes like Old School Caesar Salad and Mustardy Barbecued Spareribs. One must-try among the 100+ recipes is the Pan-Roasted Salmon with Tomato Vinaigrette and Thai Green Chicken Curry with Vegetables. 

Allen’s book has a number of fans, too: check out some of the star-studded reviews: 

“The Food You Want to Eat is the book you need to own. Ted Allen is your personal guide to easy entertaining, from thirst-quenching cocktails to classic desserts with a twist, and everything in between.” —Bobby Flay

“The Food You Want to Eat is a great first cookbook for anyone and everyone. Ted knows his stuff—which are the best ingredients and what are the smartest, simplest, and tastiest ways to prepare them. More important is his friendliness—he demystifies the daunting mysteries of good cooking, wine pairing and fine dining.”  —Sara Moulton

“When I first picked up Ted’s book, I thought, ‘Ha! How can this man possibly know what I want to eat?’ Then I read it … OK, so he does know what I want to eat, but I bet he can’t make it the way I like it. Then I cooked from the book and … OK, somehow he does know. Accessible, tasty, educational and effortlessly elegant (think Carey Grant), this is the kind of kitchen guide you’ll want to give to all your friends. Just never lend out your own copy.” —Alton Brown

Ted recently answered a few questions for Paper Palate:

Paper Palate: You have worked in both Chicago and New York - how do the restaurant scenes differ?

Ted Allen: New York is the big stage, the biggest stage in America for a chef.  It is a tough market to succeed in because of the competition.  Chicago has a lot of important restaurants and the national press is finally catching on.

PP: What currently has your attention, culinarily speaking?

TA: Barry (Barry Rice, Ted’s Partner) and I have been really getting into the food at this Senegalese restaurant nearby.  I can’t think of the name, but it is very exciting. 

PP: You are a renowned food and wine expert, your partner is an accomplished interior designer, and your list of associates includes Padma Lakshmi, Alton Brown, and Carson Kressley - what are your dinner parties like?

TA: Very casual.  We do lots of braises, roasts, and BBQ.  I try to do as much advance work as I can so I can have fun.  Our guests are usually nice, diverse, crazy, funny, and quirky.

PP: Do you have another book on the way?

TA: I just had a meeting this morning to discuss some future projects.  I have a few irons in the fire.

Photo courtesy of chicagobusiness.com.

http://www.nbc.com/Law_&_Order:_Special_Victims_Unit/video/clips/svu-brings-in-the-stars/537502/

Evidente que já está no YouTube há algum tempo, mas neste a qualidade está infinitamente melhor - dá pra ver o Chris Meloni jogando o James Brolin contra uma vidraça com muuuuito mais clareza - oh yeah!

Chega logo, 23 de setembro!

Amanhã, terça, dia 26 de agosto, estréia a segunda temporada de Greek, um dos tantos seriados que eu acompanho fielmente graças aos torrents espalhados por aí. Os adolescentes das renomadas fraternidades americanas voltam a dar o ar da graça, com suas confusões na ABC Family. No brasil o seriado é transmitido pela Universal Channel e sei lá quando devem estreiar os novos episódios, mas se você for do tipo curioso e ansioso, pode fazer como eu e baixar tudo horas depois de passar nos Estados Unidos.

Seguindo na new season, muitos retornos de outras séries prometem dar uma animada na programação da TV, que foi de fraca a inexistente nesta mid season, e comprometer um pouco mais a minha vida social. Entre os meus "mais esperados" estão a segunda temporada de Gossip Girl e The Big Bang Theory, dias 01 e 22 de setembro, respectivamente.

Aliás, dia 22 de setembro, é o grande dia de várias séries Fergs' favorites: Heroes retorna em sua terceira temporada (ansiosos para saber o destino de Sylar? Eu também!); Tedd, Robin, Barney, Lily e Marshall retornam na quarta temporada de How I met your mother; uncle Charlie, Alan e Jake de Two and a Half men, voltam para sua sexta temporada e a sétima temporada de CSI Miami traz de volta o ruivo, Horatio Craine.

Dia 23, depois de polêmicas negociações de contrato, Olivia e Elliot voltam na décima temporada de Law and Order, SVU. Ainda em setembro retornam também House, The Office, Simpsons, Family Guy, Ugly Betty, My name is Earl e estréia o remake de Barrados no Baile, com o título original de Beverly Hills 90210. Esta última deve ser uma falcatrua sem tamanho, mas vamos ver no que vai dar...

No mês seguinte, Grissom e sua trupe retornam na nona temporada de CSI e finalmente descobriremos o que aconteceu com Warrick, que foi baleado no final da temporada passada. Também retornam as piadas politicamente incorretas de South Park e a segunda temporada da desmemoriada Samantha Who?. Outros favoritos como 24 horas, The L word e The Tudors só em 2009, mas até o final deste ano a perda de tempo em frente ao computador já está garantida.

Acabo de ler lá no blog da Sam sobre os famosos seriados adolescentes. Eu confesso que gosto muito de seriados, assistia desde pequena. Já fui fã de Macgyver - o cara que conseguia consertar o motor fundido de um carro com clara de ovo (hahahahaha) só na ficção, claro. Não tentem fazer isso em casa. Vão descobrir que não dá certo.

Também passei muitas tardes de sábado assistindo a Gata e o Rato quando o Bruce Willis ainda não era Duro de Matar.

Também assisti Barrados no Baile, mas minha paciência acabou quando mudaram o elenco e acho que isso aconteceu logo no segundo ano. Motivo? Algo bem comum nos seriados norte americandos: brigas e intrigas. O seriado em si era muito bobo e o roteiro me enlouquecia. Ou dormia ou virava as páginas de alguns livros.

Por fim, assisti Dawson´s Creek - que aliás deveria se chamar Joey Porter, já que o personagem principal que dava nome a série era um típico adolescente norte americano. Sem graça. Sem inteligência. Sem nada. Mas assisti a série até o final e vi a indefinição dos seus autores e diretores. Um queria que a Joey ficasse com o Dawson (que não tinha nada a ver com ela - mas era o seu primeiro amor). Outro queria que ela ficasse com o Pacey que era bonitinho, mas tão chatinho quanto seu melhor amigo. Já a personagem da Joey salvava o seriado com sua luta para deixar de ser a garota do outro lado do lago que tinha um pai preso, uma irmã que morava com um negro e que tinha que criar a irmã mais nova que por sua vez, sonhava em ir para a faculdade. Alta demais, desengonçada, pobre, inteligente e obstinada. Uma verdadeira saga. Quase impossível não se identificar.

Mas confesso. Ainda prefiro a ficção da "Buffy - A caça vampiros" e sua saga de caçadora apaixonada por um belo vampiro - o Angel que depois ganhou sua série particular (horrível, diga-se de passagem) mas que contou com um episódio fantástico com a participação de Buffy. A trama foi muito interessante. Me conquistou a partir do primeiro episódio - quando Sarah Michele Gellar aparece para o mundo enquanto Buffy Summers, uma garota com poderes sobrenaturais que tem que ser adolescente e combater o mal. O seriado em si era uma verdadeira aula de mitologia grega, egípcia e reunia muitos elementos mágicos do Celtas e Druídas.

As primeiras quatro temporadas foram excelentes. Vi Buffy se entregar ao seu grande amor e esse amor fazer de Angel o Vangelis, um demônio sem piedade que tenta destruí-la e quando ela descobre um meio de recuperar sua alma, ela precisa matá-lo para salvar a humanidade. No inferno, Angel vive mil anos de sofrimento em poucos minutos. Muito para a cabeça de uma adolescente apaixonada? Não par Joss Weldon (criador da série) que quase matou a moça no final da temporada, fazendo surgir uma nova caça vampiros que só faria dar trabalho para Buffy, já que a moça conturbada, problemática não acha assim tão interessante matar demônios e acabou se aliando a eles contra Buffy, é claro. Tudo isso em uma pequena cidade, onde a Buffy consegue, entre outras coisas fazer alguns amigos que acabam fazendo parte da famosa "Buffy gang". Ironia ou não - Sarah Michelle Gellar acabou fazendo parte do filme do Scoob doo que era composto pela Scoobgang.

Hoje eu continuo gostando dos seriados produzidos pela Universal Channel, Fox (quase me esqueço da falar de uma lenda - O Arquivo X que acompanhei desde o primeiro episódio até o último e odiei as abelhas desde que o Chris Carter fez com que uma pobre abelha atrapalhasse o beijo tão esperado entre os dois agentes do FBI - enfim) sigo assistindo os "formatos enlatados". Uns me causam indigestão como é o caso de Friends, Lost, Heroes e Sex in the city - mas sigo assistindo House - SVU e CSI... Enfim, vida longa aos seriados.

Hey, if it busts corrupt cop action, great. If it implicates random folks or is used for ill intent, then boo to that. BOO.

In the end, you just know there's going to be a Law & Order: SVU episode about this. Probably involving someone editing a crime together and posting it on YouTube, framing a cop or individual of repute. But, being L&O, they'll change YouTube to "MyVidz.com" and Richard Belzer will have six lines expounding the political implications of such an action. Then, Ice-T will call him a sucker.

Also, there will be an eighties-icon guest star. I'm hoping its Mindy Cohn from The Facts of Life.

[P.S. Oh no, did I just inadvertently write SVU fan fic there?]

• I can't wait for High School Musical 3. My kids and I bond over HSM DVDs. At three years old, Chelsea practically knows the lyrics to Gabriella and Sharpey's songs--right down to "Everybody quieeeet!" HSM3, due in October 2008, will add to our bedtime repertoire. Zac Efron is cute too! Too bad he's a tad too old to become my son-in-law. And even if I was a cougar, he'd still be too young for me!
• Gossip Girl books. While waiting for the new season of Gossip Girl, I've been reading up on Cecily von Ziegesar's Gossip Girl novels. For those who belong to my generation, Gossip Girl books are the equivalent of Sweet Valley High and later, SVU. The TV series doesn't follow the books, though, but is more of the Beverly Hills 90210 sort: partner-swapping, brand name-dropping, and all.
• Safari and Firefox. A few months back, I converted to Mozilla Firefox when I discovered surfthechannel.com. (The website allowed me to preview TV shows before their airdates on local TV.) Firefox is faster and has fewer pop-ups. Recently, I've also been using Apple Safari for its neater interface. Like Firefox, it  does a better job in blocking pop-ups than Microsoft Internet Explorer. Although both Safari and Firefox take slightly longer than IE to initially load, downloading is faster once they're up and running. There's no way that I'm reverting to IE anytime soon.
• Wade's World. My 19-month old son, Wade, is rivaling his sister in degree of chattiness. Tonight, he said "grasshopper" perfectly, when he pointed to the picture in one of his books! He sings to Shrek and wants to be an ogre. He's not two yet, but we're trying to move up his toilet training if for no other reason than he's already outgrowing his XXL nappies/pull-ups. Any bigger, and he'll be using adult diapers. :) This morning, he was standing up in the bathroom trying to go no.1, and he ended up going no.2 instead. See, this is why we have nannies...
• Weight watching in Hollywood. Eva Longoria, Kate Hudson, Jennifer Love Hewitt... how dare they tip the scales at 120 instead of 100lbs! Result: more revenue for the tabloids and paparazzi. Don't they get it? I'd still rather have any of these women's bods over mine.
• Out of Avamigran. To migraine sufferers like me, this pill isn't just a pain-reliever. It's a lifesaver. Now why has it been out stock for the past month? I need an explanation as to why I have to go back to NSAIDS (and to vomiting) to be relieved of my pain, stat!
• Bye CSI. When spin-off CSI Miami started, Horatio Caine was not a real threat to Grissom dominance, simply because the flavor and ambience of the two shows were distinctly different. The demise of CSI started with the advent of CSI NY, whose ex-marine Mac Taylor presented a more interesting character than the Grissom of post Sara Sidle. But Gil Grissom leaving CSI? Now that, in itself, is a crime.
• Wanted. Of course, my husband wanted to watch this movie for Angelina Jolie, who looked totally anorexic in this flick. With a speaking part of about 50 words, she nonetheless exuded a powerful presence, which explained the camera frequently panning to her even in scenes where her only participation was to watch James McAvoy get beaten up. Between her and Brad Pitt being the man of the Brangelina household? No contest there.

I'll see if I can find a clip of the scene and post it, so you can hear his voice,  The first and Second season are avaible in one single set at http://www.amazon.com    and you can also rent it at http://www.netflix.com

Now, there are no DVD's or Downloads for this show, maybe because it's so old and it was short lived, But Hulu and Hulu on AOL Video has one episode, which I took the screencaps that You see that the beginning of the post.

http://video.aol.com/partner/hulu/tequila-and-bonetti-language-of-the-heart/UHf2kc9d-9Hierlm-reLTrX_bfGbMxGr

and Youtube has the opening:

You can see her on the opening sequence since she's a Main chracther and throughout the whole episode.

4:53-4:59, 5:07-5:09  and the rest of the scenes after that.

I'll keep looking for more of his appareances.  he also appared on Karate Kid, so if by any chance you own the movie and can take a screen cap send it to me!

By the way...  you can buy Season 1 of Kim Possible at http://www.amazon.com

This episode is available on Kim Possible: The Villain Files on DVD and VHS which is also avaible at http://www.amazon.com

Kristin Chenoweth de "Pushing daisies" e Neil Patrick Harris de "How I met your mother" vão fazer o anúncio em Los Angeles, e aqui no Brasil a transmissão será ao vivo no "Live events: Emmy nominations", às 9h30 no canal E!. A premiação será em 21/09.

Eu ia falar sobre pra quem torço, mas como isso é meio obvio, só passei um negrito neles... =^^=

Ah, então, a lista dos "candidatos a candidatos" já está na boca do povo desde o ultimo dia 5. Eis:

Top 10 Finalistas Categoria Melhor Série Drama:

"Damages"
"Dexter"
"Friday Night Lights"
"Grey's Anatomy"
"House"
"Justiça Sem Limites" ("Boston Legal")
"Lost"
"Mad Men"
"The Tudors"
"The Wire"

Top 10 Finalistas Categoria Melhor Série Comédia:

"30 Rock"
"Entourage"
"Flight of the Conchords"
"Pushing Daisies"
"Segura a Onda" ("Curb Your Enthusiasm")
"The Office"
"Two and a Half Men"
"Ugly Betty"
"Uma Família da Pesada" ("Family Guy")
"Weeds"

Top 7 Finalistas Categoria Melhor Ator Série Comédia:

Alec Baldwin ("30 Rock")
Charlie Sheen ("Two and a Half Men")
David Duchovny ("Californication")
Larry David ("Segura a Onda"/"Curb Your Enthusiasm")
Lee Pace ("Pushing Daisy")
Steve Carell ("The Office")
Tony Shalhoub ("Monk")

Top 10 Finalistas Categoria Melhor Atriz Série Comédia:

America Ferrera ("Ugly Betty")
Anna Friel ("Pushing Daisies")
Christina Applegate ("Samantha Who?")
Eva Longoria Parker ("Desperate Housewives")
Felicity Huffman ("Desperate Housewives")
Julia Louis-Dreyfus ("The New Adventures of Old Christine")
Marcia Cross ("Desperate Housewives")
Mary-Louise Parker ("Weeds")
Sarah Silverman ("The Sarah Silverman Program")
Tina Fey ("30 Rock")

Top 10 Finalistas Categoria Melhor Ator Série Drama:

Bryan Cranston ("Breaking Bad")
Denis Leary ("Rescue Me")
Eddie Izzard ("The Riches")
Gabriel Byrne ("In Treatment")
Hugh Laurie ("House")
James Spader ("Justiça Sem Limites"/"Boston Legal")
Jon Hamm ("Mad Men")
Kyle Chandler ("Friday Night Lights")
Michael C. Hall ("Dexter")
Patrick Dempsey ("Grey's Anatomy")

Top 10 Finalistas Categoria Melhor Atriz Série Drama:

Elisabeth Moss ("Mad Men")
Glenn Close ("Damages")
Holly Hunter ("Saving Grace")
Jeanne Tripplehorn ("Amor Imenso"/"Big Love")
Kyra Sedgwick ("The Closer")
Mariska Hargitay ("Law & Order: Special Victims Unit")
Mary McDonnell ("Battlestar Galactica")
Minnie Driver ("The Riches")
Patricia Arquette ("Medium")
Sally Field ("Brothers & Sisters")

Top 10 Finalistas Categoria Melhor Ator Coadjuvante Série Comédia:

Jon Cryer ("Two and a Half Men")
Kevin Dillon ("Entourage")
Justin Kirk ("Weeds")
Neil Patrick Harris ("How I Met Your Mother")
John Krasinski ("The Office")
Jack McBrayer ("30 Rock")
Tracy Morgan ("30 Rock")
Jeremy Piven ("Entourage")
Fred Willard ("Back to You")
Rainn Wilson ("The Office")

Top 10 Finalistas Categoria Melhor Atriz Coadjuvante Série Comédia:

Amy Poehler ("Saturday Night Live")
Conchata Ferrell ("Two and a Half Men")
Elizabeth Perkins ("Weeds")
Holland Taylor ("Two and a Half Men")
Jane Krakowski ("30 Rock")
Jean Smart ("Samantha Who?")
Jenna Fischer ("The Office")
Judith Light ("Ugly Betty")
Kristin Chenoweth ("Pushing Daisies")
Vanessa Williams ("Ugly Betty")

Top 11 Finalistas Categoria Melhor Ator Coadjuvante Série Drama:

Blair Underwood ("Em Terapia"/"In Treatment")
Bruce Dern ("Amor Imenso"/"Big Love")
Christian Clemenson ("Justiça Sem Limites"/"Boston Legal")
Jake Weber ("Medium")
John Slattery ("Mad Men")
Michael Emerson ("Lost")
Naveen Andrews ("Lost")
T.R. Knight ("Grey's Anatomy")
Ted Danson ("Damages")
William Shatner ("Justiça Sem Limites"/"Boston Legal")
Zeljko Ivanek ("Damages")

Top 11 Finalistas Categoria Melhor Atriz Coadjuvante Série Drama:

Candice Bergen ("Justiça Sem Limites"/"Boston Legal")
Chandra Wilson ("Grey's Anatomy")
Christina Hendricks ("Mad Men")
Dianne Wiest ("Em Terapia"/"In Treatment")
Jane Alexander ("Diz Que Me Ama"/"Tell Me You Love Me")
Jill Clayburgh ("Dirty Sexy Money")
Rachel Griffiths ("Brothers & Sisters")
Rose Byrne ("Damages")
S. Epatha Merkerson ("Law & Order")
Sandra Oh ("Grey's Anatomy")
Sharon Gless ("Burn Notice")

Top 10 Finalistas Categoria Melhor Ator Convidado Série Drama:

Charles Durning ("Rescue Me")
Danny Glover ("Brothers & Sisters")
Glynn Turman ("In Treatment")
Keith Carradine ("Dexter")
Oliver Platt ("Nip/Tuck")
Peter O'Toole ("The Tudors")
Peter Riegert ("Damages")
Robert Morse ("Mad Men")
Robin Williams ("Law & Order: Special Victims Unit")
Stanley Tucci ("ER")

Top 11 Finalistas Categoria Melhor Atriz Convidada Série Comédia:

Amy Ryan ("The Office")
Annie Potts ("Ugly Betty")
Carrie Fisher ("30 Rock")
Edie Falco ("30 Rock")
Elaine Stritch ("30 Rock")
Jane Lynch ("Two and a Half Men")
Kathryn Joosten ("Desperate Housewives")
Polly Bergen ("Desperate Housewives")
Sarah Silverman ("Monk")
Shirley Knight ("Desperate Housewives")
Vivica A. Fox ("Segura a Onda"/"Curb Your Enthusiasm")

I love the first season of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. It has so many great character moments, and so many things to say about our society (though not as much as later seasons do, excluding seasons 8+). And the only other season I had on my computer was season 7. And I was feeling creative. This is what happened out of that.